Start with a cage containing five monkeys. Inside the cage, hang a banana on a string and place a set of stairs under it. Before long, a monkey will go to the stairs and start to climb towards the banana. As soon as he touches the stairs, spray all of the other monkeys with cold water. After a while, another monkey makes an attempt with the same result; all the other monkeys are sprayed with cold water.

Pretty soon, when another monkey tries to climb the stairs, the other monkeys will try to prevent it. Now, put away the cold water. Remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new one. The new monkey sees the banana and wants to climb the stairs. To his surprise and horror, all of the other monkeys attack him. After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs, he will be assaulted.

Next, remove another of the original five monkeys and replace it with a new one. The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment with enthusiasm! Likewise, replace a third original monkey with a new one, then a fourth, then the fifth. Every time the newest monkey takes to the stairs, he is attacked. Most of the monkeys that are beating him have no idea why they are not permitted to climb the stairs or why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey.

After replacing all of the original monkeys, none of the remaining monkeys have ever been sprayed with cold water. Nevertheless, no monkey every again approaches the stairs to try for the banana. Why not? Because as far as they know that's the way it's always been done around here. And that, my friends, is how a company policy begins.

 

OH, MY GOD! YOU'VE BEEN SNOOPING AROUND THE FILES AT OUR GEORGIA OFFICE HAVEN'T YOU??????

 

interesting

 

Good one and for the most part it is true. Nobody ever knows where these stupid policies come from, but they do them anyways.

 

Have you been reading the policy manual of the company I work for? They are going to be pissed when they find out and they weren't referenced properly - that's copyrighted material you know (page 18, second paragraph, lines 2 through 5)!

and you had better wear that tie Monday!

 

Ahh... I don't guess I realize how lucky I am to work for a company that doesn't make concrete policies...

It's pretty much common sense around our office... don't break the common sense policy and you're going to be A-O-K!

 

First Scott Adams spying on my company, now Burt .... whats next


Although on a different note, I'm sure the monkey's can be re-trained/conditioned, where as managers cannot