Frogs and Modern Management
FELIX THE FLYING FROG, a Parable About Modern Management
Once upon a time, there lived a man named Clarence who had a pet
frog named Felix. Clarence lived a modestly comfortable existence
on what he earned working at the Wal-Mart, but he always dreamed
of being rich.
"Felix!" he said one day, hit by sudden inspiration, "We're going
to be rich! I will teach you to fly!"
Felix, of course, was terrified at the prospect. "I can't fly,
you twit! I'm a frog, not a canary!"
Clarence, disappointed at the initial response, told Felix: "That
negative attitude of yours could be a real problem. I'm sending
you to class."
So Felix went to a three-day course and learned about problem
solving, time management, and effective communication-but
nothing about flying.
On the first day of the "flying lessons," Clarence could barely
control his excitement (and Felix could barely control his
bladder). Clarence explained that their apartment building had 15
floors, and each day Felix would jump out of a window, starting
with the first floor and eventually getting to the top floor.
After each jump, Felix would analyze how well he flew, isolate
the most effective flying techniques, and implement the improved
process for the next flight. By the time they reached the top
floor, Felix would surely be able to fly.
Felix pleaded for his life, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. "He
just doesn't understand how important this is," thought Clarence.
"He can't see the big picture."
So, with that, Clarence opened the window and threw Felix out. He
landed with a thud.
The next day, poised for his second flying lesson, Felix again
begged not to be thrown out of the window. Clarence opened his
pocket guide to "Managing More Effectively," and showed Felix the
part about how one must always expect resistance when introducing
new, innovative programs.
With that, he threw Felix out the window-THUD!
On the third day (at the third floor), Felix tried a different
ploy: stalling. He asked for a delay in the "project" until
better weather would make flying conditions more favorable.
But Clarence was ready for him: He produced a timeline and
pointed to the third Milestone and asked. "You don't want to slip
up the schedule, do you?"
From his training, Felix knew that not jumping today would only
mean that he would have to jump TWICE tomorrow. So he just
muttered, "OK, yeeha, let's go." And out the window he went.
Now this is not to say that Felix wasn't trying his best. On the
fifth day he flapped his legs madly in a vain attempt at flying.
On the sixth day, he tied a small red cape around his neck and
tried to think "Superman" thoughts.
It didn't help.
By the seventh day, Felix, accepting his fate, no longer begged
for mercy. He simply looked at Clarence and said, "You know
you're killing me, don't you?"
Clarence pointed out that Felix's performance so far had been
less than exemplary, failing to meet any of the milestone goals
he had set for him.
With that, Felix said quietly, "Shut up and open the window," and
he leaped out, taking careful aim at the large jagged rock by the
corner of the building.
And Felix went to that great lily pad in the sky.
Clarence was extremely upset, as his project had failed to meet a
single objective that he had set out to accomplish. Felix had not
only failed to fly, he hadn't even learned to steer his fall as
he dropped like a sack of cement, nor had he heeded Clarence's
advice to "Fall smarter, not harder."
The only thing left for Clarence to do was to analyze the process
and try to determine where it had gone wrong.
After much thought, Clarence smiled and said, "Next time, I'm
getting a smarter frog!"
