Tradition

 A scientist put five monkeys in a tall cage. A bunch of bananas hung at the top of a ladder. When a monkey went for the bananas, the man would sprays all five monkeys with freezing water. After some time, a second monkey went for the bananas. The man once again sprayed all with the cold water. The man then put the hose away.

 When a third monkey tries to go for the bananas, the other four attack him to prevent him as they want to avoid the consequences. The man replaced one of the monkeys with a new one who wasn’t part of the original experiment and was never sprayed with water.

 However when the new monkey touched the ladder to go for the bananas, the other four attacked him to keep him from doing so. When he tried again, they attacked him again. The new monkey learns not to go for the bananas because he’ll get attacked if he does.

 Another monkey is replaced. When he goes for the bananas, the other four attack him, including the one who was never sprayed with water. One by one, all original monkeys are replaced. Each time a newcomer goes for the bananas, the others attack, although they have never been sprayed with cold water for going for the bananas.

 That’s the way the tradition has built up in an organization. Traditions are a part of every organization, especially if the majority of the workforce has been around for some time. But, those traditions can be detrimental to progress within   workplace, especially when new employees are stopped from pursuing new ideas.

 By focusing on doing something the way it’s always been done because it’s tradition to do it that way, organizations are often rendered blind to new ways that they can get the banana (the prize they’re going after). We must question things that don’t always feel right, and avoid using the excuse of ‘we’ve always done it this way’.

Avoid the grip of irrational traditions

Try new thoughts and new actions!

- Pravin K Sabnis

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