That’s the Way It’s Always Been Done…

Written By: John Hoxsey
Certified Master Loan Processor (CMLP)

Monkeys:

I didn’t invent the hypothetical situation, but let’s just suppose for a second that I did. Put five monkeys in a cage. Inside that cage, hang one banana on a string and place a ladder under it. Keep a garden hose nearby. Soon one of the monkeys will spot the banana and start to climb the ladder to get it. When he does, spray all of the other monkeys with cold water.

Now, replace the banana. After a while another one of the monkeys will probably go for the banana. Again, spray all of the other monkeys with cold water.

Monkeys are relatively smart, so pretty soon, whenever one of the monkeys’ attempts to climb the ladder, all the other monkeys will try to prevent him from doing it. When that happens, put away the coldwater hose.

Remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new one. Now hang a new banana over the ladder. The new monkey will spot the banana and head for the ladder. To his surprise, all of the other monkeys will spontaneously attack him. After several more futile attempts, all of which will result in further beatings, the new monkey will no longer try for the banana.

Remove another of the original monkeys and again replace it with a new one. Now replace the banana. Again, the new monkey will make a grab for it. Like his predecessor he will be stunned to discover that all the other monkeys attack him. In fact, the previous newcomer will most likely take a particularly enthusiastic role in his replacement’s punishment.

One at a time, gradually replace all of the original monkeys with new ones. Each
of the newcomers will go for the banana. Each one will be attacked by the other four.
Most of the new monkeys have absolutely no idea why they were not allowed to climb
the ladder, or why they are participating in the assault on the newest monkey.

When all of the original monkeys have been replaced, none of the remaining monkeys have ever been sprayed with cold water. Nevertheless, not one of those monkeys ever approaches the ladder. Why not? Because as far as they are concerned that’s the way it has always been done around here.

And that is how corporate culture and company policy begins. A friend sent me that the link to that story years ago and it has always lingered in the back of my head, and though the author is unknown to me, the moral is quite clear. If your corporate policies keep failing and only the least valuable employees remain, you’ve got to start challenging the policies and processes that made you successful in the past.

If companies tolerate employees and managers that have accepted mediocrity as the standard level of performance, each go-getter that the company brings onboard will be dragged down by the middle or bottom groups. Accepting mediocrity and poor performance accelerates turnover among the good performers and leaves the company with only the poor ones.


One might wonder if the monkey cage has a more critical effect than the production of psychotic monkeys. Innovation and creativity are certainly the first character traits to bite the dust, and our efforts to conform will finally destroy our individuality, once we let it. There probably is a way to get that banana, but everything is set up to stop us trying. The autonomous system turns us into mindless automata.

Elephants:

Ever seen an adult elephant at a circus? Look closely next time you decide that genre of entertainment is just the thing for you after a hard day at the cubicle farm. Even better, try to take a look in the paddock before the show starts. You may see an elephant with a small length of rope around its neck, attached to what, for the pachyderm, is a piece of wood about the size of a toothpick. As a baby, the elephant had been tied to one end of a leash, and the other end to this small stake in the ground. Without a doubt, the little elephant had tried to pull free from the leash and run away from the circus, but to no avail, until finally the elephant had given up trying. The elephant grew, convinced that it would never be able to pull the stake from the ground, and presumably is convinced he enjoys standing on a box and balancing a ball on his trunk, and had never noticed the stake was just trailing behind him all that time.

Perhaps it comes as no surprise to discover just how many animal analogies and metaphors appear in modern life. Again, it's all conditioning. We've been led to believe its all part of the natural order, yet at the same time we are following career paths that keep us away from a greater good. It's time to pull that stake from the ground, because it's not been holding you back at all.

What? You're worried you'll be doused with water? Never fear. An individual like you will do just great in the processing industry.

A sample monkey experiment text was found at: http://www.notzen.com/andrew/monkey.html on October 31, 2003, but information on its origins seems hard to find.

No monkeys were harmed during the production of this write-up.

Remember - Your reputation is your business.

Happy Processing!!!

About the Writer. As one of NAMP's volunteer writers, John Hoxsey is currently a NAMP member in good standing and is a NAMP Certified Master Loan Processor (CMLP). If you would like to become a volunteer writer for NAMP, please email us at: blog@mortgageprocessor.org.