My buddy at work just gave me this BRILLIANT analogy on corporate culture.
If you put four gorillas in a cage with some blocks and hang bananas from the roof, eventually the gorillas will find a way to build a ladder to the bananas. Destroy the ladder and put the bananas back up, and the gorillas will learn to rebuild the ladder every day to get the bananas.
Then, once the gorillas get used to it - every time the gorillas try to build a ladder, you hit them with freezing water from the hose. Do this each day until the gorillas understand that attempting to build a ladder will cause them to get cold and wet.
Take away 1 of the original gorillas, and replace with a new gorilla. The new gorilla will find the bananas and the blocks and will attempt to build a ladder. The 3 other gorillas will beat up the new guy because they know they're gonna get cold and wet if he builds a ladder. Eventually, the new gorilla stops trying to build the ladder so he doesn't get beat up. (never use the water again)
Recycle 1 gorilla out and a new one in each month and watch the last paragraph repeat itself. Once all the original gorillas are gone, there are 4 gorillas that see bananas, and won't build a ladder to get to them. They don't understand WHY they don't want to get the banana, other than knowing that they should beat up any new gorilla that tries to get the banana.
And so, 4 gorillas sit, starting at a bunch of bananas, with no cold water preventing them from going after them, but none of them willing to try.
It's like corporate culture. The more you try and improve your situation, you get beat down by the system, and as old people leave and new people come one, everyone stays at the same level, fearing the rumored beatdown that nobody has ever seen actually happen, but everyone assumes will happen if you try to step out of the herd.
If you put four gorillas in a cage with some blocks and hang bananas from the roof, eventually the gorillas will find a way to build a ladder to the bananas. Destroy the ladder and put the bananas back up, and the gorillas will learn to rebuild the ladder every day to get the bananas.
Then, once the gorillas get used to it - every time the gorillas try to build a ladder, you hit them with freezing water from the hose. Do this each day until the gorillas understand that attempting to build a ladder will cause them to get cold and wet.
Take away 1 of the original gorillas, and replace with a new gorilla. The new gorilla will find the bananas and the blocks and will attempt to build a ladder. The 3 other gorillas will beat up the new guy because they know they're gonna get cold and wet if he builds a ladder. Eventually, the new gorilla stops trying to build the ladder so he doesn't get beat up. (never use the water again)
Recycle 1 gorilla out and a new one in each month and watch the last paragraph repeat itself. Once all the original gorillas are gone, there are 4 gorillas that see bananas, and won't build a ladder to get to them. They don't understand WHY they don't want to get the banana, other than knowing that they should beat up any new gorilla that tries to get the banana.
And so, 4 gorillas sit, starting at a bunch of bananas, with no cold water preventing them from going after them, but none of them willing to try.
It's like corporate culture. The more you try and improve your situation, you get beat down by the system, and as old people leave and new people come one, everyone stays at the same level, fearing the rumored beatdown that nobody has ever seen actually happen, but everyone assumes will happen if you try to step out of the herd.
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