vern
>Return-Path: <hazel_rozema@ms1.mankato.msus.edu>
>Date: 10 Mar 1997 15:11:57 -0600
>From: "Rozema, Hazel" <hazel_rozema@ms1.mankato.msus.edu>
>Subject: FW: Frog humor
>To: "Vern Kays" <vkays@richland.cc.il.us>
>
>Vern--read this story from Terry Stoa. then send it to folks at RCC.
>It has some good implications for management and change issues. love, Hazel
>_______________________________________________________________________________
>.
>Felix the Flying Frog
>A parable about schedules, cycle times, and shaping new behaviors.
>
>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 exclaimed one day, "We're going to be rich! I'm going to teach
>you how to fly!"
>
>Felix, of course, was terrified at the prospect: "I can't fly, you idiot.
>I'm a frog, not a canary!"
>
>Clarence, disappointed at the initial reaction, 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 class and learned about problem solving, time
>management, and effective communication, but nothing about flying.
>
>On the first day of "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 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 it fell on deaf ears. "He just doesn't
>understand how important this is," thought Clarence, "but I won't let
>nay-sayers get in my way."
>
>So, with that, Clarence opened the window and threw Felix out (who landed
>with a thud).
>
>Next day (poised for his second flying lesson) Felix again begged not to be
>thrown out of the window. With that, Clarence opened his pocket guide to
>Managing More Effectively and showed Felix the part about how one must
>always expect resistance when implementing new programs.
>
>And 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 time-line and pointed to the
>third milestone and asked, "You don't want to slip the schedule, do you?"
>
>>From his training, Felix knew that not jumping today would mean that he
>would have to jump TWICE tomorrow, so he just said: "OK. 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 feet madly in a vain attempt to fly. On the sixth day he
>tied a small red cape around his neck and tried to think "Superman"
>thoughts.
>
>But try as he might, he couldn't fly.
>
>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 goals he had set for him.
>
>With that, Felix said quietly, "Shut up and open the window," and he leaped
>out, taking careful aim on a large jagged rock by the corner of the
>building.
>
>And Felix went to the great lily pad in the sky.
>
>Clarence was extremely upset, as his project had failed to meet a single
>goal that he set out to accomplish. Felix had not only failed to fly, he
>didn't even learn how to steer his flight as he fell like a sack of cement.
>Nor did he improve his productivity when Clarence had told him 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!"
>
>
>
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