This story was part of a class I’m taking from my employer. I thought it was funny and a great lesson for lots of businesses.

The story goes that a certain number of monkeys are placed in a large cage. From the ceiling of the cage hangs a bunch of bananas with a stepladder underneath. Being monkeys, they decide they want the bananas. As the first monkey rushes up the ladder, he is knocked off by a blast of cold water from a fire hose, and all the other monkeys are hosed down as well. Shocked, they sit back and regroup. Soon another monkey tries with the same result. After repeated attempts by each monkey they become conditioned not to go for the bananas and the fire hose is taken away.
One of the original monkeys is removed and a new monkey is added to the group. He spies the bananas and leaps onto the ladder, only to be dragged down and beaten by the rest of the group, fearing that he would be blasted by cold water and not wanting to be soaked themselves. After several failed attempts, the new monkey also learns not to go for the bananas.

Another original monkey is replaced with a new monkey, and the same thing occurs. Before long, there is an entire group of monkeys who have never been soaked–never even seen the fire hose in fact–but still won’t climb the ladder. Even though they don’t know why, the message is clear: Don’t go for the bananas.

And that is how corporate culture and company policy begins. We do it this way because “we’ve always done it this way”. We do not attempt something new or beneficial because something similar has not worked previously, despite the fact that other aspects of delivery—the contract, technology, personnel–have changed.

In a Lean environment, we continually challenge policies and procedures that may have worked in the past but keep us from improving the way we do things today and in the future. Go for the bananas!

It has started. In this New york Times Op-Ed by Al Gore, The Climate for Change, he puts forth his five part plan to save the world. And the US economy. Now that’s serious scope creep. Good ole’ Al is going to save the planet and the US!

Senator John McCain is giving his speech conceding the presidency. The MoveOn democrats think they just won. They’ve got another think coming. Obama is so much more than that. The next four years are going to be terrifying. This will be a true test of the Constitution of the United States of America. We’ll find out just how smart the founding fathers were.

“We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we’ve set. We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well funded.”
-Barack Obama, July 2, 2008, Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The DOD base budget for 2008 was $480 Billion. There were approximately 4 million people employed by the DOD in 2004. What would such a force be needed for?

As of this moment NBC is showing 175 Obama and 76 McCain.

I got in line at exactly 7:00 AM. I walked out the door after casting my ballot at 9:00. From what I’m seeing on the news, two hours to vote is a short wait. On my ballot there were three constitutional amendment propositions.

Inside the boxes below is what was on the ballot. None of them make any sense. If I hadn’t seen them before today I’m not sure how I would have taken them.

Amendment 1 - To encourage the preservation of Georgia’s forests through a conservation use property tax reduction program.

House Resolution No. 1276
Resolution Act No. 702
Ga. L. 2008, p. 1209

“Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to provide that the General Assembly by general law shall encourage the preservation, conservation, and protection of the state’s forests through the special assessment and taxation of certain forest lands and assistance grants to local government?”

This will permit companies that own 200 acres or more or forested land to pay reduced property taxes as though they were an individual. The object is for companies to not tear down forests. Not entirely a bad thing. The problem is that it would require the state to make up the difference in another way. That would be a constitutionally required tax.

Amendment 2 - To authorize local school districts to use tax funds for community redevelopment purposes.

Senate Resolution No. 996
Resolution Act No. 777
Ga. L. 2008, p. 1211

“Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to authorize community redevelopment and authorize counties, municipalities, and local boards of education to use tax funds for redevelopment purposes and programs?”

One of the most often heard complaints about the USA is lack of money for education. This would allow the local school board to use funds to repay bonds taken out for community redevelopment programs. How can this be a good idea?

Amendment 3 - To authorize the creation of special Infrastructure Development Districts providing infrastructure to underserved areas.

Senate Resolution No. 309
Resolution Act No. 373
Ga. L. 2007, p. 775

“Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to authorize the General Assembly to provide by general law for the creation and comprehensive regulation of infrastructure development districts for the provision of infrastructure as authorized by local governments?”

This one allows for private organizations to levy taxes to pay back bonds taken out to build infrastructure (schools, roads, etc) that a county might not otherwise choose to fund. The taxes would only be levied on the land owned, and subsequently sold, by the organization. It is effectively a homeowners association with taxation powers. The infrastructure built by the private organization would be run by the county.

Most of the polls on the East Coast open in 7 hours to start the most important Presidential year elections in my lifetime. I hope most who vote today have taken the time to get to know the positions each candidate takes and the impact that will have on our lives. This goes beyond the two possible presidents to include the Senators and Representatives. Please think before you cast your ballot.