The Story: The Monkey Climbs the Ladder and the Moral is ...

The Monkey and Ladder Experiment Will Teach You An Important Life Lesson

A group of scientists placed five monkeys in a cage and in the middle of the cage was a ladder.

They then introduced some bananas from a trap door in the ceiling. They only way the monkeys could reach the bananas was to climb the ladder.

Every time a monkey started to climb the ladder, the scientists soaked all of the monkeys with freezing cold water.

This carried on for some time. A monkey climbs the ladder and all five get blasted with freezing cold water.

After a while, every monkey attempted to climb the ladder only for all five to meet the same fate.

The monkeys associated climbing the ladder with the pain of the freezing cold water. Now when a monkey attempted to climb the ladder, the other ones beat them down to prevent the jets of freezing cold water.

After some time, no monkey dared to go up the ladder regardless of temptation of the bananas.

Scientists then replaced one of the monkeys. On seeing the bananas, the first thing the new monkey did was go up the ladder. Immediately the other monkeys beat him.

After several beatings, the new monkey learned not to climb the ladder even though never knowing why. That replacement had never experienced the pain of being blasted by the freezing water.

A second monkey was subsituted for one of the original four and the same result occurred. And the first substitute participated in the beating of the second substitute.

The scientists repeated the process of replacing one of the original monkeys: a third monkey was substituted and the same events were repeated.

Then the fourth was replaced with the same events ensuing.

And finally the fifth monkey was replaced. On seeing the bananas, the first thing the fifth monkey did was go up the ladder. Immediately the other monkeys beat him.

None of the monkeys in the cage had felt the pain of the freezing cold water. None of the monkeys knew if you prevented others from climbing the ladder to prevent the jets of freezing cold water.

If it was possible to ask the monkeys why they should beat up anyone who attempted to go up the ladder, I bet their answer would be: "I don't know. That's just how things are done around here." 

The metaphor and the lessons that apply to work are very clear. Despite the exhortations from management to innovate, cold water is poured on people and ideas whenever someone tries something new. Or worse, employees suppress innovation because they don't see the point in trying to innovate if every time we do the same thing happens.

Moral of the Story:

Always THINK before you follow.

Make a choice to fit in or Stand Out. 

Reward innovation especially when it results in failure.