Have you ever asked someone in an organization, “Why do we do it this way?” , only to hear the answer, “Because that’s how we have always done it” ? This simple response can reveal a much bigger problem. The famous Five Monkeys Experiment is often used in management discussions to explain how organizations develop habits, traditions, and unwritten rules. The story suggests that people can continue following a behavior even after the original reason for that behavior has disappeared. But there is an important fact that is often missed: the famous story about five monkeys, a ladder, bananas, and cold water is not a documented scientific experiment in the form in which it is usually told. It is better understood as a popular management parable inspired, at least in part, by earlier research on social learning and learned behavior. Even so, the lesson behind the story is highly relevant to modern organizations. The Famous Five Monkeys Story According to the popular version of...
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