Thinking Out of the Barrel

Do you ever find yourself facing an impossible task?   In our consulting work we frequently have to tell our clients that they need to achieve seemingly unattainable quality goals, while at the same time the market is forcing costs to be cut.  The key is how you frame the problem statement.

When we tell those customers that we have seen many instances like the situations they are finding themselves in; and we further tell them that we have helped our clients to resolve both objectives, we are met with understandable skepticism. 

We usually respond with specific business examples of how out-of-the-box thinking can finesse these blockades.  But sometimes a more prosaic illustration strikes a chord:  when conventional thinking won’t solve the dilemma, you need to think, not out-of-the-box, but out-of-the-barrel.

This is a story that is told in my family.  It’s about my grandfather’s grandfather.  They called him Grampy Howe.  I don’t think anyone in the family knows whether it’s true, but that’s probably less important than the fact that people think it’s true. 

In that part of the country the entire social standing of a man was determined by the quality of his dog.  Unfortunately, Grampy Howe’s dog was about useless.  That dog wouldn’t hunt.  Nevertheless, Grampy Howe loved the dog and he took it with him everywhere.

One day on a rare visit into town, he went into the general store where the men of the town had gathered with their dogs.  Near the pot bellied stove there was a barrel lying on its side with its top off.  Inside the barrel was a snarling raccoon. 

The men were betting to see whose dog could pull the raccoon out of the barrel.  One by one each man would sic his dog on the raccoon and one by one each dog was dispatched to the sidelines, whimpering with a sore nose.  The money piled higher and higher on the table.  Soon all the dogs in the town had been defeated by the raccoon, except one.

The other men were astounded as Grampy Howe strode up to the table and laid down his money.  They laughed when he called for his dog.  And they wondered how he could possibly think that his worthless dog would have a chance against the raccoon. 

Grampy Howe reached down and grabbed his dog by the tail and the scruff of his neck.  He lifted the dog and threw him into the barrel, tail first.  The raccoon chomped down on the dog’s tail.  The dog yelped and bolted out of the barrel pulling the raccoon out behind. 

Grampy Howe calmly collected his money and the two of them walked back to his farm.

So, when you’re faced with an impossible situation, like a requirement to improve quality and reduce costs, remember it can be done.  But you need to think out of the barrel.

The key to thinking out of the barrel is the creation of the problem statement.  The other farmers had formulated the problem as "How can I breed, train, and motivate my dog to attack a vicious animal?"  Grampy Howe reframed the problem as "How can I get that raccoon out of the barrel using my dog as a tool?"

So, when you run into a seemingly intractable problem, back up and ask yourself.  "Have I boxed out possible solutions simply by the way I stated the problem?

For another example of out-of-the-barrel thinking, Positive Compliance^TM.

How about you?  Do you have a similar story?  What has worked best for you?  Comment below.