Six blind men & the Elephant

It was six men of Indostan
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.

The First approached the Elephant...

The First approached the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
"God bless me! but the Elephant
Is very like a wall!"

The Second, feeling of the tusk
Cried, "Ho! what have we here,
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me 'tis mighty clear
This wonder of an Elephant
Is very like a spear!"

The Third approached the animal,
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up he spake:
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
Is very like a snake!"

The Fourth reached out an eager hand,
And felt about the knee:
"What most this wondrous beast is like
Is mighty plain," quoth he;
"'Tis clear enough the Elephant
Is very like a tree!"

The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
Said: "E'en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an Elephant
Is very like a fan!"

The Sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Than, seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope.
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
Is very like a rope!"

And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong!

Moral:

So oft in theologic wars,
The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance
Of what each other mean,
And prate about an Elephant
Not one of them has seen. 

From John Godfrey Saxe (1816-1887)

In maart was ik in Tanzania voor Berenschot. Mijn opdrachtgever was het Tanzanian Center for Democracy (TCD). Tijdens één van de vergaderingen die ik daar had met lokale politici vertelde de voorzitter van de vergadering mij deze oude parabel om duidelijk te maken waarom de aanwezigen zulke verschillende denkbeelden hadden over hun eigen organisatie. 

Sindsdien gebruik ik het verhaal af en toe in mijn advieswerk. Neem nu bijvoorbeeld het onderwerp 'sociale innovatie'. De meningen over wat sociale innovatie is lopen even ver uiteen als de mensen die zich er mee bezig houden. Wat is er al niet onder de paraplu van sociale innovatie geschoven? Modernisering van cao's, 'great place to work', netwerkorganisaties, arbeidstijdenmanagement, dynamisch managen, flexibel organiseren, maatschappelijk verantwoord ondernemen, sociale dialoog, human resources management, bewustwording, ga zo maar door... Wat mij betreft kunnen we stoppen met elkaar te overtuigen van de superioriteit van onze eigen definities en aan de slag gaan met praktische toepassingen!