If it didn’t work then, will it work now? Elephant syndrome is what I call it, the tendency to never forget. But I’m not referring to a good memory; I’m talking about a faulty forgetter.

Like the elephant in the photo, we remain tied with string to obstacles we could readily overcome. That elephant was tied to an object when it was little but doesn’t now understand what happened and what it could do to break out.

Consider this: You are the leader of a company on its way to fulfilling its purpose. One of your associates suggests an idea that you’ve already tried. You’ve tried it before, and it didn’t work. What would you do?

Most of us would reject it outright. We tend to have elephant syndrome. We remember those things that stymied us before, those tactics that failed, those efforts that fell short. And there could be a good reason not to pursue them again.

On the other hand, it might be more effective to take another look at it.

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