When a colleague asks you why you do things a certain way, do you find yourself responding, “I don't know. Because we’ve always done it that way?” Many years ago, I worked for a couple companies where that was the stock answer, and it was so frustrating. It’s hard to believe that no one ever challenged the status quo. Or perhaps they did and got shot down with the same stock answer?

Why do we just accept things as they are, right or wrong, regardless of the how or the why? Regardless of whether they are still relevant or appropriate?

Have you heard of the Five Monkeys Experiment? It’s not clear if this experiment really happened or not; many refer to it as a fable or parable, but it’s interesting and thought-provoking nonetheless. In case you haven’t heard of this experiment, I’ll introduce you to it. Rather than write the story, I thought it would be more interesting to share this brief video of Eddie Obeng, a British professor and author, telling it.

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