Some thoughts on the “Boiled Frog Parable,” which describes how small incremental changes (e.g. water slowly rising to a boil) will go unnoticed/unheeded (e.g. by a frog) until it’s too late (e.g. frog gets boiled).
- Viability as a Meme
- Subversion of the Meme
- Frogs, Slimebags and Deli Slicers
1. Viability as a Meme
Maybe it has to do with the nature of the parable, which involves phenomenon common to high school science labs (i.e.,changing the temperature of a liquid solution, doing stuff with frogs) but this parable tends to get ripped apart by an analytic attitude that either (a) dislikes/doesn’t need metaphors to make a point, or (b) just can’t get past the lack of credibility in the parable/example.
One intuitively senses that a frog would not actually sit in pot of water for very long, whether the water was heating, cooling or just staying at a constant temperature. The Boiled Frog Parable-Meme interferes and distracts us from the point it’s trying to make… it’s hard to find a discussion about it that doesn’t go off on a tangent about amphibian behavior. In the world of marketing, PR and advertising, this sort of cognitive dissonance/controversy is good, because it creates attention & discussion in the target audience. I’m not sure the same effect applies 100% in the world of memes… well, I do think the Boiled Frog meme has grown some legs (*groan* or should I say… *croak*) from its inherent silliness. On the level of propagation of ideas, I can see that benefit. However, on the level of impact of ideas, the meme is hurt: Instead of inspiring some deeper contemplation of a simple idea (like a well-crafted parable should do), the audience might conclude it’s just a fancy way to illustrate an obvious point. That’s self-defeating.
2. Subversion of the Meme
In the Fast Company article, Next Time, What Say We Boil a Consultant, Professor Doug Melton (Harvard University Biology Department) is quoted: “If you put a frog in boiling water, it won’t jump out. It will die. If you put it in cold water, it will jump before it gets hot — they don’t sit still for you.” He was addressing the physical reality of frogs in water, but we could take his quote and cast it as a counter-metaphor: All that stuff about sensitive, nuanced, continuous improvement and incremental change? Forget that. Business is all about good ol’ fashioned undisciplined sporadic “shock-and-awe” action.
3. Frogs, Slimebags and Deli Slicers
The Boiled Frog Parable explains why smart people can have such a hard time dealing with those who exhibit slimy tendencies, in what BL once described to me as the “Deli Slicer approach” to relationships: They quickly sense that the other party is continually slicing off concessions from them, marginalizing them, taking advantage of them one little piece at a time. Just the same way a deli slicer can cut a series of thin, succulent, slices of brisket, corned beef or turkey until there’s nothing left (mmmm… I think I like this metaphor better… never was a fan of that whole sauted frogs French cuisine thing…).
slice...slice...slice...
metaphorically, the opposite of a deli slicer
The Deli Slicer approach can be used as a tactic in negotiation, or as an overall structure/strategy for procurement. Large retailers use it as a “best practice” in their vendor relationship management. WalMart has killed many a supplier by slowly Deli Slicing it to death.
A metaphorical opposite of the Deli Slicer is the Egg Slicer (or Bread Slicer… though pairing the meat with the egg is more viscerally engaging). The Egg Slicer demands that all components, all concessions, be portioned out in advance. Like the Deli Slicer approach, the Egg Slicer approach can also be abused or mishandled. However, where abuse of the Egg Slicer approach is mainly just annoying or impractical, abuse of the Deli Slicer approach will quickly cross the line of being considered “slimy.” This is especially true in the context of interpersonal relationships.
The Deli Slicer approach preys on the unwritten rule about not making a big fuss about little things.
However, a smart person is like a frog in water, in the sense that frogs are extremely senstitive to changes in temperature. As a third party observer, when you see the “frogs” jumping away from somebody, that’s your first clue to what’s going on.
[...] Value of the Other Party’s Offer Posted on April 22, 2010 by danspira Follow-up to the Boiled Frog posting from a year ago, here’s a look at some other common negotiation techniques and their [...]