The caterpillar in all of us will probably discover that the world is all about “continuous continuous improvement” and the reality is that our transition from caterpillar to butterfly is just the start.
At some point, the caterpillar gets the intrinsic motivation to spin a cocoon around itself. And while in that cocoon, it gives up all of its former existence to become something new and different.
(The reality is that the caterpillar breaks down at the cellular level — there is nothing left of it other than goo — and it recapitulates into the developing larvae of the butterfly. Thus, in the cocoon, it is no longer what it was and not yet what it will be!)
The butterfly emerges and then learns to fly, sees that the world is so different from their original perspective (as a caterpillar) and now so many more new opportunities appear. It is all about perspective and collaboration.
“Hey,” said the Monarch Butterfly. “Let’s all head down to Mexico for the winter!” (and they DO! Millions of them.)
My poems blog is filling up with a whole bunch of poems and quips on the transformation of caterpillars into those butterfly things! You can click on the image below to go to the homepage for those illustrations.
We have been using the metaphor of Teaching The Caterpillar to Fly as it relates to our Square Wheels approach to managing and leading change for many years. The focus is on gaining the active involvement of others for the design of different choices and considered alternatives.
You can see more if you click on the image links below, the first of which will take you to our articles page where you can download the article and the other where you can find our facilitation toolkit for Managing and Leading Change.
If we can support your performance improvement or engagement programs with our simple and effective facilitation tools and metaphors, connect with us. There are unlimited possibilities for involving and engaging people for performance improvement and workplace innovation and creativity. Our approach is both simple and elegant.
For the FUN of It!
Dr. Scott Simmerman is a designer of team building games and organization improvement tools. Managing Partner of Performance Management Company since 1984, he is an experienced presenter and consultant.
Connect with Scott on Google+ - you can reach Scott at scott@squarewheels.com
Follow Scott’s posts on Pinterest: pinterest.com/scottsimmerman/
Scott’s blog on Poems and Quips on Workplace Improvement is here.
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