Agile Allegories: Responding to Change is an Observation Sport

There once was a Fox, an Ox and a Lynx. The Fox was incredibly nimble, fast, and darted back and forth wherever it went. The Ox on the other hand was steady, strong and surefooted. The Lynx was know for being determined when she needed to be, but would adapt when she needed to as well. One day as they were heading to the market, they realized that the bridge across the largest river in the village had been wiped out by flood waters. They needed to get to the market to get food for their families, because they’ve been living on reserves since the beginning of the rains.

The Fox, clever as he is, decided he’d make a boat to cross the river. He got busy collecting sticks and logs he found washed ashore. He began constructing a boat, adding a rudder, a sail, and carving ores. Once he felt like he was finished, he looked up at the sail and realized that really, he should be creating a parasail to fly himself across the river. So he deconstructed his boat and began constructing a more simple, but elegant, parasail. However, as he looked more closely at the string that held the parasail, he thought that perhaps he could build a simple swing to give him the momentum to jump over the river. By the time the fox had the string strung up to the tree, he then thought to himself that he really ought to build a bridge instead, because it would help more people. So the fox began using the remnants of his boat to build a bridge, getting all the measurements precise, however just as he was about to put the bridge in place he noticed that the bridge wasn’t quite tall enough, just in case a flood came again, so he began redesigning the bridge to allow for higher water to flow through. Satisfied with what he built, he placed his bridge across the river, and realized that he hadn’t thought about what may happen if a boat needs to come through the river, so he removed the bridge, and got back to the drawing board.

Meanwhile, the Ox decided that the best way across was to charge directly through the river, as he planned to initially, and began his journey. Not five feet into the river did he realize that he was in over his head, and his legs may not be able to maintain traction all the way across. No matter, he continued to walk forward, as he committed to crossing and this is how he was to do it. Unfortunately the Ox only made it half way when the current carried him down river, never to be seen again.

The Lynx, seeing all of this going on with her neighbors, tested the water to see if she could swim in the river at all. She noticed that she could only swim part way, at least to a large rock a few yards from the shore. This rock had a build up of debris piled against it. This got the Lynx thinking that she could use that debris to build a small bridge to another rock even closer to the other side. She constructed a short bridge, that was not much more than a log, and made it to the second rock. Knowing that she didn’t know exactly what to expect once at the other rock, she carried with her a few extra supplies, and made her way across the log. From there, she took stock of what she was dealing with. She saw that upstream there were a few larger branches making their way down to her, and those would work perfectly for a small boat. She poised herself perfectly to capture the branches, pulled them onto the rock and began creating the simple boat that she could use to take her the rest of the way. Confident, but cautious, she placed her craft into the water, tested that it would hold her weight, and pushed off, gently rowing herself to the other side of the river.