The Blind Men and the Elephant

Ideas are important because they represent an ultra concentration of fragments that in many cases would be regarded as irrelevant or useless on their own. Ideas represent a symphony, unique as a whole yet unattainable without its parts or the dynamic between each of those parts. By and large, teamwork of “whole” and “part” unfortunately tends to be overlooked.

An ancient Indian fable called The Blind Men and the Elephant summarizes this perfectly. Six blind men visit the raja’s palace and each encounters an elephant for the first time. The first blind man put out his hand and touched the side of the elephant: “How smooth! An elephant is like a wall.” The second blind man put out his hand and touched the trunk of the elephant: “How round! An elephant is like a snake.” The third blind man put out his hand and touched the tusk of the elephant: “How sharp! An elephant is like a spear.” The fourth blind man put out his hand and touched the leg of the elephant: “How tall! An elephant is like a tree.” The fifth blind man reached out his hand and touched the ear of the elephant: “How wide! An elephant is like a fan.” The sixth blind man put out his hand and touched the tail of the elephant: “How thin! An elephant is like a rope.” An argument ensued, each blind man thinking his own perception of the elephant was correct. The raja, awakened by the commotion, called out from the balcony. “The elephant is big,” he said. “Each man touched only one part. You must put all parts together to find out what an elephant is like.”

In many ways, from urban design and marketing campaigns to environmental policy and disaster response, we constantly see this fable being played out in real life, with both thoughts and actions being considered only in piecemeal isolation by specialists. Interconnectedness eludes us, especially in our organizations.