- Part 1 in our Deep Understanding of Deep Meaning Series
- See Part 2 – Deep Understanding of Deep Meaning: What Is It?
- See Part 3 – King Midas and the Golden Touch: An Exercise in Finding Deep Understanding of Deep Meaning.
Do you know and remember the story of the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf? If you grew up consuming English language nursery lore, you might. But if not, don’t worry: I’m going to review enough of it for you to understand why the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf constitute the core of this article and the beginning of the Deep Understanding of Deep Meaning series.
The tale of the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf conforms to the conventions of story.
The tale of the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf conforms to the conventions of story. It starts when a problem (the hungry wolf) turns the pigs’ world upside down and demands a solution to restore balance and stability (no wolf) to that world. The plot line consists of what happens as the pigs work toward a solution, experiencing progress, triumphs, unknowns, obstacles, setbacks, reversals, new learning, and ultimately success in achieving their goals.
Wait—it’s true that this progression yields a familiar and beloved story that many of us heard as children. But it also sounds suspiciously like a project. After all, the Project Management Institute and the hundreds of thousands of PMP’s (Project Management Professionals) certified by the PMI will tell you that a project is a temporary endeavor, undertaken to address a need or opportunity, that develops, changes, and responds as progress is made and fuller understanding develops due to progressive elaboration.
But it also sounds suspiciously like a project.
So now I’ll present the story of the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf as it might be told in a business context—as the story of 3 construction projects, only one of which yields a successful outcome.
The need—the threat—was unmistakable: the Big Bad Wolf was on the prowl. The solution for the Three Little Pigs was equally obvious: the Three Little Pigs needed protection, shelter, housing (preferably affordable).
So the Three Little Pigs decided to build themselves some houses. They proposed, chartered, prioritized, approved, and initiated the construction projects.
The First Little Pig didn’t have much money—no budget. But he knew how to scrounge, and he knew how to improvise and make do. He went out and gathered up all the fallen boughs and branches he could find, and he bound them together, and soon he had himself a house of sticks.
The Second Little Pig didn’t know much about construction materials or techniques. But he knew how to work with straw, and he had some savings. So he went out and bought straw—lots of straw—and he wove it together, and soon he had himself a house of straw.
The Third Little Pig decided that if he had to build a house, he’d build a house he really wanted. First thing he did—he got himself a construction loan. Then he drew up blueprints. He applied for construction permits. He went before the zoning commission and secured a usage variance. He bought bricks and mortar and glass and putty and frames for the windows and really beautiful doors and high-end finishes and new appliances. You get the picture. He maxed out his credit cards and took full advantage of their excellent rewards programs.
All this planning and shopping took more time than the Third Little Pig had anticipated. So he fell behind his schedule. The house of bricks was still in Construction when the Big Bad Wolf reached town.
But luck was with the Third Little Pig. The first house the Wolf approached was the house of sticks.
“Little Pig, Little Pig, let me in.”
“Not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin.”
“Then I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house in.”
And the Wolf huffed and he puffed and he blew down the house of sticks.
Fortunately, the First Little Pig was fleet of foot, and he outran the Wolf and arrived safely at the Second Little Pig’s straw house. The Second Little Pig took in the First. Moments later:
“Little Pig, Little Pig, let me in.”
“Not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin.”
“Then I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house in.”
And the Wolf huffed and he puffed and he blew down the house of straw. Fortune was with the Pigs once again. Both Little Pigs outran the Wolf and arrived safely at the house of bricks. Even luckier, the Third Little Pig had finally finished Construction, and he’d just passed the inspection and obtained the permit to occupy it. (And you thought Tollgate Inspections were a big deal!)
The house of bricks was wonderful and welcoming: well-constructed and sturdy and strong and full of comfortable, even luxurious, amenities. The Three Little Pigs went inside and locked the doors. And not a moment too soon.
“Little Pig, Little Pig, let me in.”
“Not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin.”
“Then I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house in.”
And the Wolf huffed and he puffed and he puffed and he huffed. Nothing happened. The Wolf huffed and puffed some more. Still nothing. Nada. Zip. Zero. Zilch. The sturdy little house of bricks remained standing.
The Third Little Pig went upstairs and looked out one of the windows. He saw the Wolf huffing and puffing away and getting nowhere. And the Pig realized that for all his strength and savagery and bravado and bluster, the Wolf just looked silly. The Third Little Pig laughed, took out his new smartphone with its state-of-the-art video camera, and recorded the Wolf in action.
When the Third Little Pig had some good footage, he uploaded it to YouTube. He tweeted his followers. He logged on to his Facebook account and posted the YouTube link. He put it on Google Plus too but no one saw it there.
“Hey! There’s this Big Bad Wolf outside, huffing and puffing and trying to blow my house in. Except the joke’s on him because my house is made of bricks, and it would take a lot more than a Big Bad Wolf (even with his heavy-duty breath) to do any real damage. R-O-F-L. Watch it on YouTube. Even better, come and see it for yourself.”
Within moments, the YouTube site was logging hundreds of hits.
Soon, a small plane was hovering over the house of bricks, skywriting and trailing a banner that blew in the breeze: HERE BE THE HOUSE OF BRICKS—AND THE BIG BAD WOLF. A crowd gathered.
The news hit the blog-o-sphere. Many bloggers were quick to expose the Big Bad Wolf as a clear and present danger to All Little Pigs. But other bloggers defended the Wolf on the basis of his genetic and cultural heritage. The people from PETA were just confused. As they stood there waiting for their moral compass to stop oscillating back and forth and spinning wildly, they just blended in with everyone else, most of whom had just come to see the spectacle and drink beer.
The Big Bad Wolf never seemed to understand very well what was happening. But the Wolf finally realized that his threats and his efforts were toast. Humiliated, he turned around, made his way skulking through to the edge of the crowd, and split.
Everyone cheered. The Three Little Pigs came out to greet their supporters, mingled for a while, and then retreated back into their stronghold. The throng dispersed, and everyone went home. The Big Bad Wolf was never heard of again. And the Three Little Pigs lived together in their cozy, comfortable, secure, and safe house of bricks happily ever after.
What distinguished the third, successful project from the first two?
Let’s look at Lessons Learned from the Pigs’ construction projects. What distinguished the third, successful project from the first two, the projects that produced houses which the wolf easily destroyed? Certainly, budget was a factor. The First Little Pig didn’t have much money, and the Second Little Pig had only some savings. But the requirement that the housing be preferably affordable seems to have been negotiable (as well as ambiguous—another story)…and it turns out that some forms of extreme economy were incompatible with project success. The Third Little Pig had credit, so adequate funding beyond the minimal resources of the earlier projects differentiated the projects significantly.
The Third Little Pig also had more luck than did his brothers. Yes, all the Pigs had luck working for them. The first two had fortune in their favor as they outran the Wolf to reach safety with another Pig. But the Third Little Pig had luck that mattered more. Although he ran behind schedule and took longer to build than did the others, the Wolf challenged him last so that even his schedule failures didn’t tank him.
Beyond those elements, the Third Little Pig’s knowledge, expertise, savvy—call it what you will—helped him enormously. The First Little Pig knew how to scrounge, and he knew how to improvise and make do. The Second Little Pig knew how to work with straw. Their knowledge might be good for an exercise in subsistence survival or for crafting. But as a basis for significant, heavy-duty construction? I think not. Look at how the Third Little Pig addressed his work: construction loan, blueprints, construction permits, zoning commission, usage variance, bricks, mortar, glass, putty, frames for the windows, beautiful doors, high-end finishes, appliances, and all the proper approvals and inspections. This dude knew what he was doing. He fully understood his challenge and the meaning anchoring it.
Even accounting for other considerations like adequate budget and sheer luck, the Third Little Pig’s deep understanding of the deep meaning of his challenge seems to have accounted for much of the difference between the success of his project and the failure of his brothers’ projects.
For an exploration of deep understanding of deep meaning of a business challenge—or of a story—See Part 2 – Deep Understanding of Deep Meaning: What Is It?
For a challenge to explore your own ability to develop deep understanding of deep meaning—based on another story you might recognize—See Part 3 – King Midas and the Golden Touch: An Exercise in Finding Deep Understanding of Deep Meaning.
