Is low hanging fruit a euphemism for something?

admin August 06, 2008 first 90 days 5 Comments

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There are many “how to succeed in your new leadership role” type articles. They are often titled things like “the 1st 90 days” or “the 3-month survival plan” or “hit the ground running.” They all seem to advise you to identify “low hanging fruit” for “quick wins.” And so I wrote this on my to do list and really tried. But this isn’t as easy at sounds. First, you don’t know the culture, and implementing change early can be at the expense of building relationships. Second, if something was really that easy, wouldn’t they have done it already? Most people aren’t that stupid. And who decides what a “win” is, especially when you’ve built no trust yet? I despaired of identifying appropriately low hanging fruit and felt, for a while, like a complete failure. But now I’ve decided that low hanging fruit is really like rotten fruit, or sagging fruit, or something that, if you think about it, just doesn’t sound that attractive. Low hanging fruit is a lie! Soylent green is people!

 

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5 Responses to “Is low hanging fruit a euphemism for something?”

  1. Kyle said:

    Aug 06, 08 at 6:47 pm

    I found this to be true as well. Low hanging fruit like things were really projects that had failed due to personality or politics issues that you just can’t see the first few months. So I just started with all the impossibly hard things first. Folks have applauded my guts to deal with the big issues. Mostly I just didn’t know any better, but I don’t tend to correct them. ‘-)

  2. admin said:

    Aug 07, 08 at 4:01 pm

    That’s right! Accept all applause because you know you’ll get the blame too. “Impossibly hard things”–I can relate to that. My goal is to change the culture of The Entire University and Then The World. First, though, I’m emptying the ocean with this eyedropper…

  3. etselec said:

    Aug 08, 08 at 7:34 am

    So what advice would you give for a person in a new leadership role for their first 90 days? Not necessarily limited to low-or-otherwise-hanging fruit.

  4. Sukey said:

    Aug 08, 08 at 5:11 pm

    Okay – this may not be as relevant as the other comments…however…in Puerto Rico, the best mangos are way up high, but you can’t wait for them to ripen and fall. The moment they get ripe, the birds swoop in and eat them. The only mangos you can pick from the trees growing in your back yard are the low hanging ones, and they tend to be smaller.

    I’m throwing this out here ’cause I figure that the bright minds reading this will be able to transform it into a useful parable about leadership.

    The birds can be the great IT leaders, or maybe, what makes the best IT people the best is that they make do with what they have and never look up… whatever…there ‘s something here–go for it!

  5. admin said:

    Aug 12, 08 at 9:46 am

    Sukey: either you go for what’s difficult but best or what’s easy and okay?

    Etselec: here’s my advise for anyone in a new job:
    1. ask people what they think the big issues are and then listen to their answers
    2. don’t feel you need to “prove” yourself–this will only lead to too much change too fast
    3. share whatever you’ve noticed with people e.g. “it seems like we might have an image problem, do you think that’s accurate?…” as a way of soliciting feedback, building relationships, and getting support
    4. smile a lot and nod–recall Andy Bernard’s mantra from “The Office”–“name repetition, personality mirroring, and never breaking off a handshake” 🙂

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