The Grasshopper and the Ant: A Fable for Developers and IT

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In a field one summer’s day, a grasshopper was hopping about with great joy, dancing between blades of grass and chirping with pride. He was excited about the potential of his new invention and yearned for someone to help him finish it.

In a field one summer’s day, a grasshopper was hopping about with great joy, dancing between blades of grass and chirping with pride. He was excited about the potential of his new invention and yearned for someone to help him finish it.

Along came an ant, busily constructing a home that would withstand the unpredictable storms of the fall. Head down and shoulders tucked, the ant methodically molded loose fibers into a fortress of impressive strength.

“Come see my invention,” chirped the grasshopper. “It will blow your mind!”

“I’m busy turning these loose strands, someone else’s mess, into a house that will withstand the fall storms,” said the ant. “And, after that, I have many more things to build before I rest. I am a very busy ant, and you are an impatient grasshopper.”

“But my invention is important,” said the grasshopper. “I invented it for the leader of my colony, and he very much wants to use it. My invention will help all of us—if you can only help me now.”

“I’m very busy,” said the ant. “I will help you, but you’ll need to wait your turn. It may be many moons before I can help with your invention.”

“In many moons, my invention will be less useful. The leader of my colony needs it now. If you cannot help me, I will have to ask outside of your colony.

So, the grasshopper left the ant to his work and found a cluster of spiders willing to help complete his invention, which was celebrated as a great success.

Then the ant knew:

Demand will always follow the path of least resistance.

And IT knew, too.

The moral of the story is that enterprise IT must become that path.

About the Author:
Jake Sorofman is chief marketing officer for rPath, an innovator in automating system deployment and maintenance across physical, virtual and cloud environments. Learn more about rPath at http://www.rpath.com; follow rPath on Twitter at @rpath and Facebook at www.facebook.com/rPathInc; and contact Jake at jsorofman@rpath.com.

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