Once upon a time, a group of trolls envisioned a bridge spanning a great bay. It would enable them to enjoy the resources on the other bank such as tall forests for new homes and fresh pastures for their herds, while providing great personal benefits of more land, personal freedom and growth of their troll community.

The task was daunting and with great peril for the bay was deep and swift with currents that would quickly sweep any fallen troll into dangerous rocks and probable death.

But, they were committed to their vision and began their task with determination, if not with caution and trepidation. All the adult trolls worked diligently. The teen trolls, anxious to help, came to the work site every day, but were told they needed to hone their herding skills and were sent to collect vines for the construction of corrals for their cows, sheep and goats.

This continued for several months, with slow progress, unfortunate loss of lives, and the daily dispatching of the younger trolls who were anxious to share in this vision.

One day, a small troll named Urloff, who had watched the construction each day, went up to the troll foreman and offered a humble suggestion. He spoke carefully and directly, saying, “Forgive this intrusion, but wouldn’t it make more sense to use these vines to construct nets for the safety of those on the bridge, rather than corrals? The pressing issue is to build the bridge, and since our hope is to bring our herds to the other side, why waste time investing in the construction of corrals which won’t be used?”

The foreman agreed with this young troll and simply pointed to the bridge where Urloff and his young team quickly constructed strong nets for the safety of the builders. Once they saw how strong and effective vines were as nets, they soon were also used as cables, enabling the construction of a larger, stronger bridge than originally conceived.

With the protection offered by these sturdy nets, progress accelerated, and, as each troll was less concerned with their own safety, teamwork increased, new ideas were constantly developed (such as a toll booth to charge ogres and knights for their use of the bridge), lives were saved and the bridge was completed under their estimations of both time and cost in money and lives.

The moral? The greatest success comes when the commitment to follow a dream provides safety for those willing to take risks and aligns the resources for what is in the future, not what was in the past. The end result, in this case, that allows for greater productivity and employee engagement can clearly be called a “net-net” benefit.

The facts: this parable is based on the true story of the Golden Gate Bridge. Once safety nets were initiated, productivity increased 25% with reduction in the loss of lives

Parable of the Farmer
The need for diversity

The Wizard and the Butterfly
The freedom to succeed

Parable of the Kings
A story of vision and empowerment

The Trolls and the Bridge
Stimulating innovation