Defeating “Crabs in a Barrel” Syndrome Learn From the Lime

Author: Dave Williams

The last time we explored the meaning and implications of the Crabs in a Barrel Syndrome and that it could be possible to inoculate 💉 ourselves of the dis-ease. Cooperation and even coopetition (sleeping with the enemy – blending cooperation with competition) could be the exit strategy to the typical barrel. Put in Caribbean parlance, let’s see if we can use liming vibes as a framework for business success.
 
YOU GOIN TO EAT DAT?
In a lime, any surplus and want are generally handled with sublime organizational efficiency or by that one fellah who keeps an eye on everyone else’s plate 👀. In the culture of the lime, the group observes politely unspoken protocols of who buys the next round. In the framework dubbed by Henry Chesbrough as Open Innovation (OI) in 2003, there is always property, hardware or intellectual, which might be lying idle on your tool-shed floor. Avoid clutter and waste 🗑️. These dormant gems might be opportunities to awaken bonds of goodwill with allies and audiences – especially valuable in uncertain times – or they can earn actual income💵. OI is open to imagination, as simple as lending, sharing or giving stuff away, or being as involved as licensing or rental agreements and deals 🖊️.
 
PUT IT OUT THERE
Crowdsourcing is a natural part of liming. Potluck – ask folks to bring an item on the menu🍯 that you don’t have the skill, inclination, or ingredients to try your hand. NASA🚀 is a master of innovation by potluck. Their  Honey I shrunk the payload’ challenge invited the public to submit designs for smaller, lighter instruments for its smaller lunar🌙 rover in 2020. The competition received pot-loads of free media 📺attention worldwide and presented the Agency as one of the coolest and most open organizations on or off the planet. They also received thousands of possible solutions to a problem they had.  
 
SHARE GREAT STORIES; SPREAD SOME LIGHT
Don’t jumbie the vibes. Into every life, some dark must fall; and a friend in need is a friend indeed. But putting some effort into inspiring and enlivening the people around you can have massive payoffs. Bringing the disinfectant of light 💡 into a dark and dreary barrel is free, and can illuminate things for everyone. What if, in a well-lit barrel 🛢️, the grass beneath your feet turns out even greener than anyone ever thought?

Sign Up for Free
Innovation Newsletter

Business Content + Caribbean Spice. Mix up Nice!