Once upon a time, there were two parrots, Jack and Polly. Recent graduates of Minnesota A&M (aviation and migratory) University, with BA’s in bus-nest management, they were anxious to go to work.

They soon found it hard to find companies willing to hire parrots.  They were quickly labeled as “feature-brained,” or “flighty.”  But the truth is, parrots are very industrious, dedicated workers and fast learners. They were persistent in their job search, networked diligently and checked out the want ads which were placed daily in the bottom of their cages.

Finally, after meeting with a crow who was in charge of hiring for a logging company, they received a caw-back interview and were hired.  They were assigned to two crews responsible for timber management in northern Wisconsin.  Polly and Jack were very excited about their new opportunities, and, after a celebratory dinner of seeds and crackers, reported for their first day’s work.

They were used to fly ahead and find new areas with the best lumber.  They were to help find lost lumberjacks and keep them together so each day was as productive as possible.  And they worked as look-outs for fires, storm clouds and extreme EPA regulators, eliminating anything that would interfere with the work of the company as a whole.  They took their jobs very seriously, and stayed in their posts for hours at a time without a break. They enjoyed their jobs, the health benefits and the responsibilities.

But there were hazards to their jobs:  staying in trees all days, Jack and Polly were exposed to the dangers of snakes who could sneak up and attack the unsuspecting parrots. But this was not a real threat, since the snakes were big enough to be seen and the parrots could avoid them or the loggers could use their axes on them whenever they were found.

There were also dangerous lightning storms which might strike the parrots flying or perched high in the trees. But again, these never caused a real problem, since incoming storms were usually seen in sufficient time to take cover.

However, there was one threat for which they had no defense.  In the forest, there was a special small parasite which had particular fondness for parrots.  They would attach themselves to the birds and slowly get under their skin and suck the life out of them.  During this time, the parrots first lost their vision, then their voice, and finally, their footing.  They fell from the trees and died.  They could not find new opportunities, they could not warn of external threats, they could not align workers and they could not provide dependable accountability.

In fact, this is why there was an opportunity for Jack and Polly.  Previous parrots had suffered from this parasite and died.  Without the help of parrots, the logging company often had to stop its work, continually restart and seldom made its quota.

This is why Jack and Polly were hired – so many previous lookout parrots had mysteriously died.

Well, Jack and Polly did an amazing job.  The company felt their problems were over until one day, Polly become ill.  Wanting to cure her and protect Jack, they brought in a consulting veterinarian with a specialty in parrot diagnoses.

He immediately saw the problem.  He saw the small parasite that was responsible for so many interruptions for the company.  He saw what had caused so many starts and stops and what had prevented the company from its ultimate success.

He went to the forman and said, “I’ve examined your bird.  She’s suffering from  (you know, I’m sorry you had to read this far to get this:)   a bad case of “internal Polly-ticks.”

The Moral?   It’s the small, internal threats that can undermine a company.  So often they go undetected.  So often it takes an outsider to see what has gone on so long.  Internal politics can destroy the vision and productivity of more companies than any external threat.

P.S. no animals were actually hurt in the telling of this story