“Low hanging fruit” is a phrase used in many companies to describe projects with a high likelihood of success.
What a stupid metaphor.
What kid ever went apple picking and picked only “low-hanging fruit?”
I go apple picking every year with my family, and every year, I hear the same refrain: “Daddy, I want that one, up there! Can you put me on your shoulders? Pleeeeaaaase?” My kids don’t want to pick low hanging fruit, they want to pick the best fruit, wherever it happens to be on the tree, and—no surprise here—it usually ends up being up near the top, where fewer people can reach.
Human beings are born looking to the skies. Up makes us wonder. Up inspires us. Up is where our potential lies.
When all you focus on is low-hanging fruit, you spend a lot of time hunched over in the shadows. Who wants to stay hunched over in the shadows all the time?
When I take my family apple picking, it’s my job—as dad—to fill the bag with as much fruit I can grab easily and quickly. It the kids’ job to reach for the stars. Do they pick some low hanging fruit? Absolutely. But what makes the trip special—and what keeps them engaged—is the chance to sit up on my shoulders and touch the top of that tree.
Managers: you’re the dads in this analogy. You deal with the low-hanging fruit. Then find a way to hoist your people onto your shoulders so they can reach new heights.
Jason Seiden is Co-founder and CEO of Ajax Social Media, a training company that shows professionals how use social media to work more effectively.
I'm the CEO of Ajax Social Media. We're helping 1 million people shine by making their online stories better. 
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can i be a bit of a contrarian? this post is inspiring. it’s written well and it appeals to all of us who want to reach up and far. here’s where i go contrarian — low-hanging fruit can boost us up. if we see small successes, we’re more apt to believe we can get up to that higher branch. i wouldn’t totally diss the low-hanging fruit. it serves its purpose.
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@Fran—You know I love a contrarian. Have at it! But I will say, I think that for most people, focusing on simple goals prepares them only to accomplish simple goals, and propels their beliefs about their own capabilities not at all.
Low-hanging fruit are generally larger and riper. That’s what the idiom means. Not sure what you are trying to say here.
@Max—companies often call simple, quick projects “low hanging fruit.” Think daily projects like the reformatting of forms, as opposed to a change to the business model that makes the form unnecessary.
Couldn’t agree more. Takes a manager with conviction to actually inspire their employees to look past the obvious, right in front of their face. Servant based leadership, where they are willing to go out of their way to secure the tools necessary (such as a small step-ladder or a strong pair of shoulders) to enable the contributor to reach the task.
Managers can either spend their time pointing out the obvious, or instead help the team reach for something hard to get–at the risk of both individuals falling on their backside.
“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Low hanging fruit is usually rotten and bug infested. So Jason is right, the best fruit is up in the tree. As far as business, take any success great or small you can find!
@Chris—Great quote. btw, I also still haven’t forgotten the review you wrote. I truly appreciate that, and am glad that the book was able to find you at the exact right moment you needed it.
@Thomas—I’ll grant that sometimes, the low fruit is also bigger and juicier… but it’s still down in the shadows. Managers should make it their job to pick that stuff and fill the bags… let the employees look up and dream!
At my workplace the phrase got mixed with the carpentry term “load bearing” (as in wall) so we’ve ended up with “load bearing fruit”. You thought it was gonna be an easy project but ended up falling on you like a ton of bricks!
@Denise—”load bearing fruit,” huh? I wonder what’s next, “thinking outside the A-frame”?