The Americans and the Japanese decided to engage in a competitive boat race. Both teams practiced hard and long to reach their peak performance. On the big day they felt ready.
The Japanese won by a mile.
Afterward, the American team was discouraged by the loss. Morale sagged. Corporate management decided that the reason for the crushing defeat had to be found, so a consulting firm was hired to investigate the problem and recommend corrective action.
The consultant’s finding: The Japanese team had eight people rowing and one person steering; the American team had two people rowing and seven people steering.
After a year of study and millions spent analyzing the problem, the consultant firm concluded that too many people were steering and not enough were rowing on the American team. The cost of the study drove the project over budget, so the corporation laid off one of the rowers to make the project leaner, to increase the cost effectiveness of the project, and to illustrate to the stockholders that the corporation was willing to make tough corrective decisions. The management team asked the remaining rower to practice weekends and holidays to compensate.
As race day neared again the following year, the American team’s management structure was completely reorganized. The new structure: four steering managers, three area steering managers, and a new performance review system for the person rowing the boat to provide work incentive.
On this race, the Japanese won by TWO miles!!
Humiliated, the American Corporation laid off the rower for poor performance and gave the managers a bonus for discovering the problem.
