A Japanese company and
an American company decided to have a canoe race on
the Missouri River. Both the teams practiced hard and long to
reach their
peak performance before the race.
On the big day the
Japanese won by a mile. Afterward, the American team
became very discouraged and morally depressed. The American
management
decided the reason for the crushing defeat had to be found. A
"Management
Team" made up of senior management was formed to investigate and
recommend
appropriate action. Their conclusion was the Japanese had 8
people rowing
and l person steering while the American team had 8 persons
steering and
person rowing. So American management hired a consulting
company and paid
them an incredible amount of money. They advised that too many
people were
steering the boat while not enough people were rowing.
To prevent losing to the
Japanese again next year, the rowing team's
management structure was totally reorganized to 4 steering
supervisors, 3
area steering superintendents and 1 assistant superintendent
steering
manager. They also implemented a new performance system that
would give the
1 person rowing the boat greater incentive to work harder. It
was called
the "Rowing Team Quality First Program", with meetings, dinners
and free
pens for the rower. "We must give the rower the empowerment and
enrichment
through this quality program."
The next year the
Japanese won by two miles. Humiliated, the American
management laid off the rower for poor performance, halted
development of a
new canoe, sold the paddle and canceled all capital investments
for new
equipment. Then they distributed the money saved as bonuses to
the senior
executives