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 recommended corrective action.
The consultant's finding: The Japanese team had eight people
rowing and one person steering; the American team had one person
rowing and eight 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.
So 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.
The next year, 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....
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