A Parable of Modern Business (and Government)
Once upon a time there was a Red rowing team.
This Red team agreed to hold
an annual rowing race with a Green team. Each
team would contain 8 men.
Both teams worked really
hard to get in the best shape.
On the day of the first
race, both teams were ready to win.
The Green team won by 1 mile.
The
Red team was crushed in their defeat, but they were determined to win the race
next year. So they established a panel of auditors to observe the situation and
ascertain if there were any differences between the teams.
After several weeks of
detailed intelligence gathering, the auditors could find only one difference;
the Green team had 7 rowers and 1 captain...
…
and the Red team had 7 captains and 1 rower!
Un-perplexed
by the raw data, upper management showed unexpected wisdom: they hired a
consulting company to analyze the data and suggest a solution that would enable
the Red team to win next year.
After several months the consultants came to the conclusion that the ratio of captains to
rowers was the problem in the Red team.
Based
on this analysis a solution was proposed: the structure of the Red team has to
be changed!
Like sharks getting the
scent of reorganization blood, upper management wasted no time in restructuring
the Red team into 4 Captains, led by 2 Managers, reporting to
1 Senior Director with a dotted line to the rower. Besides that, in a blaze of
unrestricted inspiration, they suggested they might be inclined to improve the
rower’s working environment by a non-monetary reward and recognition scheme if
there was improved performance by the rower.
The next year.....
The Green team won by 2 miles.
The
Red team upper management immediately fired the rower based on his unsatisfactory performance.
A bonus was paid to the
Captains, Directors, and Managers for the strong leadership and motivation they
showed during the preparation phase and as an incentive for them to find a
better rower for the next race.
The
consulting company prepared a new analysis of the restructuring activity, which
showed that the strategy was good, the motivation was great, the restructuring
was executed correctly, but the tool used (which was not included in the
original data) was sub-standard and had to be improved.
Currently the Red team management is having a new boat designed.
To demonstrate fiscal and HR dexterity for stockholders they also outsourced the rowing to India.
Currently the Red team management is having a new boat designed.
To demonstrate fiscal and HR dexterity for stockholders they also outsourced the rowing to India.
