Corporate Rowing Teams
(How The BRC Would Do It!)
A Japanese company and an American company
decided to have a canoe race on the Missouri River. Both teams practiced long
and hard to reach their peak performance before the race. On the big day, the
Japanese won by a mile.
Afterwards, the American team became very
discouraged and morally depressed. The American management decided to find the
reason for the crushing defeat. A "Measurement Team", made up of senior
management, was formed. They would investigate and recommended appropriate
action.
They noted that the Japanese had eight people rowing and one
person steering, while the Americans had one person rowing and eight people
steering. The American management hired a consulting company. They paid them
incredible amounts of money. They were advised that too many people were
steering the boat and not enough people were rowing.
To prevent losing
to the Japanese when the next race was held, 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 single person rowing
the boat a greater incentive to work harder. It was called the "Rowing Team
Quality First Program," complete with a conference, a meeting, a dinner and a
free pen for the rower. "We can give the rower empowerment and enrichment
through this quality program."
The next race was won by the Japanese
with a margin of two miles. Humiliated, the American management laid off the
rower for poor performance, halted development of a new canoe, sold the
paddles, and canceled all capital investments for new equipment. They then gave
a Team Performance Award (TPA) to the steering managers and distributed the
money saved as bonuses to the senior executives.