Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/

[Phillip Rhodes <mindcrime AT cpphacker.co.uk>]

I found this rather amusing, thought some of you might like 
it as well. Enjoy.


Phil


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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. Afterward, the 
American team became very discouraged and depressed.

The American company decided the reason for their crushing 
defeat had to be found. A Management Team made up of senior 
executives was formed to investigate and recommend 
appropriate action. They discovered that the Japanese had 8 
people rowing and 1 person steering, while the American team 
had 8 people steering and one person rowing.

The American Management Team hired a consulting firm to 
assist in analyzing this data, happily paying their 
considerable fee. After six months of hard work, the 
consulting firm concluded that too many people were steering 
the Americans' boat, while not enough people were rowing.

So the American Team acted: To prevent losing to the 
Japanese again the following year, the team's management 
structure was totally reorganized to include 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. In an all-out attempt to 
further provide empowerment and enrichments to the rower, 
new paddles and medical benefit incentives were promised in 
exchange for a victory in the next competition.

The next year the Japanese won by two miles. Humiliated, the 
American Management Team laid off the rower for poor 
performance, halted development of a new canoe, sold the 
paddles and canceled all capital investments for new equipment.

The money saved was distributed to the senior executives as 
bonuses for a job well done.

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