Here’s a great story I read on the Cernak Report Blog about a canoe race between two companies. It’s called A Modern Parable. At the end of the story, you will smile and shake your head knowingly as you realize there may be more truth to this story than not.
“A Japanese company (Toyota) and an American company (General Motors) 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.
“The Americans, very discouraged and depressed, decided to investigate the reason for the crushing defeat. A management team composed of senior management was formed to investigate and recommend appropriate action. Their conclusion: The Japanese had eight people rowing and one person steering, while the American team had eight people steering and one person rowing.
“Feeling a deeper study was in order, American management hired a consulting company and paid them a large amount of money for a second opinion. They advised, of course, that too many people were steering the boat, while not enough people were rowing.
“Not sure of how to utilize that information, but wanting to prevent another loss to the Japanese, the rowing team’s management structure was totally reorganized to four steering supervisors, three area steering superintendents and one assistant superintendent steering manager.
“They also implemented a new performance system that would give the one 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. The new change initiative also included plans for getting new paddles, canoes and other equipment, plus extra vacation days for practices and bonuses.
“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 paddles, and canceled all capital investments for new equipment. The money saved was distributed to the senior executives as bonuses, and the next year’s racing team was outsourced to India.
“Sadly, The End.”
When it comes to business strategies, I’m a big believer in the power of doorway conversations and the value of holding meetings off-site.
When business team members and their offices are isolated from each other and far apart, you lose the immediateness and spontaneity of face-to-face conversations. Sharing ideas and finding solutions to business issues often occurs more effectively in an office doorway or group huddle in a hallway.
On the other hand, in formal meetings, many people will not open up and share their ideas and true feelings. But past experience proves that moving a meeting to a location outside of your business environment will help remove obstacles to being fully open and honest with each other. It’s amazing how much more effective the meeting will be.
In an article in the June 11 issue of Newsweek magazine, Stephen Levy wrote about the power of conversation: “In e-mail, people talk at you; in conversation, I can talk with subjects, and a casual remark can lead to a level of discussion that neither party anticipated from the beginning. I am more likely to learn from someone in a conversation than in an e-mail exchange, which simply does not allow for serendipity, intensity, verbal clues, and give and take of real-time interaction.” Now that makes a lot of sense.
In my company, we continually warn our business team members not to rely on e-mails for carrying on a formal business conversation — internally or externally — because it is so easy to misinterpret the tone and intent of written words. Use e-mails to exchange facts; otherwise, get up from your desk, walk down the hall or across the building, or call that person on the phone.You will find your conversations are shorter, more effective, and to the point. And you’ll reduce any possible misunderstanding about the points you’re trying to make.
Use the “Rule of Three.” After the third e-mail about the same subject with the same person, it’s time to pick up the phone and finish your conversation. In fact, why didn’t you just call that person to begin with?
Now re-read Stephen Levy’s comments in the first paragraph of this final brief and think about the power of faceto-face conversations.
“A Japanese company (Toyota) and an American company (General Motors) 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.
“The Americans, very discouraged and depressed, decided to investigate the reason for the crushing defeat. A management team composed of senior management was formed to investigate and recommend appropriate action. Their conclusion: The Japanese had eight people rowing and one person steering, while the American team had eight people steering and one person rowing.
“Feeling a deeper study was in order, American management hired a consulting company and paid them a large amount of money for a second opinion. They advised, of course, that too many people were steering the boat, while not enough people were rowing.
“Not sure of how to utilize that information, but wanting to prevent another loss to the Japanese, the rowing team’s management structure was totally reorganized to four steering supervisors, three area steering superintendents and one assistant superintendent steering manager.
“They also implemented a new performance system that would give the one 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. The new change initiative also included plans for getting new paddles, canoes and other equipment, plus extra vacation days for practices and bonuses.
“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 paddles, and canceled all capital investments for new equipment. The money saved was distributed to the senior executives as bonuses, and the next year’s racing team was outsourced to India.
“Sadly, The End.”
When it comes to business strategies, I’m a big believer in the power of doorway conversations and the value of holding meetings off-site.
When business team members and their offices are isolated from each other and far apart, you lose the immediateness and spontaneity of face-to-face conversations. Sharing ideas and finding solutions to business issues often occurs more effectively in an office doorway or group huddle in a hallway.
On the other hand, in formal meetings, many people will not open up and share their ideas and true feelings. But past experience proves that moving a meeting to a location outside of your business environment will help remove obstacles to being fully open and honest with each other. It’s amazing how much more effective the meeting will be.
In an article in the June 11 issue of Newsweek magazine, Stephen Levy wrote about the power of conversation: “In e-mail, people talk at you; in conversation, I can talk with subjects, and a casual remark can lead to a level of discussion that neither party anticipated from the beginning. I am more likely to learn from someone in a conversation than in an e-mail exchange, which simply does not allow for serendipity, intensity, verbal clues, and give and take of real-time interaction.” Now that makes a lot of sense.
In my company, we continually warn our business team members not to rely on e-mails for carrying on a formal business conversation — internally or externally — because it is so easy to misinterpret the tone and intent of written words. Use e-mails to exchange facts; otherwise, get up from your desk, walk down the hall or across the building, or call that person on the phone.You will find your conversations are shorter, more effective, and to the point. And you’ll reduce any possible misunderstanding about the points you’re trying to make.
Use the “Rule of Three.” After the third e-mail about the same subject with the same person, it’s time to pick up the phone and finish your conversation. In fact, why didn’t you just call that person to begin with?
Now re-read Stephen Levy’s comments in the first paragraph of this final brief and think about the power of faceto-face conversations.
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