Management Stories

You are driving along in your car on a wild, stormy night, it’s raining heavily, when suddenly you pass by a bus stop, and you see three people waiting for a bus:

• An old lady who looks as if she is about to die.
• An old friend who once saved your life.
• The perfect partner you have been dreaming about.

Which one would you choose to offer a ride to, knowing very well that there could only be one passenger in your car?

This is a dilemma that was once used as part of a job application.

• You could pick up the old lady, because she is going to die, and thus you
  should save her first;
• * or you could take the old friend because he once saved your life, and this
  would be the perfect chance to ! pay him back.
• However, you may never be able to find your perfect mate again.

The candidate who was hired had no trouble coming up with his answer. Guess what was his answer?

He simply answered:

“I would give the car keys to my Old friend and let him take the lady to the hospital. I would stay behind and wait for the bus with the partner of my dreams.”

Sometimes, we gain more if we are able to give up our stubborn thought limitations. Never forget to “Think Outside the Box.”

Source: I have heard this story many times but don’t know the original source. Someone named Esha sent it to me via email though. If you know the original source, please do post it.

No Comments » Posted by Administrator / Innovation and Miscellaneous and Thought / Decision Making

A crow was sitting on a tree, doing nothing all day. A small rabbit saw the crow, and asked him, “Can I also sit like you and do nothing all day long?”

The crow answered: ” Sure, why not.”

So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the crow, and rested. All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Management Lesson: To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.

Source: Unknown

No Comments » Posted by Administrator / Humor / Amusement and Organizational Behavior / HR

A woman approached Picasso in a restaurant, asked him to scribble something on a napkin, and said she would be happy to pay whatever he felt it was worth. Picasso complied and then said, “That will be $10,000.”

“But you did that in thirty seconds,” the astonished woman replied.

“No,” Picasso said. “It has taken me forty years to do that.”

Source: What They Don’t Teach You at Harvard Business School by Mark H. McCormack

No Comments » Posted by Administrator / Miscellaneous

A young boy traveled across Japan to the school of a famous martial artist. When he arrived at the dojo he was given an audience by the sensei.

“What do you wish from me?” the master asked.

“I wish to be your student and be the finest karateka in the land,” the boy replied. “How long must I study?”

“Ten years at least,” the master answered.

“Ten years is a long time,” said the boy. “What if I studied twice as hard as all your other students?”

“Twenty years,” replied the master.

“Twenty years! What if I practice day and night with all my effort?”

“Thirty years,” was the master’s reply.

“How is it that each time I say I will work harder, you tell me that it will take longer?” the boy asked.

“The answer is clear. When one eye is fixed upon your destination, there is only one eye left with which to find the Way.”

Source: Original source unknown, my source was the book Zen in the Martial Arts by Joe Hyams

No Comments » Posted by Administrator / Success / Failure / Achievement

Realizing he was lost, a balloonist dropped down to ask directions. “Excuse me, but I’m a little off course” he shouted. “I promised to meet a friend an hour ago, I don’t know where I am.”

A woman hollered back: “You’re in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You’re at exactly 40 degrees, 22 minutes, and 21 seconds North latitude and 70 degrees, 30 minutes, and 33 seconds West longitude.”

“Amazing,” the balloonist replied. “You must be an engineer!”

“I am,” she replied, “How did you know?”

“Well,” answered the balloonist, “everything you told me is technically correct, but I can’t use your information. I’m still lost and you haven’t been much help at all. If anything, you’ve delayed my trip.”

The woman thought for a moment, then replied: “You must be in management.” “I am,” replied the balloonist, “but how did you know?”

“Well,” said the woman, “you don’t know where you are or where you’re going. You’ve risen to your position due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise that you have no idea how to keep, and you expect people beneath you to solve your problems.”

“In fact,” she said, “you’re in exactly the same position you were before we met, but somehow it’s now my fault.”

Source: The Bent of Tau Beta Pi (not sure of original source)

1 Comment » Posted by Administrator / Humor / Amusement and Management

When I hear about culture issues from executives I always relate a favorite anecdote about how organizational culture is formed. There are three monkeys standing in line in a cage, and above the third monkey there is a bunch of bananas. The third monkey naturally reaches for the sweet treats, and as he takes one, the other two monkeys are drenched with water. So they immediately start at the third monkey who is busily munching on his favorite food. But he doesn.t realize what.s happening, so he reaches for another banana and the other two are deluged. By the time the third monkey has eaten the bunch of bananas, the other two are quite annoyed. So in steps the scientist, and replaces the third monkey with a new monkey. He espies the bananas and as he stretches out his arm, he is attacked by the other two monkey. The new monkey doesn.t quite understand why, but quickly stops going after the bananas. Some time passes and the scientist comes back and takes one of the drenched monkeys and replaces him. This new monkey again goes for the bananas and the other two attack him. Then the scientist replaces the third of the original monkeys, with a new one. This new monkey is immediately attacked, and has no idea why. Even when the banana/water system is disabled, and another monkey introduced, he is attacked immediately. And if the scientist keeps repeating the experiment, the two monkeys in the cage attack the new ape being introduced, though nobody can remember why, its just the way it is.

Source: five ways to develop your corporate culture by Naomi Moneypenny / ManyWorlds

No Comments » Posted by Administrator / Organizational Behavior / HR

A corporate executive on holiday in a small Greek seacoast village was strolling by the docks and drinking in the local color. He complimented one fisherman on the quality of his catch.

“How long did it take you to get all those fish?” he wondered.

“Not very long,” answered the Greek. “An hour or two.”

“Then why didn’t you stay out longer to catch more?”

Shrugging, the Greek explained that his catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.

The executive asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”

I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a nap with my wife. In the evening, I go to the village to see my friends, dance a little, play the bouzouki, and sing songs. I have a full life.”

The executive said, “I have an MBA from Harvard. I can help you. You should start by fishing longer every day. You’ll catch extra fish that you can sell. With the revenue, you can buy a bigger boat. With the extra money the larger boat will bring you, you can buy a second boat and a third one, and so on, until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middleman, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can ship fish to markets all around the world. In time, you can then move to New York City to direct your huge enterprise.”

“How long would that take?” asked the Greek.

“Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years,” replied the executive.

“And after that?”

“When your business gets really big, you can sell stock and make millions!” exclaimed the executive with zeal.

“Millions? Really? And after that?”

“After that you’ll be able to retire, live in a small village near the coast, sleep late, play with your grandchildren, catch a few fish, take a nap with your wife, and spend your evenings singing, dancing, and playing the bouzouki with your friends.”

Source: Managers Ignite! Now is the Time to Take Back Your Company, Your Career, Your Life by Vince Thompson / ChangeThis

4 Comments » Posted by Administrator / Career / Employment and Purpose / Meaning and Success / Failure / Achievement

In an article from FredHarriman.com, ex-Toyota Group manager Chihiro Nakao relates his experience with Taiichi Ohno, who originated Toyota’s Lean Production in collaboration with Shigeo Shingo. Here’s the punchline:

As Mr. Taiichi Ohno drove deeper and deeper in the effort to achieve Just in Time ideals among the companies of the Toyota Group, […] the struggle was to keep people from [ordering] too much too soon from their upstream process.

In one incidence remembered by Chihiro Nakao, Mr. Ohno caught someone he knew was about to pull his materials too soon and thundered: “Who are you and where did you come from?! What makes you think you have any right to this material? Show me your kanban!!” [i.e. prove your authority!]

Such incidents demonstrated the need to “show one’s kanban” when procuring material or parts. They needed some way to prove that they had followed all the rules put in place to achieve Just in Time. Since Mr. Ohno’s demand for a “kanban” left a lasting impression, the name for the cards that were issued to limit in-process inventory […] became “kanban.”

Source: Toyota Stays Lean and Green with Kanban… Kan-who? / BNET, April 2nd, 2007

1 Comment » Posted by Administrator / History and Miscellaneous

In 1982, University of Wisconsin researchers who were conducting a study of the adult-learning process videotaped two bowling teams during several games. The members of each team then studied their efforts on video to improve their skills. But the two videos had been edited differently. One team received a video showing only its mistakes; the other team’s video, by contrast, showed only the good performances. After studying the videos, both teams improved their game, but the team that studied its successes improved its score twice as much as the one that studied its mistakes. Evidently, focusing on the errors can generate feelings of fatigue, blame, and resistance. Emphasizing what works well and discussing how to get more out of those strengths taps into creativity, passion, and the desire to succeed.

Source: The CEO’s role in leading transformation Read More »

1 Comment » Posted by Administrator / Leadership and Management and Organizational Behavior / HR

Like many photographers before him, Richard Zaltman was visiting remote areas of the world to capture images of people living lives far removed from those in the United States.

Here’s what made his experience different.

One morning, while walking through an isolated village in Bhutan, he suddenly got the idea of turning his camera over to the locals to see what they would consider significant enough to show others about themselves.

Later, when he looked at all their pictures, he noticed that most of the photos cut off people’s feet. “At first, I thought the villagers had just aimed wrong,” Zaltman says. “But it turns out that being barefoot is a sign of poverty. Even though everyone was barefoot, people wanted to hide that - -which is an important message to see.”

You never really know someone until you see the choices she makes.

Source: What’s Not Revealed is Often Most Revealing by Kare Anderson / CEO Refresher, January 2007

1 Comment » Posted by Administrator / Customer Related and Leadership and Management and Marketing / Sales