Management Stories

Nov 1st 2011 The Importance of Self-Discipline

During the 1960s, psychologist Walter Mischel conducted “the marshmallow test” with four-year-olds in the preschool at Stanford University, to assess each preschooler’s ability to delay gratification. Each four-year-old was given one marshmallow. They were told that they could eat it immediately or, if they waited until the researcher returned in 20 minutes, they could have two marshmallows.

Some kids in the group just couldn’t wait. They gobbled down the marshmallow immediately. The rest struggled hard to resist eating it. They covered their eyes, talked to themselves, sang, played games, and even tried to go to sleep. The preschoolers who were able to wait were rewarded with two marshmallows when the researcher returned. Twelve to fourteen years later these same kids were reevaluated as teenagers.

The differences were astonishing. Those who had been able to control their impulses and delay gratification as four-year-olds, were more effective socially and personally. They had higher levels of assertiveness, self-confidence, trustworthiness, dependability, and ability to control stress. Their Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores were 210 points higher than the “instant gratification” group!

A key difference between successful people — leaders — and those who struggle to get by, is self-discipline. As Confucius wrote, “The nature of people is always the same; it is their habits that separate them.”

Source: Deepening Our Discipline by Jim Clemmer

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Aug 16th 2011 Hey, You Got the Elephant

Recognition can be given in traditional ways—a complimentary e-mail, or a pat on the back for a job well done. But you can also get creative with it. One of my favorite examples is the one business consultant Alexander Kjerulf cites about a Danish car company that instituted “The Order of the Elephant.” The elephant is a two-foot-tall stuffed animal that any employee can give to another as a reward for doing something exemplary. The benefits come not just in the delivery and reception of well-earned praise, but afterwards as well. As Kjerulf explains, “other employees stopping by immediately notice the elephant and go, ‘Hey, you got the elephant. What’d you do?’, which of course means that the good stories and best practices get told and re-told many times.”

Source: The Happiness Work Ethic by Shawn Achor | ChangeThis, Jan. 19, 2011

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Aug 9th 2011 The Best Bosses Shield those Who Work for Them

Annette Kyle managed some 60 employees at a Texas terminal where they loaded chemicals from railcars onto ships and trucks. In the mid-1990s, Annette led a “revolution” that dramatically raised her unit’s performance through a host of changes, including better planning, greater responsibility at the lowest levels, improved and more transparent metrics, and numerous cultural changes. She personally sewed “no whining” patches on workers’ uniforms, for example, to discourage the local penchant for complaining and auctioned off her desk to workers for $60 because, as she explained it, “I shouldn’t be sitting behind a big desk. I should be contributing to team goals however possible.”

This transformation virtually eliminated the penalties that were levied when ships arrived at the terminal’s dock but (despite considerable advance warning) workers weren’t ready to load them. These “demurrage charges,” which cost the company $2.5 million the year before the revolution, were down to $10,000 the year after. Previously, it had taken more than three hours to load an average truck. Afterward, more than 90 percent were loaded within an hour of arrival. Surveys and interviews by University of Southern California researchers showed that employees became more satisfied with their jobs and felt proud of their accomplishments. I asked Annette how she could make such radical changes in her giant company. She answered that her boss shielded her from top-ranking managers—he found the resources and experts she needed but never discussed these moves with senior management until they succeeded.

Source: Why Good Bosses Tune in to Their People by Robert I. Sutton | The McKinsey Quarterly

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Oct 5th 2010 Being Open to New Ideas

Rosabeth Moss Kanter tells a great story about an executive at a fabric manufacturer who took over a group and demonstrated that he was open to any new ideas. Someone from the production line approached the executive and, in a heavy foreign accent, said he had an idea that might solve a problem that had long bedeviled the company: An important type of fiber would sometimes snap, causing millions of dollars of production delays each year. The executive promised to try the idea, and it worked.

“That was a great idea,” the executive told the worker. “How long have you had this idea?”

“Thirty-two years,” the worker replied.

Source: Let’s Get Persian by Paul B. Carroll and Chunka Mui | ChangeThis, October 2008

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Aug 31st 2010 Treating Mistakes as Training

There’s the story of a top salesman who made a terrible mistake. He’d bought a vast amount of fruit. He thought it would be a bargain but had totally overestimated and his company was left with tons and tons of this rotting fruit. He arrived at his office the following day and started to tidy his papers, clearing his desk. He gets a call from his manager, “Could you pop up and see me?” she says. “Of course” he mumbles and slowly makes his way up the stairs to his boss’ office.

As he enters the room he says “Look I know I got it wrong – I’m sorry – I’ve written my letter of resignation – here it is ” and puts it on the desk.

His manager looks at the letter, rips it in half, rips it in half again and puts it in the bin. “You must be joking” she says smiling ” We’ve just spent £20,000 on your training – there’s no way you’re leaving until you’ve made that back for us.”

Source: Speed of Recovery by Byron Kalies

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Jul 6th 2010 What a Waste of Brainpower

Several years ago, I visited a manufacturing plant in Florida, which had the best quality and productivity metrics in its division. My client and I were there to learn what the facility was doing right so we could apply those management techniques at other facilities. As the plant manager took us on the tour, he pointed out an hourly employee working on his machine. “See Ted there?” the plant manager asked. “He’s been with us for more than twenty years, doing the same job year after year. You might not think Ted’s got much to offer, because he’s just a manufacturing worker. He has no interest in being promoted. He leaves work as soon as his shift is over. But Ted knows more about his machine and that manufacturing line than anyone. And when we initiated an exercise last year to make that line more efficient, Ted had the best ideas for how to improve things. Afterward, I bought him a cup of coffee and asked why he had never made those suggestions before. ‘Those college-educated production managers are so sure they have the answers, all they do is tell me what to do,’ Ted told me. ‘They never ask what I think.’”

The plant manager shook his head. “What a waste of brainpower,” he said. Then he smiled. “Want to know my secret? It’s Ted, and the other eight hundred employees at this plant. If I respect Ted and listen to him, we’ll be successful.”

Source: Left Behind by Alison Davis | The Conference Board Review, Fall 2009

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Jun 10th 2010 The Way People Treat Each Other

Rabbi Haim of Romshishok was an itinerant preacher. He traveled from town to town delivering religious sermons that stressed the importance of respect for one’s fellow man. He often began his talks with the following story:

“I once ascended to the firmaments. I first went to see Hell and the sight was horrifying. Row after row of tables were laden with platters of sumptuous food, yet the people seated around the tables were pale and emaciated, moaning in hunger. As I came closer, I understood their predicament. Every person held a full spoon, but both arms were splinted with wooden slats so he could not bend either elbow to bring the food to his mouth. It broke my heart to hear the tortured groans of these poor people as they held their food so near but could not consume it.

Next I went to visit Heaven. I was surprised to see the same setting I had witnessed in Hell – row after row of long tables laden with food. But in contrast to Hell, the people here in Heaven were sitting contentedly talking with each other, obviously sated from their sumptuous meal. As I came closer, I was amazed to discover that here, too, each person had his arms splinted on wooden slats that prevented him from bending his elbows. How, then, did they manage to eat?

As I watched, a man picked up his spoon and dug it into the dish before him. Then he stretched across the table and fed the person across from him! The recipient of this kindness thanked him and returned the favor by leaning across the table to feed his benefactor.

I suddenly understood. Heaven and Hell offer the same circumstances and conditions. The critical difference is in the way the people treat each other.

Source: Various, but this comes from The Hasidic Masters’ Guide to Management by Moshe Kranc

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Feb 1st 2010 How Do You View the Situation?

There’s a story that’s going around about the janitor at Carnegie Hall who had been there for 20 years. He’s 45 years old. He was cleaning up the restroom, and a guy in a business suit went up to him and said, ‘You seem to be an intelligent fellow. For 20 years you’ve been cleaning the toilets. Why don’t you do something with your life and get another job?’ And the janitor said, ‘What? And leave show business?’

It’s all in how we view the situation and perceive what we’re doing that determines our satisfaction and fulfillment on the job.

Source: Resolving Workplace Conflict: 4 Ways to a Win-Win Solution by Dr. Tony Fiore | Leader Values

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Jan 3rd 2010 What is an Employee’s Total Contribution?

In 2005, the National Basketball Association’s Houston Rockets were looking for a talented player to add to their roster. The usual scouting reports and analyses delivered a list of names. Some of them were unavailable or too expensive, and others did not seem like the right ft for the team.

Then, using advanced analytics capabilities, the Rockets’ general manager identified a player named Shane Battier as the one the team most needed.

Not everyone was convinced. By most conventional measures—points scored, rebounds, blocked shots—Battier was simply an average player. But Houston’s analysis went one step further. The organization was able to measure how other team members performed whenever Battier was on the court. By that standard, Battier stood above his peers. Whenever he was on the court, no matter where he was playing, his teammates got better and his opponents got worse. Battier has gone on to be a star with Houston.

Source: Creating an Agile Organization by Peter Cheese, Yaarit Silverstone and David Y. Smith | Accenture Outlook Journal #3, 2009

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Oct 27th 2009 When you look at me, what do you see?

A fable from the East tells of an emperor and a zen monk who came face to face for the first time. The emperor ruled over a kingdom that practiced Buddhism and the monk was eager to meet with him, looking forward to sharing tales of enlightenment.

But when they met, the emperor decided to test the monk by saying to him: “When you look at me, what do you see?”

“I see a Buddha,” answered the monk. And what do you see when you look at me?”

“I see a pig!” countered the emperor. Waiting to see the monk’s reaction, he said no more.

The monk pondered for a moment, then said:

“A Buddha sees a Buddha; a pig sees a pig!”

Source: Our Cranky Critic- Self-Talk & Public Speaking: What One Reveals About the Other | by Saskia Shakin

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