Charles Schwab had a mill manager whose people weren’t producing their quota of work. Schwab asked the manager about it, he tried everything that he could do to increase their productivity – coaxed them, pushed them, swore and cussed them, threatened them and even fired some of them – but couldn’t do anything. This conversation took place at the end of the day, just before the night shift. Schwab took a piece of chalk and asked the nearest men, “How many heats did your shift make today?”
“Six”
Schwab wrote a big “6” on the ground. When the night shift came in, they saw “6” and asked what it meant. “The big boss was in here today,” the day people said. “He asked us how many heats we made, and we told him six. He chalked it down on the floor.” The next morning Schwab walked through the mill again. The night shift had rubbed out “6” and replaced it with a big “7”.
The way to get things done is to simulate completion. The desire to excel! The challenge! Throwing down the gauntlet! An infallible way of appealing to people of spirit.
PRINCIPLE 21: Throw down a challenge.
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