A manager told me the story of a unionized industrial plant where the productivity had been stagnant for years. Each of the three shifts consistently output 40 tons of product day in and day out. The plant manager tried everything he could to get each shift to increase their productivity by even a little bit but had no luck.
One day the first shift output 41 tons due to an error in tracking. When the plant manager discovered the error the next day he said nothing. Instead he posted a sign at the time clock: first shift -- 41 tons -- great job! The first shift employees saw the sign as they left, and the second shift employees saw the sign as they came in.
The next morning as the plant manager arrived, he found someone had changed the sign and crossed out the first shift results. It now read: second shift -- 42 tons -- great job! But that had been crossed out as well and replaced with: third shift -- 43 tons -- great job!
From that point forward the competition continued with support and encouragement and tokens of appreciation from the plant manager driven by the fundamental motivation of many human beings to be competitive.
About me: Dan Pelley teaches a number of productivity improvement techniques in his Proactive Leadership program. The program is offered on an open enrollment basis in Lincoln, RI and Danielson. CT.
Copyright © 2009 Daniel W. Pelley
All rights reserved.
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