A story is told in reference to Charles Schwab, who was the president of the world's largest steel company at the time. Schwab has a factory that hasn't been as productive as he'd like lately. One day, he starts talking to the foreman: How is it that a resourceful person like you can't get as much efficiency from the factory as he wants? I do not know. I overworked all the workers. I threatened to fire many of them. But I was not successful.
How many cauldrons of steel did you melt today? Six. Schwab took a piece of chalk and wrote a big 6 on the ground. He went out. When the night workers arrived, they asked what the number six was. Day workers also:The boss is here today, he asked us how many cauldrons of steel we melted, we answered six, he wrote six here and left.”
The next day Schwap toured the factory again. The number six was deleted and replaced with seven. When the day workers arrived, they saw the number seven. So the night workers thought they were doing a better job than they were? They worked diligently to show themselves superior to the night workers and wrote 10 on the floor.
Before long, the efficiency of the factory exceeded all the factories in that area. How Does?
Schawb explains it this way: “It takes a sense of competition to get work done. The aim is not to motivate everyone to struggle. To encourage them to outdo each other. The feeling of superiority excites people's souls. Being superior and showing your worth is the most important desire of people. It is necessary to encourage people to reveal their own characteristics..
