POINT TO PONDER
An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it.
- Mahatma Gandhi
STORY LINE
The Emperor Has No Clothes by US Senator Robert Byrd - Senate Floor Remarks October 17, 2003 *Parantheticals reference work situation comparisons*
“In 1837, Danish author, Hans Christian Andersen, wrote a wonderful fairy tale which he titled The Emperor's New Clothes. It is the story of the Ruler of a distant land (Big Organization) who was so enamored of his appearance and his clothing that he had a different suit (New Program) for every hour of the day.
One day two rogues arrived in town, claiming to be gifted weavers (transformation experts from “support” groups). They convinced the Emperor that they could weave the most wonderful cloth (Best Program in the world), which had a magical property. The clothes were only visible to those who were completely pure in heart and spirit (Only to open minded employees).
The Emperor was impressed and ordered the weavers to begin work immediately. The rogues, who had a deep understanding of human nature, began to feign work on empty looms (meaningless indicators). Minister (Manager) after minister (Manager) went to view the new clothes and all came back exhorting the beauty of the cloth on the looms even though none of them could see a thing.
Finally a grand procession (Big Conference) was planned for the Emperor to display his new finery. The Emperor went to view his clothes and was shocked to see absolutely nothing, but he pretended to admire the fabulous cloth, inspect the clothes with awe, and, after disrobing, go through the motions of carefully putting on a suit of the new garments.
Under a royal canopy the Emperor appeared to the admiring throng of his people - - all of whom cheered and clapped because they all knew the rogue weavers' tale and did not want to be seen as less than pure of heart (they all knew to follow the party line and did not want to be classified as close minded or not forward looking). But, the bubble burst when an innocent child (honest employee) loudly exclaimed, for the whole kingdom to hear, that the Emperor had nothing on at all. He had no clothes (The program of the month was hoax).
That tale seems to me very like the way this nation was led to war” (organizations and employees are led into unnecessary and nonproductive activities).
REFLECTION
After the above text, Senator Byrd went to describe many examples from the current wars; the subject that is off limits for current scope of FR. But as the rest of the original story goes: The Emperor cringes, suspecting the child’s (employee’s) assertion is true, but still holds himself up proudly and continues the procession.
Relevant story for comapanies. So many rogues who take bosses for the ride and foolish bosses who afraid to contradict party line.
Posted by: Takahashi | September 29, 2012 at 11:43 AM
For me, the topics of kaizen, lean, and six sigma immediately come to mind...perhaps many other readers are drawn to a similar allusion. (I should also mention ISO9000, which I consider to be the ultimate in transparent robe fashion!)
Indeed, it has been pointed out in recent years that many of the six sigma darling companies are not doing so well. GE and Motorola to name just a couple. I wonder why 6-sigma has not kept them ahead of competitors? Is this not akin to noticing that your financial advisor has just moved to the poor neighborhood of your town?
Well, 'Lean' sounds good in principle, since it tries to get away with being a program that is not a program ... but of course it is a program (a fine, gossamer gown fit for a king). Meanwhile Kaizen is about bottom-up style, small-rapid-improvements. But beware that many changes are not necessarily a good thing...some changes can be detrimental or conflicting in the larger scheme.
Above all, is the problem of bureacracy and busy work. These cool-sounding programs are all well intentioned (reduce variation, cut waste, promote agility in a changing environment) and all can be potentially effective if used with full committment and clearly defined goals. But in large corporations, they tend to be parasitic (of time, resources, and money) and results can be suboptimized or too specific.
As a school boy (who liked watching action films), I once seriously pondered which is the stronger fighting technique: kung-fu or karate? Years later, as an adult I realized the correct answer: In such a battle, the winner will prevail because of ability and confidence, hard-work and dedication. Choice of technique is secondary.
Posted by: microCEO | September 30, 2012 at 04:29 PM