A Japanese company and an American company decided to have a canoe race on the Missouri River. Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak performance before the race.

On the big day the Japanese won by a mile. Afterward, the American team became very discouraged and morally depressed. The American management decided the reason for the crushing defeat had to be found.  A Management Team made up of senior management was formed to investigate and recommend appropriate action. Their conclusion was the Japanese had 8 people rowing and 1 person steering, while the American team had 8 people steering and one person rowing.

So American management hired a consulting company and paid them an incredible amount of money. They advised that too many people were steering the boat, while not enough people were rowing. To prevent losing to the Japanese again next year, the rowing team's management structure was totally reorganized to 4 steering supervisors, 3 area steering superintendents and 1 assistant superintendent steering manager. They also implemented a new performance system that would give the 1 person rowing the boat greater incentive to work harder. It was called the Rowing Team Quality First Program, with meetings, dinners and free pens for the rower. We must give the rower the empowerment and enrichments through this quality program.

The next year the Japanese won by two miles. Humiliated, the American management laid off the rower for poor performance, halted development of a new canoe, sold the paddles, and canceled all capital investments for new equipment. Then they distributed the money saved as bonuses to the senior executives.

LMAO!!

Isnt it true.

well, anectdotally, it may be true, but let's not kid ourselves.  America has the most creative and brightest folks in the world.  We are the most productive, and the companies that do well know that.  

TXL

I think that anybody who has been exposed to "TQ" knows that it is a total waste of time!
All these MBA guys who preach and practice this "TQ", "6 sigma", "change-your-paradigm" crap are totally clueless, they actually believe this BS!
These people are the reason that nothing gets done, more time is spent in worthless meetings over the course of the week than is spent on fruitfull work!
ISO-9000,9001 is another example of a total waste of time and money.
BTW - back to the title of how to run an american business...
In my town, you only need to know three sentences to own a business:
1) We don't have it.
2) We can get it.
3) It ain't here yet....

You're right. Let's NOT kid ourselves.

Americans are not the brightest or most creative, but many americans do work hard.

Also, we are going to sink in the next decade unless we get rid of pompous, detached executives who come up with these crackhead schemes that will ultimately lead to the end of American competition on the world market.

Keep it simple, fast, and smart. Dump the rest.

Oh, and unions suck (IBTL)

Not an American, but a Westerner who turned around a Japanese company:  Carlos Ghosn.

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