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NeoCons flop at the paddle

September 19, 2008 on 6:16 pm | In Social & Political Issues | No Comments

The NeoCons and the their competitors decided to engage in a boat race. Both teams practiced hard and long to reach their peak performance.

On the big day they felt ready. But their competitors won by a mile.

Afterward, the NeoCon team was discouraged by the loss.

Morale sagged. Corporate management decided that the reason for the crushing defeat had to be found, so a consulting firm was hired to investigate the problem and recommend corrective action.

The consultant’s finding: their competitors team had eight people rowing and one person steering; the NeoCon team had one person rowing and eight people steering.

After a year of study and millions spent analyzing the problem, the consultants concluded that too many people were steering and not enough were rowing on the NeoCon team. So as race day neared again the following year, the NeoCon team’s management structure was completely reorganized.

The new structure: four steering managers, three area steering managers, and a new performance review system for the person rowing the boat to provide work incentive.

The next year, their competitors won by two miles. Humiliated, the NeoCon honchos laid off the rower for poor performance.

And they gave the managers a bonus for discovering the problem.

Frank Touby