Rope 41 The Pearl

"Another Company's doing it, I tell you. Doing it and beating us right in our backyard!" The CATCHUP task force is having another meeting, this time on the feasibility of CARP (Cybernation and Automation Readiness Project). In addition to the CATCHUP regulars, some of the top technical people in The Company are also present, as well as several of Marsh's top staff aides (Marsh's "handlers," as they are known) in this case, the corporate technical staffers.

"You may think Another Company can beat us on this, but you couldn't be more wrong!" This is Kerry Drake's reply to a claim from one of the corporate staff types. He continues, "We can't do it, they can't do it, nobody in the whole damned industry can do it! And yes, I do know that we have the technical know-how to completely automate and robotize a manufacturing plant. But I know some other things, too. I know I can pay someone a few bucks an hour to carry pieces from one machine to another and feed them in with the proper order and orientation. And I also know that it will cost a few million bucks to design a robotic arm to do the same thing, plus many bucks an hour for a technician to keep the damned thing running right. That's what I know for sure!"

Another of the corporate staffers says, "If that's so, then how is Another Company doing it?"

"They're not doing it! They're trying to do it," replies Kerry. "Can't you get that distinction through your thick skull?"

"Well, Kerry," says another of Marsh's handlers, "at least they've got a better attitude about it than what we seem to have here. And listen, I don't think you understand how badly Marsh wants this."

Ted Shelby's attention had been wandering, but no longer. His ears perked up as the staff man continued. "Mr. Marsh feels that CARP will symbolize The Company's technical excellence in the marketplace. In our position, we can't give our critics anything to shoot at. And if Another Company beats us on this . . .

"Ted knew an opportunity when he saw one. The remainder of the meeting became a process of Ted's getting himself appointed as operating chief for CARP, despite continuing protest from the assembled technical hands. Ted told them that he saw a way to get this thing done, but that he would need special powers to round up the facilities and technical talent to push ahead. It was finally agreed that this could be done if Ted's project proposal and schedules looked okay to The Corporate Management Review Committee.

The meeting broke up, and Stanley caught up with Ben Franklyn as he was leaving. "What do you think about this, Ben?"

"I think what Kerry thinks. That's something I've learned over the years," said Ben. "If it's something to do with production engineering, and Kerry says it doesn't make sense, then there's no way it's going to work. We're going to lose our asses on this one. "Yet, in not too long a time, the following email was circulated:

To: All CARP Personnel

From: T..y@Company.com

Subject: CARP project progress

cc: M. M. Marsh

The first product line is on stream at our experimental facility at Flagstaff. You will be proud to know that we beat our schedule by 20 days. Our permanent facility at Phoenix is 70 percent complete, and we can look forward to a startup date there in three to four months.

Looks like we are well ahead of Another Company now.

Ted Shelby

CARP Project Director

In the ensuing months, Ted generates furious activity - technical missions, conferences, plant visits, the whole works. Experimental activity at Flagstaff is furious. Demonstration lines are set up, and a steady stream of Company brass comes to see them in action. A beautiful new facility at Phoenix is now complete, and 50 percent of the equipment is installed. Everything looks great. And each new accomplishment is heralded, of course, by a flood of memos.

Even so, there are doubters. Some people, for example, are saying that it's one thing to run individual lines under total automation, maybe even two or three lines in tandem, but an entire manufacturing plant is another matter.

The Company Newsletter thought enough of the event, and some related events, to feature it on the front page.

Shelby to Take Over as Corporate Director of Plans and Controls

Edward Wilson Shelby IV will be leaving his successful project CARP for a new responsibility in Corporate Plans and Controls. In announcing this promotion, the office of M. M. Marsh cited today's pressing need for a comprehensive, company-wide program of plans and controls for the medium-term outlook. Shelby's experience as a prime mover for CARP makes him the obvious candidate to head up this new program. In Marsh's own words,

"We have an urgent need to take a long, hard look at tightening up our budgeting procedures and making crisper, more hard-hitting decisions."

So it was that Ted Shelby was separated from CARP at the penultimate phase. People said it was tough luck for Ted not to be able to stay on long enough to realize the fruits of his efforts. But Ted himself seemed stoical enough about it.

And then there were the few who knew that Ted had himself been instrumental in developing the need for, and philosophy of, the new Office of Plans and Controls. He had pretty much created his new position. Dr. Faust was one of the people who knew this, and he shared his observations, as he sometimes did, with Stanley.

"But what did he accomplish anyway?" Stanley asked. "You know as well as I that what Ted mainly did was stir up a lot of people, create a lot of publicity, and make some good people unhappy. And now he's leaving. Who's fooling who around here? The real work of CARP is still to be done.

"Faust stirred his coffee. "Well, Stanley, I do know that, and then again, I don't know it. The end of this story hasn't been written yet, so I would not venture to guess what it might be. Yet, whatever the outcome, there will be something of interest to be learned here.

"Stanley wondered what that might mean, but it was obvious that Faust wasn't going to elaborate at present. Faust continued: "What did Ted accomplish? The first thing one has to recognize is that organizations like The Company are full of negative Nancy types. It is always easier to find a dozen reasons why something cannot be done than it is to find one good way to do it. I don't know why this should be so, but it is. Perhaps no one wants to fail, and before one does something, the possibilities for failure are more obvious than the possibilities for success. But one will never do anything unless one tries, so someone must get things stirred up - a shaker, a mover, an irritant. I call it the 'pearl theory.'" Faust paused to let the proper questions form in Stanley's mind.

"If you leave an oyster alone, it's a commonplace thing. It's content. But if you put a grain of sand into it, it gets all stirred up. The sand starts it working, and the result of its labors will be a pearl - something far from commonplace. As an analogy, consider The Company. This corporate oyster needs a grain of sand now and again to bring out a pearl of accomplishment. The grain of sand doesn't make the pearl all by itself, but the pearl wouldn't happen without it."

Faust looked quite satisfied with his explanation of his "pearl theory." Of course, he hadn't pointed out that not every grain of sand results in a pearl, nor does every oyster live through the process.

Questions

1. How does transformational leadership theory relate to the case?
2. Relating to the case study, how can the transformational leadership theory affect a company project?

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