Throw Down a Challenge

The great industrialist Charles Schwab was quite disappointed when the workers in his steel mill were not meeting their production quota. He asked the foreman what was wrong. "I don't know," he replied, "I've pushed them and threatened to fire them, but nothing works. They seem to have no incentive to produce." Later, just before the night shift came on, Schwab went back to the plant and asked the supervisor how many heats his crew had processed that day. He was informed it was only six. Schwab took a piece of chalk and wrote a large figure "6" on the floor and walked away. When the other workers came in, they asked what it meant.

"The big boss was here today," the manager said. "He asked how many heats were made and then chalked the number on the floor." The next morning the night shift rubbed out the "6" and replaced it with a big "7." When the day workers returned and saw the higher figure, one man exclaimed, "We can do better than that!" His fellow employees caught his enthusiasm, and when they quit that night, they chalked on the floor an enormous "10." It was a 66 percent increase in just 24 hours and all because of Schwab's challenge.

Dale Carnegie comments, "If you want to win ...spirited men to your way of thinking...throw down a challenge."