The zero in the corner - or the problem with the way we've always done it
Rick Weaver
Award-winning Senior Recruiter | National Talent Acquisition Specialist in Executive Search and Management Recruiting
A story has long been told about a factory in England where auditors found an unusual entry on productivity reports.
The report was entered on a form that had been photocopied many times older. Nobody knew where the original was as it had been lost many years in the past. Of course, being copied many times, many of the column headings were difficult to read.
It seems all the forms had a “zero” in the upper righthand corner. The heading for this spot was obscured to the point it could not be deciphered.
The auditor asked several people what the zero was indicated but no one seemed to know. Over and over again the auditor was told, “I’m not sure, but we’ve always put the ‘zero’ there”.
Intrigued, the auditor went into the archives to investigate. Sure enough, as far back as he could find there was a zero in the corner under the obscured heading.
As he left the storeroom a small box caught his eye. It had been smashed by newer boxes and was hidden when it collapsed.
He reached inside and found several forms in the original condition – nothing obscured. On some of the oldest there were whole number in the box yet as time progressed zero had become normal. Although he enjoyed looking at the old production reports, as he left the room, he couldn’t help but chuckle at what the column heading signified.
What did it say?
Click here to find out.
This story shows how dumb it is to do things the way they have always been done. It is far better to understand why you do what you do.
Life Leadership Lesson: it is often funny why we have developed workplace habits.
About the author:
Rick Weaver is a franchise owner and Executive Search Consultant with Patrice & Associates, one of America’s largest Staffing Specialist companies with over 175 offices across the United States. With 30 years of experience successfully placing managers at all levels of an organization, Patrice & Associates sets the Gold Standard of recruiting. Rick has personally worked with thousands of managers and management teams to strengthen their results.