Rowing to Victory

Use this story to illustrate the care that needs to be taken with benchmarking and management fads.

Once upon a time, there was a large company formed a rowing team. The company and the local rowing club agreed to hold a race. Each boat would contain eight men.

Both teams worked really hard to get into the best shape. On the day of the race, both teams were in a similar condition. The rowing club won by one mile.

The mood in the company team was really …