Aconversation with a lean friend reminded me of a story that I shared four years ago. It dealt with the consequences of crazy measures and how lack of management oversight will allow these measures to persist indefinitely. Absentee decision makers passing down absurd directives... sound familiar?

My friend, Al, a retired divisional controller of a large multinational manufacturer, related a story about his former firm’s CEO: “It used to drive me crazy how decisions were made,” Al said. “We ran a profitable operation here in Massachusetts, but I was constantly pressured to identify work that could be shipped to low-wage regions.”

The CEO’s behavior was driven by the corporation’s MBOs (management by objectives). In particular, the CEO’s bonus was tied in part to increasing the percentage of “foreign content” for all divisions.

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