5 / 12

MAKING PERFORMANCE MEANINGFUL

The transformation of the Brunswick shipyard workforce began with a process initiated by site managers Emil Kratt and John D. Pellett to fire ten percent of the workforce, which was chosen according to the directions to "Fire those you find not working." Counterintuitively, this process continued to improve the shipyard's productivity until the workforce was reduced by 30 percent. Rather than demoralize the workforce, those who remained employed viewed themselves as the chosen whose performance was being rewarded.