He'd had three extensive interviews, and finally the job was his. Bob was going to be on charge of it all as the general manager. The owner of the factories had been very particular about choosing him because of his military experience. The managers of the factories were young and inexperienced, but hard workers. The owner thought out loud, "They just need some guidance and a strict hand to lead them, then we'll see progress."

Bob looked the owner in the eye and said, "I can lead the managers to be productive, and they'll give me no trouble. You're factories will be more productive than ever."

It was a big promise, but Bob had led over 400 people in his unit for a year in the Army, and many other organizations and teams, and he was confident in his abilities. "So, when do you have your weekly meetings with your managers?", he asked the owner. He received the reply, "I don't have weekly meetings, if something is wrong I find out from the managers and we fix it." Bob thought, "That's odd." And then he said, "Isn't that a bit reactionary? Don't you want to stay ahead of the issues? You know, anticipate and prevent issues?" The owner said, "That's why I need someone like you." Bob knew he had his work cut out for him.

"I'll be observing all operations at each of the factories for the first month," he told the owner. "Then I'll start making some changes." The owner wanted quick results, but agreed that it would be best for Bob to observe, then understand, then make changes.

Bob spent time in the corporate office each day and realized that the morale was terrible. No one worked as a team, people were always arguing, and everyone was out for themselves. It was clear that some culture changes would need to be made here. He wondered how that affected the managers too.

After a...