"Yeah, I see what you're saying, in a way," I tell him. "But my efficiencies went up, my costs went down-"
"Did they?" asks Jonah. He closes his book.
"Sure they did. In fact, those efficiencies are averaging well above ninety percent. And my cost per part went down consider- ably. Let me tell you, to stay competitive these days, we've got to do everything we can to be more efficient and reduce costs."
34
My drink arrives; the waitress puts it on the table beside me. I hand her a ten and wait for her to give me the change.
"With such high efficiencies, you must be running your ro- bots constantly," says Jonah.
"Absolutely," I tell him. "We have to. Otherwise, we'd lose our savings on our cost per part. And efficiencies would go down. That applies not only to the robots, but to our other production resources as well. We have to keep producing to stay efficient and maintain our cost advantage."
"Really?" he says.
"Sure. Of course, that's not to say we don't have our prob- lems."
"I see," says Jonah. Then he smiles. "Come on! Be honest. Your inventories are going through the roof, are they not?"
I look at him. How does he know?
"If you mean our work-in-process-"
"All of your inventories," he says.
"Well, it depends. Some places, yes, they are high," I say.
"And everything is always late?" asks Jonah. "You can't ship anything on time?"
"One thing I'll admit," I tell him, "is that we have a heck of a problem meeting shipping dates. It's a serious issue with custom- ers lately."
Jonah nods, as if he had predicted it.
"Wait a minute here... how come you know about these things?" I ask him.
He smiles again.
"Just a hunch," says Jonah. "Besides, I see those symptoms in a lot of the manufacturing plants. You're not alone."
I say, "But aren't you a physicist?"
"I'm a scientist," he says. "And right now you could say I'm doing work in the science of organizations-manufacturing orga- nizations in particular."
"Didn't know there was such a science."
"There is now," he says.
"Whatever it is you're into, you put your finger on a couple of my biggest problems, I have to give you that," I tell him. "How come-"
I stop because Jonah is exclaiming something in Hebrew. He's reached into a pocket of his trousers to take out an old watch.
35
"Sorry, Alex, but I see I'm going to miss my plane if I don't hurry," he says.
He stands up and reaches for his coat.
"That's too bad," I say. "I'm kind of intrigued by a couple of things you've said."
Jonah pauses.
"Yes, well, if you could start to think about what we've been discussing, you probably could get your plant out of the trouble it's in."
"Hey, maybe I gave you the wrong impression," I tell him. "We've got a few problems, but I wouldn't say the plant is in trouble."
He looks me straight in the eye. He knows what's going on, I'm thinking.
"But tell you what," I hear myself saying, "I've got some time to kill. Why don't I walk you down to your plane? Would you mind?"
"No, not at all," he says. "But we have to hurry."
I get up and grab my coat and briefcase. My drink is sitting there. I take a quick slurp off the top and abandon it. Jonah is already edging his way toward the door. He waits for me to catch up with him. Then the two of us step out into the corridor where people are rushing everywhere. Jonah sets off at a fast pace. It takes an effort to keep up with him.
"I'm curious," I tell Jonah, "what made you suspect some- thing might be wrong with my plant?"
"You told me yourself," Jonah says.
"No, I didn't."
"Alex," he says, "it was clear to me from your own words that you're not running as efficient a plant as you think you are. You are running exactly the opposite. You are running a very in-effi- cient plant."
"Not according to the measurements," I tell him. "Are you trying to tell me my people are wrong in what they're reporting... that they're lying to me or something?"
"No," he says. "It is very unlikely your people are lying to you. But your measurements definitely are."
"Yeah, okay, sometimes we massage the numbers here and there. But everybody has to play that game."
"You're missing the point," he says. "You think you're run- ning an efficient plant... but your thinking is wrong."
36
"What's wrong with my thinking? It's no different from the thinking of most other managers."
"Yes, exactly," says Jonah.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I ask; I'm beginning to feel somewhat insulted by this.
"Alex, if you're like nearly everybody else in this world, you've accepted so many things without question that you're not really thinking at all," says Jonah.
"Jonah, I'm thinking all the time," I tell him. "That's part of my job."
He shakes his head.
"Alex, tell me again why you believe your robots are such a great improvement."
"Because they increased productivity," I say.
"And what is productivity?"
I think for a minute, try to remember.
"According to the way my company is defining it," I tell him, 'there's a formula you use, something about the value added per employee equals..."
Jonah is shaking his head again.
"Regardless of how your company defines it, that is not what productivity really is," he says. "Forget for just a minute about the formulas and all that, and just tell me in your own words, from your experience, what does it mean to be productive?"
We rush around a corner. In front of us, I see, are the metal detectors and the security guards. I had intended to stop and say
d- bye to him here, but Jonah doesn't slow down.
"Just tell me, what does it mean to be productive?" he asks again as he walks through the metal detector. From the other side he calks to me. "To you personally, what does it mean?"
I put my briefcase on the conveyor and follow him through. I'm wondering, what does he want to hear?
On the far side, I'm telling him, "Well, I guess it means that I'm accomplishing something."
"Exactly!" he says. "But you are accomplishing something in terms of what?"
"In terms of goals," I say.
"Correct!" says Jonah.
He reaches under his sweater into his shirt pocket and pulls out a cigar. He hands it to me.
37
"My compliments," he says. "When you are productive you are accomplishing something in terms of your goal, right?"
"Right," I say as I retrieve my briefcase.
We're rushing past gate after gate. I'm trying to match Jonah stride for stride.
And he's saying, "Alex, I have come to the conclusion that productivity is the act of bringing a company closer to its goal. Every action that brings a company closer to its goal is produc- tive. Every action that does not bring a company closer to its goal is not productive. Do you follow me?"
"Yeah, but... really, Jonah, that's just simple common sense," I say to him.
"It's simple logic is what it is," he says.