Once upon a time, in a magic land called America, there lived a normal guy named Ralph Rosco.

Ralph worked in Dept N of the Normal Company in Normalburg, USA. For years, Normal had been a leading manufacturer of normalators, those amazing devices which are so fundamental to society as we know it.

As you might expect, just about everything was normal in Normal, including the understanding of who was normally supposed to do what:

• Managers did the thinking.
  
• Supervisors did the talking.
  
• And employees did the doing

That was the way it had always been—ever Normal Normal had invented the normalator and founded the company—and so everybody just assumed that was the way it should always be.

Ralph was your normal type of employee. He came to work. He did the jobs his supervisor told him to do. And at the end of the day, he dragged himself home to get ready to do it all again.

When friends or family asked him how he liked his work, Ralph would say, “Oh, it’s all right, I guess. Not very exciting, but I guess that’s normal. Anyway, it’s a job and the pay is OK.”

In truth working for the Normal Company was not very satisfying for Ralph, though he was not sure why. The pay was more than OK; it was good. The benefits were fine. The working conditions were safe. Yet something seemed to be missing.

But Ralph figured there wasn’t much he could do to change things at Normal. After all, he reasoned, who would even bother to listen? So at work he kept his thoughts to himself, and just did what he was told.

Ralph worked on a subsystem of what was technically termed “the guts” of the Normal normalator. One day on his way back from lunch, Ralph happened to be thinking about the guts of the normalator, and—well, he was simply ZAPPED by an idea so original and so full of promise that his head nearly exploded with excitement.

Wowee! Zowee !! Yeah !!!” exclaimed Ralph—to the shock of the Normal employees around him.

In his excitement, Ralph totally forgot that probably nobody would listen, and he ran down the hall to explain his idea to his supervisor, Joe Mode.

Ralph found Joe Mode busy doing what he normally did. He was telling everybody what to do as he worried about each of the 167 rush jobs that had to be done by the end of the day as he added some figures while he scribbled a memo in the middle of taking an urgent call from his boss, Mary Ellen Krabofski.

Mode, I want you to start cracking the whip down there,” Krabofski was telling him.

But I do crack the whip,” Joe said. “Every chance I get.”

Well, whatever you’re doing, it’s not good enough. All the big bosses are pacing in their offices. They say the competition is stiff and getting stiffer. Sales are low and getting lower. Profits are thin and getting thinner. So you’d better do something quick, or else!”

But what can I do?” Joe asked in desperation.

Raise the productivity, Mode! Cut those costs! Boost that quality! And, above all, do not let your efficiencies slip!”

Right, got it,” said Joe.

Then get to it!”

And they both hung up. That was when Joe saw Ralph standing off to the side eagerly waiting to talk about his idea.

So talk,” said Mode.

Ralph explained his idea, which was so original and full of promise, as Joe continued doing everything he was already doing.

But that isn’t what I gave you to work on,” said Joe. “How are you coming with that rush job you’re supposed to have done by the end of the day?”

OK, I’ll finish it. But what about my idea?” asked Ralph.

It doesn’t sound to me like the Normal way to do things,” said Joe. “And don’t you think if that idea is good, the Normal R & D people would have thought of it?

But tell you what, when I get time I’ll kick it upstairs and we’ll see what happens. Maybe they’ll form a task force to look into it.”

At that moment, Ralph was tempted to tell Joe that he didn’t want his idea to be kicked anywhere by anybody, and that furthermore…

But being normal, Ralph didn’t tell Joe anything. He just nodded, and went back to work—and Joe went back to telling everybody what to do and worrying about the 167 rush jobs that had to get done.

By the end of the day, Ralph somehow had managed not to finish the job Joe needed. He left it and bolted for the parking lot with the others. And Joe, with a sense of defeat, sat down at his desk and worried about Mary Ellen Krabofski.

One thing to Joe Mode’s credit, he was organized. Over the years, he had developed the habit of writing things down, and all this jotting and scribbling had evolved into a notebook he kept. Sitting there at his desk, Joe got out his notebook and wrote down the problem as he saw it.

The problem as I see it:

• My boss wants more…
  
• Because management needs more…
  
• Because the customers demand more…
  
• Because the competitors are delivering more…
  But I can’t get my people to do more than the bare minimum.”