The Death of an Excellent Team

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Perhaps the story in this article is a bit absurd, but the actions of the various characters and the problems and issues they reflect are things that those involved in business and management cannot ignore. A large fire broke out in the jungle near the river and quickly spread throughout the green area. The clever lion and owl, seeing that things were going wrong, either ran away or flew off ； The merciless fire devoured cockroaches, spiders, as well as flies and cicadas that could not fly far, and a colony of ants was also surrounded by the fire. Ants from all directions suddenly gathered rapidly, clumped together, and rolled toward the riverbank. The ants on the outer layer were burned to death, but they did not leave their positions even as they were scorched, staying put until they rushed toward the river. A large number of burned ants appeared on the surface of the river, but most of the ants were saved as a result. Watching the ants’ heroic efforts, the returning lion was somewhat moved. It believes that the \"fast and irresistible\" force of sincere cooperation among group members in the ant world is the main reason why ants are able to overcome nature and various predators, thus continuing to survive, thrive, and grow. So, it decided to form this invincible team to start building a new home. Living up to the lion’s high expectations, the Ant team works diligently and with great efficiency. However, watching these ants work hard without any supervision, the lion had an idea: would their performance be even better if another person were assigned to supervise them? And so, the self-satisfied lion publicly recruited supervisors. The cockroach, who has always loved to write and compose, stepped forward to volunteer for this role. It soon won the lion’s approval because its reports were done exceptionally well. Subsequently, the cockroach introduced another new management tool – a time-keeping system with clock-in records – and proposed hiring a female secretary to be dedicated to helping with record-keeping and report preparation... Spider accepted the job. In addition to her designated job responsibilities, she also keeps all employee records and is responsible for monitoring all incoming and outgoing calls. Thanks to the excellent report prepared by the cockroach, the lion gained a lot of prestige in front of the shareholders; so as soon as it returned, it brought the cockroach along and asked it to present productivity data in the form of charts and analyze trends, so that it could perform well again at the board meeting. The boss’s trust greatly boosted the cockroach’s confidence. Seeing no other choice, the cockroach decided to increase its budget and purchase a computer and a laser printer; it also appointed its best friend, the fly, as the head of the information center to oversee these devices and related operations. Yet, the ants, who used to be highly productive and enjoy working, now hate these paperwork tasks and meetings that take up so much of their time. Job satisfaction declines, and naturally, the enthusiasm for work is not what it used to be. Seeing this, the lion decided to appoint a leader for the ant team. But who should take on that role? This left the lion racked with puzzles. The smart lion finally decided to adopt a new recruitment method—competitive hiring. After several fierce battles, the cicada finally stood out. Since Chán is now the head of the department, he should naturally show some signs of leadership. So, just like a lion, it also equipped its office with a computer and carpet, as well as an ergonomic chair. The cicada also brought a personal assistant from its previous organization to help it with preparation work and the optimization of budget control strategies… From then on, the once vibrant ant team could no longer hear any laughter; everywhere there was only sadness and despair. It was at this time that, on the strong recommendation of the cicadas, they conducted a survey on the organizational atmosphere. After reviewing all of Ant Team’s expenses, Lion noticed that productivity was declining sharply. With no other choice, the lion hired an owl as a management consultant at great expense to find a new solution. Three months later, the owl submitted a consultation report. It produced several printed documents bound into books, with the conclusion that \"there are too many members in the department…\" Before even finishing reading the consultation report, the lion became worried and immediately decided to lay off employees. Guess who the Lions will fire first? That’s right, it’s definitely ants. The reason is simple: “It was found that the ants lack motivation to do things and have a negative attitude.” ”