Throw Down a Challenge
Charles Schwab: "The way to get things done is to stimulate competition. I do not mean in a sordid, money-getting way, but in the desire to excel."
The desire to excel. The challenge. Throwing down the gauntlet. An infallible way of appealing to people of spirit.
When everything else fails — when cajoling, pushing, threatening, and incentivizing have all run out — the challenge that says you might not be big enough for this can unlock something that nothing else touches.
Schwab's Lagging Mill
Charles Schwab had a mill manager whose crew wasn't producing their quota. The manager had coaxed, pushed, sworn, cussed, and threatened — nothing worked.
Schwab arrived at end of day, just before the night shift. He asked one worker: "How many heats did your shift make today?" "Six." Without a word, Schwab chalked a big "6" on the floor and walked away.
Night shift saw the 6. Asked about it. Learned the big boss had chalked it. Replaced it with "7."
Next morning the day shift came in, saw "7," and were annoyed. They left "10."
The mill that had been lagging behind became the highest-producing mill in the plant. Nothing had changed except a number on the floor.
Theodore Roosevelt Stays in the Fight
Without a challenge, Theodore Roosevelt would never have been President. Back from Cuba, picked for governor of New York State, the opposition discovered he was no longer a legal resident — and Roosevelt, frightened, wished to withdraw.
Thomas Collier Platt, U.S. senator from New York, turned on Roosevelt and cried in a ringing voice: "Is the hero of San Juan Hill a coward?"
Roosevelt stayed. The rest is history. A challenge not only changed his life — it had a real effect upon the future of his nation.
Al Smith and Lewis E. Lawes at Sing Sing
Sing Sing, the most notorious penitentiary of its day, needed a warden — an iron man. Smith sent for Lewis E. Lawes.
Lawes was flabbergasted. He knew the dangers and the political volatility. Wardens had come and gone — one lasted three weeks.
Smith saw his hesitation, leaned back, and smiled: "Young fellow, I don't blame you for being scared. It's a tough spot. It'll take a big person to go up there and stay."
Lawes liked the idea of attempting a job that called for someone "big." He went. He stayed. He became the most famous warden of his time, wrote 20,000 Years in Sing Sing, and his "humanizing" of criminals wrought miracles in prison reform.
What Motivates More Than Money
Harvey S. Firestone: "I have never found that pay and pay alone would either bring together or hold good people. I think it was the game itself."
Frederick Herzberg studied thousands of workers from factory floor to executive suite and found the single most motivating factor was the work itself — when it was exciting and interesting, the worker was motivated. Not money. Not conditions. Not benefits.
That is what every successful person loves: the game. The chance for self-expression. The chance to prove worth, to excel, to win. The desire to excel. The desire for a feeling of importance.
The Mechanism
The challenge works because it activates the desire to feel important — the deepest motivator in the Carnegie system. When someone says I don't think you're big enough for this, the person with spirit does not sulk — they rise. The gauntlet says: here is an opportunity to prove who you are.
Connections
- desire-to-feel-important — the challenge works by activating this desire; it is the mechanism underneath the technique
- give-honest-and-sincere-appreciation — the challenge and the compliment are different expressions of the same respect; both treat the other person as capable of greatness
- arouse-an-eager-want — a well-thrown challenge creates an eager want; the want is to rise to the challenge
- make-others-feel-important — implicitly: treating someone as capable of a hard thing is a form of making them feel important