From Worst to First: Behind the Scenes of Continental's Remarkable Comeback

Chapter 12. What Gets Measured Gets Managed

One of the great things about being a big shot is you get to hang around with other big shots and talk about all the fascinating stuff we big shots like to talk about. Which explains a conversation I had one day while watching a Houston Astros game from the owner's box in die Astrodome with Astros owner Drayton McLane.

Baseball is a great game, and watching from the owner's box is a great way to see it. You're closer than just about anybody else except the umpire, and you get to watch each player doing his job—every little shift of the infield, every throw to first by the pitcher, every signal by the catcher. Each action has its own importance, but they all add up to something much greater—they add up to a team pursuing a goal together.

In case you hadn't noticed, the Astros haven't exactly been winning the World Series every year, though they did make the die playoffs in 1997. McLane and I were sitting in his box, watching the game. Instead of baseball, he naturally got me talking about business success. I told him that my team and I had changed the culture of Continental—we had changed the behavior of a group of 40,000 people. McLane wanted to know how we did it.

I said, "Okay, Drayton, I'll tell you how to change the behavior of your ball club." I said, "Try this: Before the next inning, go out to the pitcher's mound and talk to the pitcher for a minute. Explain to him that, starting right now, the rules are changed. Starting now, four ...