Company on Upswing After the Right Hand Finds Out What the Left is Doing

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When there’s chaos and confusion in a company, resulting in its not meeting expectations,  one of the reasons most often cited is that the right hand doesn’t know what the left is doing. 

That was certainly the case at Comstock Dependables of Muncie, Indiana, which saw profits decline by 40 percent over two years.

In an attempt to turn things around, on September 20 Comstock’s right hand was officially informed about all matters pertaining to the left hand. 

“It’s amazing how how much things have improved in just five weeks,” says Marlene Filbert, the company’s CEO.

While there’s nobody around who can recall if the right hand ever did know what the left was doing, Filbert knows it certainly wasn’t the case when she assumed her position in 2014. In fact, she says, she had never even seen the two in the same room.

“But that’s behind us now,” she says. “Since the right hand now knows, we’re finally able to achieve goals, build the bottom line and of course make our stakeholders happy, which is what matters the most.” She cites these improvements:

  • It now takes just five days to transform a “lose-lose” situation into a “win-win” one – up from seven months just a year ago.
  • The vegetable medley in the company cafeteria, which most considered to be over-salted, is now just right.
  • Jerrold Hollman, an accounting clerk who cornered people in the hall and made them listen to “knock knock” jokes, has switched to reciting lines from the company mission statement.
  • The most recent supplies inventory was a resounding success, with only one item – a multi-pronged T-15(c) unit – mislabeled.

Best of all, says Filbert, the right hand not only knows what the left is doing, but the two have actually been seen having lunch together.