“It’s a contract,” I explained. “When your team gets behind, it is up to them to pick up the pace. That is why your feedback loop has to let them know how many units produced versus the target.”

“So, if they are only a couple of units behind, they can probably make that up. You see, usually, I don’t find out they are behind until it’s too late,” Gail described.

“Of course not. They don’t want to get yelled at. But you don’t have time to monitor the production rate, so when you find out, that’s why it’s too late. Your team, on the other hand, is always monitoring production rate. They are in the best position to know when they are behind, or ahead.”

“So, I strike a deal with them. Every time they get a certain number of units behind, and five units is the right number, that’s when things get out of hand. Every time they get five units behind, they have to find me.”

“That’s the contract. Now, what are you going to do when they find and tell you they are five units behind?” I asked.