Instructions: Read this short story. Then re-order it to be in the proper Hook-Context-Challenge-Conflict-Resolution-Lesson/Action sequence.
The story takes place in a leadership team discussion about how to get employees to follow the clean desk policy better. Specifically, they were talking about how to get everyone to not leave their documents on the printers overnight.
I think what we need to do is set the printers so that everyone has to enter their employee number on the printer keypad before their document will print. When we did that at my last office, not only did people use less paper, but they picked them up as soon as they printed. Nobody wants to walk to the printer twice — once to get the job to print and again to pick it up. So they just stayed there while it printed.
We originally made the change as a project to save on office supplies expense. We figured that if we charged each employee’s department budget with the actual costs of the paper they’re using, they’d be more likely to use less paper. And they did. The unexpected consequence was that when they did print something, they got it right away. Problem solved.
Potential Solution:
(HOOK) I accidentally stumbled onto a pretty good way to get people to follow the clean desk policy.
(CONTEXT) In the office building I worked in last year, we were always trying to find ways to save money.
(CHALLENGE) We found out we were spending a lot of money on printer paper. So, to reduce that spending, we decided to try charging each employee’s department budget with the actual costs of the paper they’re using. We though that would make them more likely to use less paper.
(CONFLICT) So we set the printers so that everyone had to enter their employee number on the printer keypad before their document would print.
(RESOLUTION) It worked great. We saved a bundle on printer paper. But something else interesting happened as well. It turned out, nobody wanted to walk to the printer twice — once to get the job to print and again to pick it up. So they just stayed there at the printer while it printed and then took it with them. No more confidential documents left on printers overnight. Problem solved.
(LESSON/ACTION) I think if we tried the same thing here, we’d get the same result.
