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Charles Schwab ran Bethlehem Steel Company in the early 1900s. One of his mills was underperforming.

On a visit to the plant, he said to the manager, I don’t understand how a manager as capable as you can’t get this mill to produce what it was designed to.

The middle manager didn’t have an answer.

Schwab picked up a piece of chalk and asked the nearest man how many heaps of refined steel his shift had made that day.

The man said, “Six.”

Without another word, Schwab chalked a big figure 6 on the floor and walked away.

When the night shift came in, they saw the 6 and asked what it meant.

The day shift explained that the big boss had asked how many heaps had been made that day and chalked the number down on the floor.

The next morning, Schwab walked through the mill again and he found the night shift had erased the 6 and replaced it with a big 7.

When the day shift reported to work that morning, they saw the 7 chalked on the floor and decided they would show the night shift a thing or two.

Everyone on the day crew pitched in – and when they left that night, the 7 had been replaced by an enormous 10.

It didn’t take long before the mill was turning out more than any other plant.

We all have dashboards. Some of us are drowning in numbers. How many of us use our data to motivate by communicating progress towards a goal?

Adapted from How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie.