Today we viewed a video that gave us real life examples of leadership that is not so common in the workplace; leadership that is started at the front line, leadership that is brought about by the factory workers. The first example showed a sausage company who had a very unique way of running their business. It was all done by the fellow employees, firing, hiring, pay raises, etc. If a person was up for hire, it was up to that department to evaluate the worker and make sure they would be a good fit for that position. Pay raises were also another aspect that was very odd, there were none, persay. In order to get one you needed to learn something new, such as inventory or stocking. This company prospered on the basis of trusting their employees and basically allowing them to regulate the workplace, giving them a great feeling of respect for themselves and the company. Another interesting company discussed was Harley Davidson. This example struck me as as surprise because I had always viewed this company as top of the line, never knowing that they have come a long way. A company that used to care about quantity rather then quality finally realized that it was hurting them in the end. Customers were going elsewhere until the front line employees stepped in. These people, being the ones making the motorcycles, obvisouly have the most experience with the machines and know what works and what doesn't. The simple concept of listening to these people and making changes accordingly saved the company. In some of today's companies, the executives are so caught up in having all the "power" that they overlook what is important, as they overlook the intelligence of the floor workers and therefore their product suffers in the end. From the film I realized that companies need to listen to their employees more, and actually listen, not just be polite. Most people never would have listened to a receptionist about much else then a secretarial duties, however, the sausage company took her seriously, and found her idea to be profitable and successful. We never should overlook the "little people," because when it comes to their machines and products, they are the experts.