It must not be forgotten that back of all this, and directing it, there
must be the optimistic, determined, and hard-working leader who can wait
patiently as well as work.

In most cases (particularly when the work to be done is intricate in its
nature) the "development of the science" is the most important of the
four great elements of the new management. There are instances, however,
in which the "scientific selection of the workman" counts for more than
anything else.

A case of this type is well illustrated in the very simple though
unusual work of inspecting bicycle balls.

When the bicycle craze was at its height some years ago several million
small balls made of hardened steel were used annually in bicycle
bearings. And among the twenty or more operations used in making steel
balls, perhaps the most important was that of inspecting them after
final polishing so as to remove all fire-cracked or otherwise imperfect
balls before boxing.

The writer was given the task of systematizing the largest bicycle ball
factory in this country. This company had been running for from eight to
ten years on ordinary day work before he undertook its reorganization,
so that the one hundred and twenty or more girls who were inspecting the
balls were "old bands" and skilled at their jobs.

It is impossible even in the most elementary work to change rapidly from
the old independence of individual day work to scientific cooperation.