Catfish Effect
“Sardine is one of the favorite food for Spanish people. However, they are so delicate that most of them are maladjusted after being caught from ocean. The native fishermen store them in fish channel and shipped to dock, but most of sardines always died just in a short while.
The most important thing is that the dead ones are unpalatable and always financial failure. If they are still alive when rich the dock, the price will be several times higher than the dead ones.
In order to lengthen their life, the native fishermen tried various methods. Finally, they got a way working fine for this, that is, putting several catfish---the natural enemies of sardines---in the same channel together with sardines. To avoiding being devoured by their natural enemy, the sardines try their best to swim and escape in the channel and keep vigorous vitality. In this way, most of the sardines are still alive when they reach the dock.”
Economically, this was called “Catfish Effect”.
Now, this rule is usually followed by human resource managers. If the staff in a company is always immovable, they will be lack of energy and freshness; as a result, it is quite common for them to have laziness. Especially for senior staff, after long-time staying in the same position, it is more likely for them to be tired and listless. Therefore, sometimes it is necessary to have some “catfish” enjoy in the fixed frame, which will add some tenseness to the company. When the staff found there are some competitors around them, they will have pressure and realize they should speed up, or they will be “killed”.
When pressure existed, people always have a sense of Urgency. In order to better live and develop, they will encourage themselves to work better to be safe in the competition. Proper competition is just like catalyst, which will best arouse people’s latent capacity.