We’ve all heard that phrase at one time or another but have you ever really thought about it in terms of your own life or career? I think there’s a time in all of our lives that this monumental observation might apply.

It’s interesting how you’ll hear a totally new phrase and then suddenly recognize the fact that it pops up again and again within a very short period of time. That recently happened to me soon after reading author John Gardner’s comment: “Most ailing organizations have developed a functional blindness to their own defects.”

The more I hear it, the more I realize how very true it is. We see it every day. It reminds me of another generational gem that really hits home. After reading it, don’t be too quick to judge it as being profound or too far out of the question to be true. Take a moment to examine your own environment in search of similar outrageous situations.
 
Performance Evaluation?

Following a poor first-half year performance, the board of a major manufacturing corporation demanded that a senior manager investigate what was happening on the factory floor, since the directors believed poor productivity was at the root of the problem.

While walking around the plant, the investigating manager came upon a large warehouse area where a man stood next to a pillar. The manager introduced himself as the person investigating performance on the factory floor, appointed by the board, and then asked the man by the pillar what he was doing. “It’s my job,” replied the man. “I was told to stand by this pillar.”

The investigator thanked the man for his cooperation and encouraged him to keep up the good work. The investigator next walked into a large packing area, where he saw another man standing next to a pillar. The investigator again introduced himself and asked the man what he was doing. “I’ve been told to stand by this pillar, so that’s what I do,” said the man.

Two weeks later the investigator completed his report and duly presented his findings to the board, who held a brief meeting to decide remedial action. The board called the investigator back into the room, thanked him for his work, and then instructed him to fire one of the men he’d found standing by pillars, since obviously this was a duplication of effort!

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of motivational speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management.  For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2MAX or fill out our contact form.

In an effort to catch up on my business reading over the holidays, I came across six articles by six noted business writers in six different magazines all focused on the same subject. While each author approached the subject in his/her own distinctive style, the shared focus was obvious.
The message was simple yet direct. As the new year gears up, organizations need to get serious about identifying stumbling blocks, sacred cows, and/or dead horses and waste no time in the elimination of each. The sooner this is done, the sooner focus can be placed on more productive and profitable targets.

Organizations no longer have the luxury to allow these “dead horses” to weigh them down in their journey to success. We have too long focused on reasons to avoid confronting these issues rather than dealing with them and moving on.

Step I

Identify your “dead horse.” Is it a negative person who we’ve tolerated far too long? Is it a policy, procedure, or guideline that no longer makes sense or maybe even offends our clients or employees? Is it a technology issue, product or service concern, or maybe a communication challenge? Focus to identify and clarify.

Step II

Take action to deal with the problem!

I found it interesting that so many experienced writers chose to focus on the same challenge. There must be an emerging trend which indicates that problem avoidance is an obvious deterrent to productivity. However, this is not exactly a new inclination. It’s been around for centuries as the following generational gem reflects. The obvious difference arises in the fact that today’s consequences are much more devastating as a result of the economy, increased global competition, technology, politics, etc. We can no longer take this challenge lightly.

The tribal wisdom of the Dakota Indians, passed on from generation to generation, says that, “When you discover that you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount.”

In contrast, here’s how many in today’s business environment respond when they find out their “horse” is dead:

1. Say things like, “This is the way we always have ridden the horse.”
2. Appoint a committee to study the horse.
3. Buy a stronger whip.
4. Change riders.
5. Arrange to visit other locations to see how they ride dead horses.
6. Raise the standards for riding dead horses.
7. Appoint a triage team to revive the dead horse.
8. Create a training session to increase our riding ability.
9. Compare the state of dead horses in today’s business environment.
10. Change your definitions or rules by declaring, “This horse is not dead.”
11. Hire outside consultants to ride the dead horse.
12. Harness several dead horses together to increase speed and pulling power.
13. Declare that “No horse is too dead to beat.”
14. Provide additional incentive funding (more sticks – more carrots) to increase the horse’s performance.
15. Do a case-study to see if competitors can ride it cheaper.
16. Purchase a software package or institute a new program to make dead horses run faster.
17. Declare that the horse is “better, faster, and cheaper” dead.
18. Form a quality circle to find uses for dead horses.
19. Revisit the performance requirements for dead horses.
20. Downsize the dead horse.
21. Reassign fault to the dead horse’s last rider.
22. Promote the dead horse to a supervisory position.
23. Shorten the track.
24. Declare the dead horse was “one of the leading horses” in its day.
25. Establish benchmarks for industry dead horse leaders.
26. Gather other dead animals and announce a new diversity program.
27. Put together a spiffy PowerPoint presentation to get planners to double the dead horse R & D budget.
28. Get the dead horse a web site!

The analogies to business are readily apparent, and so true. Too often we are focused on everything but the dead horse, and we forget what it takes to win the race! Dismount today!

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of motivational speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management.  For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2MAX or fill out our contact form.