Management Issue: What do you do when the horse you are riding dies?
Here are some of my “Strategic Answers”:
- Convene a Senior Management Team meeting to devise a Strategic Plan and Vision Statement for the dead horse.
- Engage an external consultant to conduct a ‘process consultancy’ on the dead horse.
- Engage a coach/mentor for the dead horse. Give this project an acronym, eg, DHWP – Dead Horse Whisperer Project.
- ‘Re-engineer’ the dead horse.
- Arrange to visit other sites to see how they ride dead horses.
- Identify core competencies of dead horses.
- Appoint a HR Business Partner to support the dead horse.
- Implement training sessions to increase employees riding ability.
- Divide riders into Matrix Riding groups.
- Commission an executive search for a Chief Executive Rider whose core competency is riding dead horses.
- Compare the state of dead horses with today’s environment.
- ‘Stick to the knitting’ on the dead horse.
- Harness several dead horses together to try to increase speed.
- Go ‘in search of excellence’ re techniques for riding dead horses.
- Provide additional funding to try to increase dead horse’s speed.
- Contemporary re-branding of dead horse. Eg, “Dead Sea Biscuit”
- Do a cost analysis to see if others can ride the dead horse more cheaply.
- Conduct an ‘agility’ study on the dead horse.
- Form a quality circle to find uses for dead horses.
- Conduct a 360 appraisal on the dead horse.
- Devise a Sustainability Plan for the dead horse.
- Get accreditation for Investors in Dead Horses.
- Conduct an audit on who stole the dead horse’s cheese.
- Promote the rider of the dead horse.
- And finally, one for the faith-based sector, pray for God to heal the dead horse.
An old Dakota tribal wisdom says, “When you discover you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount”.
Which goes to show… the old ones are the best ones.
Please post your suggestions below!
Just thought of anyone one. Replace the horse with a hedgehog!