What sacred cows do you need to slaughter?

A Sacred Cow – an outdated belief system, practice, policy or strategy.

They are generally invisible, they inhibit change and prevent responsiveness to new opportunities.

They’re out there, grazing on your profits and stifling your productivity.

They trample on your innovative thinking.

They can roam everywhere.

In a stable environment, sacred cows can have a ‘long life’, but we are not now in a stable environment.

Ways of working and doing business have changed fundamentally over the past 5 months.

Things will ‘not go back to normal’

How do we create a culture where these sacred cows are challenged and addressed?

Step 1: Begin by making a list of your industry’s sacred traditions

Step 2: Decide which ones are helpful and which ones are blocking innovation

Step 3: Make a list of your own organisation’s sacred traditions

Step 4: Challenge the fundamental thinking that drives your business – a great question to ask is, ‘who or what could put us out of business?’

Step 5: Review what you need to change to position your organisation for the current and future reality.

Don’t let the things you have done in the past, pre-determine the way things will be done in the future.

What sacred cows do you need to slaughter?