SACRED COWS MAKE THE BEST BURGERS
Developing Change-Ready People and
Organizations
Date
Review Posted:
Authors:
David Brandt and Robert
J. Kriegel
Release
Date: 2008
Web
Site (as
applicable): http://www.trainingabc.com/sacred-cows-make-the-best-burgers/
Related
Blog (as
applicable):
Rating:
CCCCC (A
case could be made that I would only review the best of the best because if
while reading a book it does not hold my interest, I would not finish it and
therefore would not review it.)
Reason
For Reading THIS book: The title caught my eye. Are you not sometimes attracted to a book
because of the title, author and/or cover?
In this case I was and I did not regret reading it. The title was really catchy especially given
my time working the U. S. Government where sacred cows not only abound, they
roam the range freely.
Number
Of Times I Have Read This Book: TWO
Brief
Summary of Content: A Sacred Cow is something that is
consciously or unconsciously protected through its continued use. All organizations, families and individuals
have their own versions of Sacred Cows that continue on through time and in
many if not most cases, long beyond their usefulness. In some cases no one will even admit that the
practice serves some useful purpose. The
book helps you to identify the various types of Sacred Cows while having fun
doing so and then how to eliminate them.
There are numerous famous examples of corporations that have had Sacred
Cows and how some have eliminated them and how some of the Sacred Cows helped
to eliminate the companies. It also
points out that people sometimes prohibit new and fresh ideas from being
incorporated into a business because of tired, worn out procedures, reports,
and practices and a “it has always been done that way” mentality.
A huge light bulb went off when “moving
in” with the customer was discussed.
Become your customer, think like your customer, find out what the
customer likes and dislikes about your company, product and/or service and then
think outside the box on how to satisfy the customer’s desires and hot
buttons. What sets you and your company
apart from all other similar companies?
Do you penalize mistakes? Quote:
1 plus 1 equals 4. 1 mistake, one
time = forever! That inhibits creative
thinking if everyone is afraid to try something new. Is that what you want in your company?
My favorite part of the book
discussed discovering how to find the Sacred Cows in your organization. Just listen to the paragraph headings and you
will quickly understand why: Hunting
(Cows); Sacred Cow Hunts; No-Bull Campaigns; An Organization of Hunters;
Hunting In Posies; Customer Hunters; Rounding Em Up; Sacred Cows in Plain
Sight; Invisible Cows; What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You; Locking Horns; Starve
Your Cow; and Selling the Boss. Take the
test, Change-Readiness Scale test to see how you measure up to making changes
within your company.
Who
Should Read the Book? Anyone in business whether with a corporation
or self-employed. Maybe especially the
self-employed because you may not be aware that Sacred Cows even exist in your
own business and do have the luxury of someone else pointing them out to you.
CHAPTERS:
I think a lot can be learned by just looking at the chapter titles. Here are the chapters of this book:
Chapter 1 Cows and Gatekeepers
Chapter 2 The Paper Cow
Chapter 3 The Meeting Cow
Chapter 4 The Speed Cow
Chapter 5 The Expert Cow
Chapter 6 The Cash Cow
Chapter 7 The Competitive Cow
Chapter 8 The Customer Cow
Chapter 9 The Low Price Cow
Chapter 10 The Quick-Reactor Cow
Chapter 11 The No Mistakes Cow
Chapter 12 The Downsizing Cow
Chapter 13 The Technocow
Chapter 14 The Team Cow
Chapter 15 The Work-Till-You-Drop Cow
Chapter 16 Cow Hunting
Chapter 17 Building The Change-Ready Environment
Chapter 18 Turning Resistance Into Readiness
Chapter 19 Motivating People To Change
Chapter 20 Developing Change-Ready Traits
Chapter 21 The Change-Ready Zone
Chapter 22 Change Ready Review
Final
Test: Would I read the book again? ABSOLUTELY!
Next
Review: Never Fear, Never Quite (Expect
a Miracle), A story of Courage and Perseverance by Joe Tye.
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