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Consider This!

Dealing with a Dead Horse
Getty Images Ancient wisdom says that when you discover you are

astride a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount. In
government and other overly bureaucratic organizations,
many different approaches are tried. Here are some of
our favorite strategies for dealing with the “dead horse” scenario:

1. Change the rider.
2. Buy a stronger whip.
3. Beat the horse harder.
4. Shout at and threaten the horse.
5. Appoint a committee to study the horse.
6. Arrange a visit to other sites to see how they ride dead horses.
7. Increase the standards for riding dead horses.
8. Appoint a committee to revive the dead horse.
9. Create a training session to improve riding skills.
10. Explore the state of dead horses in today’s environment.
11. Change the requirements so that the horse no longer meets the standards of death.
12. Hire an external consultant to show how a dead horse can be ridden.
13. Harness several dead horses together to increase speed.
14. Increase funding to improve the horse’s performance.
15. Declare that no horse is too dead to ride.
16. Fund a study to determine if outsourcing will reduce the cost of riding a dead horse.
17. Buy a computer program to enhance the dead horse’s performance.
18. Declare a dead horse less costly to maintain than a live one.
19. Form a work group to find uses for dead horses.
And . . . if all else fails . . .
20. Promote the dead horse to a supervisory position. Or, in a large corporation, make it
a Vice President.

Source: Author unknown. Another version of this story may be found at http://www.abcsmallbiz.com/
funny/deadhorse.html

the manager said. There are management tools available to help implement
innovation and change.

Tools for Implementation
As a leader, you can understand the reasons
Leaders can improve the chances for a successful outcome by fol- Action Memo
lowing the eight-stage model discussed earlier in this chapter and for resistance to change and use tools such
using the strategies we discussed for incremental everyday change. as communication, training, and follower
In addition, leaders mobilize people for change by engaging their participation to overcome resistance. Use
hearts as well as their minds. Effective leaders use elements such coercion only as a last resort and when the
as storytelling, metaphor, humor, symbolism, and a personal touch
to reach people on an emotional level and sell them on proposed change is urgent.
changes. As discussed in Chapter 9, emotional elements are essential
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for persuading and influencing others; thus, leaders should not over-

look the importance of emotional elements to overcome resistance to
change. The Leader’s Bookshelf further describes how leaders can use emotion
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