Excerpt: Chapter 2, “Sourcing Ideas”

Steaks and Sacred Cows

Many organizations, like people, are used to certain ways of thinking, certain ways of decision making, certain assumptions that are so accepted that no one realizes that they are there. How often do you hear “This is how business is done here,” “It’s always been done that way,” “It can’t be done any other way.”

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When you challenge these assumptions, you will confront a blank face, or managers will throw up their arms, thinking you are out of your mind. Targeting patients instead of doctors—what? Opening a store for four weeks as a teaser and then closing it—what’s the purpose? Manufacturing in the United States when you can get it much cheaper in Thailand—are you trying to lose money?

Killing the sacred cows is an excellent tool for generating wild and crazy ideas. Later on, we may have to adjust those crazy ideas a little bit because there may be a kernel of truth in what the engineers, sales and marketing people, and financial controllers tell us. Also, if you can’t kill the sacred cows yourself because your boss will consider you insane, then bring in an outside lunatic to do it. Then test the crazy ideas with customers. If they like the ideas, you may have a winner.

If there hadn’t been sacred-cow killers like Fred Smith of FedEx and Michael Dell, the majority of us might still wait all week for urgent business documents and buy a computer in a store. Fred Smith challenged the belief that long-distance mail cannot be delivered overnight. Michael Dell challenged the belief that people want to see and try out a computer in a store rather than online. Or consider Richard Branson, the British entrepreneur, who uses sacred cow killing as part of his competitive business style.