Monday, January 25, 2021
Corporate Compliance Insights
  • Home
  • About
    • About CCI
    • Writing for CCI
    • NEW: CCI Press – Book Publishing
    • Advertise With Us
  • Articles
    • See All Articles
    • NEW: COVID-Related
    • Compliance
    • Ethics
    • Risk
    • FCPA
    • Governance
    • Fraud
    • Internal Audit
    • HR Compliance
    • Cybersecurity
    • Data Privacy
    • Financial Services
    • Leadership and Career
  • Vendor News
  • Jobs
  • Events
    • Webinars & Events
    • Submit an Event
  • Downloads
    • eBooks
    • Whitepapers
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Subscribe
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
    • About CCI
    • Writing for CCI
    • NEW: CCI Press – Book Publishing
    • Advertise With Us
  • Articles
    • See All Articles
    • NEW: COVID-Related
    • Compliance
    • Ethics
    • Risk
    • FCPA
    • Governance
    • Fraud
    • Internal Audit
    • HR Compliance
    • Cybersecurity
    • Data Privacy
    • Financial Services
    • Leadership and Career
  • Vendor News
  • Jobs
  • Events
    • Webinars & Events
    • Submit an Event
  • Downloads
    • eBooks
    • Whitepapers
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Subscribe
No Result
View All Result
Corporate Compliance Insights
Home Governance

Sacred Cows Make the Best Burgers

by Linda Henman
September 18, 2015
in Governance
Sacred Cows Make the Best Burgers

No one seems to agree about the origin of the term “sacred cow.” Before it emerged as an idiom in America in the last 19th century, some believe the term simply described the elevated place cows hold in Hinduism. Or, the term could have originated with the legendary Hindu hero, Prithu, who assumed the form of a cow in order to encourage his subjects to raise more vegetables. But some also accuse Prithu of chasing and capturing the earth goddess, Prithvi, who fled in the form of a cow and eventually agreed to yield her milk to feed the world. Greeks and Egyptians also have their own references to goddesses who took the form of a cow. As often happens with real legends and organizational myths, history gets messy. But about this everyone seems to agree: In modern usage, the term “sacred cow” refers to an idea or practice that people consider, often unreasonably, immune from question or criticism.

We revere our sacred cows for a number of reasons, the most important being that they help us avoid embarrassment, surprises and threats. Even when people show great competency in a particular skill area, they often show greater expertise in protecting what they hold dear. After a while, leaders of companies that have too many sacred cows start to build corrals for them—organizational black holes where good ideas languish, innovation dies and employees chant the hallowed mantra, “We must win, and we must not lose,” even if experimenting could eventually lead to a much bigger victory.

When people in an organization deem a topic off-limits, they eliminate scrutiny, evaluation and measurement and stick with what they’ve always considered sacrosanct.  They tie their own hands and limit their opportunities for growth, success and job fulfillment. But when they make questioning holy teachings part of their day-to-day operations, they unleash their potential to solve problems in new ways, approach challenges with optimism and simultaneously boost their corporate self-esteem and grow their coffers. Killing sacred cows is the first step, cooking them with a new recipe, the second.


Previous Post

Successful Hiring Matches Personality, Culture and Talent with a Focus on People

Next Post

Convicted Enron CFO and Interpol Head of Cybersecurity to Speak at Anti-Fraud Conference

Linda Henman

Dr. Linda Henman is one of those rare experts who can say she’s a coach, consultant, speaker, and author. For more than 30 years, she has worked with Fortune 500 Companies and small businesses that want to think strategically, grow dramatically, promote intelligently, and compete successfully today and tomorrow. Some of her clients include Emerson Electric, Boeing, Avon and Tyson Foods. She was one of eight experts who worked directly with John Tyson after his company’s acquisition of International Beef Products, one of the most successful acquisitions of the twentieth century. Linda holds a Ph.D. in organizational systems and two Master of Arts degrees in both interpersonal communication and organization development and a Bachelor of Science degree in communication. Whether coaching executives or members of the board, Linda offers clients coaching and consulting solutions that are pragmatic in their approach and sound in their foundation—all designed to create exceptional organizations. She is the author of Landing in the Executive Chair: How to Excel in the Hot Seat, The Magnetic Boss: How to Become the Leader No One Wants to Leave, and contributing editor and author to Small Group Communication, among other works. Dr. Henman can be reached at linda@henmanperformancegroup.com.

Related Posts

illustration of executive standing center stage with team in silhouette behind him

COVID-19: Navigating the “CEO Moment”

January 13, 2021
clipboard with silver bow and new year's resolutions list on blue background

New Year’s Resolutions for the Board in 2021

January 11, 2021
PwC: Board Effectiveness – A Survey of the C-Suite

PwC: Board Effectiveness – A Survey of the C-Suite

December 28, 2020
quality level dial set to "high"

Caremark: Even the Highest Standard Can Be Met

December 23, 2020
Next Post
Convicted Enron CFO and Interpol Head of Cybersecurity to Speak at Anti-Fraud Conference

Convicted Enron CFO and Interpol Head of Cybersecurity to Speak at Anti-Fraud Conference

Access realtime data
Dynamic Risk Assessments with Workiva

Special Coverage

Special COVID page graphic

Jump to a Topic:

anti-corruption anti-money laundering/AML Artificial Intelligence/A.I. automation banks board of directors board risk oversight bribery CCPA/California Consumer Privacy Act Cloud Compliance communications management Coronavirus/COVID-19 corporate culture crisis management cyber crime cyber risk data analytics data breach data governance decision-making diversity DOJ due diligence fcpa enforcement actions financial crime GDPR GRC HIPAA information security internal audit KYC/know your customer machine learning monitoring ransomware regtech reputation risk risk assessment Sanctions SEC social media risk technology third party risk management tone at the top training whistleblowing
No Result
View All Result

Privacy Policy

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS Feed

Category

  • CCI Press
  • Compliance
  • Compliance Podcasts
  • Cybersecurity
  • Data Privacy
  • eBooks
  • Ethics
  • FCPA
  • Featured
  • Financial Services
  • Fraud
  • Governance
  • GRC Vendor News
  • HR Compliance
  • Internal Audit
  • Leadership and Career
  • Opinion
  • Resource Library
  • Risk
  • Uncategorized
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • Whitepapers

© 2019 Corporate Compliance Insights

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
  • Articles
  • Vendor News
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Whitepapers
  • eBooks
  • Events
  • Jobs
  • Subscribe

© 2019 Corporate Compliance Insights