Name: Tipping Sacred Cows
Rating: 3.9 (10 reviews)
Author: Jake Breeden

What’s in it for me? Discover common flaws in our thinking and how we can overcome them.

In a famous old prank, especially in some of America’s more rural communities, a drunken adolescent and his friends push over some cows, and all manner of hilarity ensues.

These blinks won’t teach how to tip a cow, but they will show you how we must overturn our “sacred cows,” virtues such as fairness, passion and perfectionism that we strive for everyday. The truth is, although these virtues may benefit us in many ways, they have to be used in moderation.

For example, being fair to everyone can lead us to reward the weakest, less deserving members of our teams, to the annoyance of the best ones; perfection and fear of failure can keep us from innovating.

These blinks will show you better ways to operate in business.

In these blinks you’ll find out

how far away Ritz-Carlton staff are told to stand from customers;
why being passionate can be bad for your health; and
why perfectionism is bad for your health.

We all want fairness, but often equate it to sameness.

The desire to live in a fair world is hardwired into our brains.

When we see someone experiencing an emotion, our brains mimic it. In fact, one study of this phenomenon showed that if you see someone getting an electric shock, your brain reacts as if you've been shocked.

This natural tendency toward fairness isn't always a good thing, though.

In our quest for fairness, we sometimes confuse it with sameness. We form empathetic connections with others, but sometimes project our own thoughts onto them. Have you ever caught yourself buying someone a gift that was actually something you wanted? When we want something, we often assume others want it too.

In business, this conflation of fairness and sameness often leads people to make the mistake of treating every customer the same. We imagine our customers must all want the same things we want. This can make us accidentally shut out any customers who are different.

So what's the better alternative? Well, you need to constantly remind yourself that everyone is different; strive to treat everyone as an individual.

The Four Seasons hotel implements this doctrine well. It encourages employees to make their guests feel at home, and give them any service they desire. By contrast, the Ritz Carlton have specific rules; e.g., they have to stand at least ten feet away from all guests and greet them with, “How may I help you, [sir or ma'am]?”

Of the two hotels, the Four Seasons has a higher customer satisfaction rate, and a growing market share. It may be because people prefer to be treated as individuals.

Balancing your work, passions and personal life equally isn't necessarily healthy.

“Balance” and “passion” are both buzz words in the self-help industry these days. Many people strive to be passionate at work, while balancing the different aspects of their life. This isn't really a healthy attitude, however.

Consider the idea of “work/life balance.” People often think this means they should limit their daily working hours to spend more time at home. In many cases however, that only amounts to the person working at home rather than spending time with their family.

Your results should be excellent – not your process.

Many people assume that excellence is the key to success. If you do each little thing perfectly – by keeping your desk tidy and delivering everything on time – your output will be perfect too.

Actually, that isn't true. Aiming for excellence throughout the entire work process won't produce excellent results.

Kernaussagen in Tipping Sacred Cows

Worum geht es in Tipping Sacred Cows?

This book will challenge your assumptions about what virtues really matter in the workplace. It explains how the seven “sacred cows” – balance, collaboration, creativity, excellence, fairness, passion and preparation – may actually be hindering your organization’s performance. It outlines some alternative strategies that will make you and your employees happier and more productive.

Über den Autor

Jake Breeden is a writer and consultant who specializes in marketing, communications and leadership. He's advised leaders from some of the world's leading companies, such as Starbucks, Microsoft, Google and IBM.