In the world of management, sacred cows are like the revered cows in Hinduism – ideas or practices, assumptions and even individual people in management that are considered untouchable and beyond criticism. These are the long-held beliefs, policies, or behaviors that everyone including professors in universities and reputable business schools just accept as fact, even if there’s no real evidence to support them or the times have clearly changed as is the case regarding the democratization of AI and its impact.

Here’s why sacred cows in management create big problems for managers and for management consultants:
- Hinder innovation: They prevent any type of innovation. Not only regarding products and services but also organizational innovation and modelinnovation.
- Reduce adaptability: Clinging to outdated reference models and practices can make it difficult for peole in any organization to respond effectively to change.
- Waste resources: If a sacred cow practice is no longer effective, it can be a drain on time, money, and on the motivation of everybody in the organization.
- Hinder creativity and productivity: Sacred cows discourage questioning the status quo, which can stifle fresh ideas and new approaches to increase creativity and productivity including the use of AI for instance:

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Some examples of sacred cows in management include:
- Long working hours equal dedication: This can lead to burnout and hinder productivity.
- Experience is the only qualification for leadership: It can overlook potential in younger employees or those with different backgrounds.
- Hierarchies are the best way to structure a company: Flatter structures including the virtual organization as organizational structure can be more effective, more efficient and encourage collaboration with people outside and inside the organization.
- Digitalization of bureaucratic organizations: ICT-consultants and large ICT-companies make billions of dollars by digitizing and automating bureaucratic organizations. By turning them in a bureauspace.
By recognizing and challenging sacred cows in management including sacred cow assumptions, leading managers and management consultants can create a more open, people-centric and healthy work environment. This can lead to better decision-making, improved effectiveness, improved efficiency, and more loyal and satisfied customers and more loyal and satisfied employees.
For example, senior managers of large bureaucratic organizations might think that they are ‘in control’ and that they have the right skills to be an AI-leader now and in the future. Because they go to all the large traditional conferences of large dinosaurs in their industry, they are hiring management consultants from the traditional large dinosaur management consulting companies and they are getting all the diploma’s from the traditional large dinosaur business schools and large dinosaur universities.
The question is: are they right in this fast changing and turbulent online and offline AI-powered business environment? Or should they ‘pivot’ their own personal and professional life as part of their current business model into an AI-powered business model and fast and find and eliminate all sacred cows in their own minds? To be able to survive and thrive in the AI-powered economy as a person and as a company as a whole?

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