The Balance Wheel
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	Flogging A Dead Horse				How the Horse Got Dead in the First Place The government regulated farmer had many kinds of animals on his farm. He had chickens to lay eggs, cows to give milk and geese for cashflow and gold reserve. Most of all he had a horse, a big, beautiful Belgian. This horse was the engine to the farm. It pulled the plow for spring planting, the hay wagon in the summer, the sled in the winter. The horse even plodded patiently in circles, tethered to the yoke to turn the mill stone to grind the corn and wheat. One day the farmer received a notice that new regulatory fees were being assessed to handle his crop assistance program and his subsidy was being cut in half. He didn't know what to do. For days he poured over his finances, until he noticed that the largest cost to his farm was grain for his beautiful horse. It pained him to do it, but he decided to cut the horse back to 75 percent grain and 25 percent straw. At the end of the year, he noticed no decrease in the horse's performance. Again the government notice came, more fees, fewer subsidies. The farmer cut the horse back to 50 percent grain, 50 percent straw. At the end of the year there was still no change in the quality of the horse's work. Then, Congress cancelled the farmer's subsidy program altogether. Tearfully, the farmer cut he horse completely off of his grain. And, the horse died. Without the horse, the farmer couldn't work his farm. He sold the cows, ate the chickens, and the government seized his farm for nonpayment of the regulatory fees. Thus, is the cautionary tale told to all who find themselves under the watchful eye of the government. It doesn't matter if they own the horse farm or the Mustang Ranch.
	Dakota tribal wisdom says that when you discover you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount. However, in organizations like governments and large companies, we often try other strategies. These can include the following: * Buying a stronger whip. * Changing riders. * Saying things like "this is the way we always have ridden this horse". * Appointing a committee to study the horse. * Arranging to visit other sites to see how they ride dead horses. * Increasing the standards to ride dead horses. * Appointing a tiger team to revive the dead horse. * Creating a training session to increase our riding ability. * Comparing the state of dead horses in today's environment. * Pass a resolution declaring that "this horse is not dead". * Blaming the horse's parents. * Harnessing several dead horses together for increased speed. * Declaring that, "No horse is too dead to beat." * Providing additional funding to increase the horse's performance. * Do a study to see if contractors can ride it cheaper. * Declare the horse is "better, faster, and cheaper" dead. * Form a quality circle to find uses for dead horses. * Revisit the performance requirements for horses. * Say this horse was procured with cost as an independent variable. * Promote the dead horse to a supervisory position.