Herding cats
Herding cats
This one is my second favorite term, after green weenie. Herding cats is a tough chore. In business, it translates as managing a group of people that are hard to control or direct. Imagine trying to keep dozens of cats all headed in the same direction focused on the same results. I first heard it applied during a discussion of a consolidation of a bunch of mom-and-pop salvage yards. The owners stayed on. They all had their own ideas of how to run the consolidated business.

Though not technically wrong, as most of them had been successful managers, they held sharply different ideas on running the business. Following the consolidation, each previous owner continued running his operation as a freestanding unit and resisted standard practices and directives issued from headquarters. Now that would be a CEO's herding nightmare!

The term can also mean trying to direct employees who don't work well together. My favorite use of the term, however, came in a memo about private stock placements. A decision was needed on whether to offer $1 million either in $250,000 shares to four investors or in $10,000 shares to 100 investors. Investors always have their own ideas about how things should be done, what went wrong and how you could have done better. Each will want to have his or her hand held and get regular progress reports. The business decided that if you're going to herd cats, four is much easier, so he turned down all the small investors. Herding 100 shareholders is impractical, if not impossible, and will definitely drive one crazy.

Herding cats

an illustration by Gahan Wilson from Rons Book "Green Weenies and Due Diligence"
Mr Mission Possible featured on Millionaire Magazine
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In The Drivers Seat - Ft Worth Business Press - 04-01-2008
Fort Worth Texas Magazine The Man Issue- - 03-28-2008
Millionaire Blueprints Ron - Entrepeneur - 02-01-2006
Diverse businesses blend to form fast-growing recycling company - 01-01-2004
Wall Street Journal - Auto Recyclers Needed - 02-01-1999
Livingston Daily: Houses go to the dogs - September 10, 2007
Star-Telegram: The Repository of 'Cool Stuff' - August 31, 2007
The Colleyville Courier: Cars, Cars, Cars! - August 31, 2007
Florida Auto Dismantlers & Recyclers Association - 2007
Ongoing Managment Articles by Ron Sturgeon - Jan. - Feb. 2006
Millionaire Magazine - Mission Possible - Oct. 2004
Mercedes Benz Classic - Jan. 2006
Green Weenies Toons Published - Spring 2006
Top 25 ARA Press Release - Jan. 2006
TX Driver Magazine - Nov. 2004
Wall St. Journal Schnitzer - March 2006
Millionaire Blueprints - Feb. 2006
The Herald Money GW Review January 2006
Quinions World Wide Words Review December 10, 2005
Harvard Business School Green Weenies Review
Forbes Inclusion January 2006
Financial Executive GW Review October 2005
DMN Article GW October 2005
Dallas Business Press GW Review Febuary 2006
Best Book Finalists 2005
Avant Edge Jargon Review March 2006
DFW House & Home Sep 2003
Star Telegram Racing - March 1998
Locator, TX Sized Operation - Oct. 1996
Tarrant Business Savvy - Aug. 1995
Inc. Hi Tech Salvage Yard - Feb 1995
Inc. Magazine - 1992