The folly of beating a dead horse

THE Dead Horse Theory originated from the wisdom of Dakota Indians who passed it on from many generations within its tribe and beyond. The lesson is pure common-sense. When you learn you're riding a dead horse, the best approach is to dismount right away. There's no point in beating a dead horse.

Today, when we talk about "a dead horse," we often refer to it as an old issue. Sometimes, we refer to it as employees with poor performance. To correct them, management would threaten them with dismissal, send them to training programs, hire a motivational speaker, or lower their performance target. Many times, we go towards outsourcing.