Beware the extended metaphor. Or simile, or analogy. On the face of it, all seem an appealing part of a manager's armoury. But I'd preach caution, before the metaphor takes on a life of its own, and gallops uncontrollably into the distance, meaning nothing at all, or even the opposite to what you'd originally intended, leaving you in the foreground holding its leash, looking foolish and forlorn.
I was at a senior management presentation to staff the other day. They had settled on the theme of their company being one of many competing racing cars and had designed some slides to show the challenges ahead. The first slide had the cars all lined up on the starting-grid. As the speaker stepped up to the podium, a middle-aged woman in front of me nudged her colleague and said; “Here we go, round and round and round....” Her friend shook her head and replied: “Nah, bet we crash at the first corner”
I was at a senior management presentation to staff the other day. They had settled on the theme of their company being one of many competing racing cars and had designed some slides to show the challenges ahead. The first slide had the cars all lined up on the starting-grid. As the speaker stepped up to the podium, a middle-aged woman in front of me nudged her colleague and said; “Here we go, round and round and round....” Her friend shook her head and replied: “Nah, bet we crash at the first corner”
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