The story goes thus about a sage who had a cat as a pet. Whenever he prayed, this cat would jump on his lap and on his back and disturb him. To prevent the cat from distracting him, the sage used to tie up the cat while he was praying.
The disciples were never allowed in the sage's room while he was praying. The disciples always however watched from a distance how their master would tie up the cat for the full hour that he was praying.
The sage died one day, and the favourite disciple became the master. Whenever the new master prayed, he also used to tie the cat, since he had always admired his master's ways, and knew his master definitely had a purpose behind whatever he did.
One day, the cat died. The master ordered his disciples to get for him a new cat, though he had no love lost for cats. He would then tie this cat before he prayed everytime.
Decades went by, and the disciples increased far and wide. And wherever the monastery was setup, they always got a cat for the master of that monastery. The cat became an integral part of their prayer life.
Organizations follow practices likewise, without understanding the relevance of why they are doing what they are doing. My boss said so. The Head Quarters said so. That's the way we have always done here. We have seen the results.
Are the results still happening? No. Then why do you still have that cat?
Introspect. Contextualize the need for the cat. Optimize. Improve your efficiency. Your costs. Your productivity.
If you still love a cat, keep it for the love of the cat.
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