The Fifth Task of Hercules - showtime!

Task Five: Cleansing the Stables of Augeas

The next task is amongst the most intriguing examples of problem-solving undertaken by the experienced and successful Hercules. Augeas the King of Elis had not mucked out his three thousand head cattle stables for ten years. In management terms this was the equivalent of taking over a subsidiary company with environmental liabilities and data integrity problems a mile wide and two miles deep.

Following his first site visit to the stables, Hercules sat down with the King and negotiated a performance-related contract and set of stock options. He asked for ten percent of the King’s head of cattle if he was able to clean the stables of their accumulated mire. Agreed. No idea how to do it.

Hercules sat on a hill overlooking the Augean Stables for a while and contemplated the problem in hand. It was not an heroic arrow and club solution. No amount of patient tracking nor skilful trapping would shift the shit. Nothing in his experience had prepared him for this conundrum of a challenge. As the sun sank, it reflected off the waters of the River Alpheus running past the stables. His solution simply emerged from the natural environment as he sat there enjoying some 'blue sky' time.

The next day Hercules dug ditches and diverted the river so that it ran through the filthy stables and scoured them clean before returning to its natural course.

Although impressed with the results, the King refused to honour the 10% deal invoking a clause about unnatural forces. Hercules’ response was ruthless. He deposed the King and installed his son as a subservient monarch thus effectively securing 100% direct equity in the kingdom.

The Augean Stables represent the peak of Hercules’s powers as the hero manager. He has demonstrated his ability to move beyond simple brute force solutions and through the sheer power of innovative thought has delivered outstanding operational results and superior shareholder return. He's also in danger of believing his own bullshit - literally.