Value for whom?  For the owner or investor:  If the market opportunity is big enough or potential impact (e.g., saving jobs in a depressed geography) is the goal, then triage may well be worth it.  For a researcher?  Not sure that the comparison really makes sense. Do you mean fire sale instead of autopsy?  Are you better off restoring an old care or selling it for parts?  Depends on the potential resale value or the importance of the car to stakeholders.

Hi Amanda - with respect to the value to leaders conducting an autopsy of a company that died.  Would an autospy prove more valuable or do you see on-going triage as being more beneficial?

Hi Marc - I find the question very interesting.  Triage, in medical terms is how experts determine the degree of urgency of injuries, allowing them to treat  the wounds in the proper order of need.  Triage, in terms of organizations is determined by an assessment of the health of the organization.  That could be a cultural assessment, or quality/efficiency review. It depends.  To answer the question, I feel the assessment of damage/injury is imperative.  Additionally, I believe that there are times when parts of an organization require the "destruction" of the bad -- and then "rebirth" for the good of the company.  If you choose triage, then the patient isn't dead.  But if there is no pulse -- then autopsy is always best.  We learn a lot when we  determine the cause of death.

Edie

I would agree that the value to a leader being able to dissect an organization that has died can be beneficial to the surviving members in their future careers within other organizations as the failure of everyone from the top to the lower levels of management can be explored. This exploration can result in developing new systems or implementing historical systems that can have a beneficial result with ongoing operations.

It may be more beneficial to leaders to practice triage, before the organizational patient reaches death. Reviewing social and operational relationships for productivity, adherence to company values and ethics from the beginning can help to identify problems that could lead to injury and the eventual death of an organization. Largely management’s agenda, which can be different than the organizational agenda can lead to dysfunction, injury and ultimate death.

Ultimately the population within the organization is solely responsible for their actions and must take responsibility for the results of their benefical or reckless behaviors.  Leaders practicing an ongoing triage process of action research can help to identify and eliminate problem areas.  Being able to make changes and implement new processes to take corrective actions can avoid the need for autoposy.

Marc - I agree.  Edie