Robin Hood's Decision Has Become Increasingly Complex,

Robin Hood's decision has become increasingly complex, as he now has a large number of stakeholders to consider. These include his men, the townsfolk and farmers, the barons, the prince, the sheriff and his most loyal followers. Each has a specific stake in Hood's decision. The most important stakeholder is himself, but beyond that Robin needs a vision for what he wants to be. This vision will help him clarify who the other major stakeholders are -- the townspeople and farmers, or his most loyal men.

Robin's vision is either going to be for an exit strategy from the banditry industry or to transition the business to a national-level political model. There is also an implicit social contract among the merry men, and also between the merry men and the community. One of Hood's options -- a fixed tax -- explicitly violates the social contract that he has with the community.

Another option -- becoming involved in politics -- also seems to void the social contract he has with his most loyal men that is encapsulated in the old vision of "take from the rich, give to the poor." As far as a vision is concerned, the Merry Men have thus far been driven by the original vision as noted above. Some of the new men, however, do not appear to share this cultural value.

This is more a problem of recruitment at the firm than it is about the vision itself. Positioning Merry Men, then, is more about renewing commitment to the vision that made them so successful in the first place. Some deadwood may need to be culled in order to make the Merry Men more manageable in size, and to reinforce commitment to the organization's vision. Once the group has been brought down to a sustainable size, Hood must set out some near- and long-term objectives for the Merry Men.

In the near time, they face increasing challenges in the marketplace. They need to find a way to keep revenue flowing while they address the long-term issues. The flat tax is one option, but so is improving upon their pre-existing competencies in banditry. The latter option, then is the optimal near-term objective for the Merry Men. The Men will be a leaner organization that is focused on its original vision, and in this way will play to its strengths in the short-run.

This option also keeps the social contracts of the Merry Men alive. The long-term vision is also important. While revenue may be declining, triage to revenue streams can be done to preserve the business in the short-run. In the long-run, the marketplace is likely to become increasingly challenging. Some of the newly-laid-off ex-Merry Men are likely to enter the business as freelancers, providing competition for the Merry Men. In addition, rivals like the Sheriff are becoming increasingly sophisticated. In the long-run, the vision can guide Hood to a strategy.

This should be to expand into new areas, perhaps using some of the surplus talent to franchise out the operation into other British forests. Hood could then.