Cooking with a Lead Pan

A metaphor describing a business strategy, decision, or practice that delivers quick or impressive short-term results, but creates serious long-term problems, liabilities, or risks. Just as using a lead pan might make food seem fine at first but slowly poisons those who eat it, “cooking with a lead pan” implies that a company or leader is pursuing results that look good now but will prove toxic over time - for the business, employees, or customers.