there are too many chiefs—there are too many bosses and not enough people to do the work (in allusion to the saying “too many chiefs and not enough Indians”):
- The problem with this organization is that there are too many chiefs.
there are too many cooks—is used to say that when too many people try to manage smth. they spoil it (in allusion to the saying “too many cooks spoil the broth”):
- If there is a problem, it’s that there are two separate committees. In other words, there are too many cooks.