THE MOST DANGEROUS PHRASE IN BUSINESS:
“We’ve always done it that way”
Enough to make any change agent cringe.
Throughout our lives, starting at the very beginning, we are bombarded with “rules”.
Many of which don’t even exist.
🐧These “rules” come from a wide variety of sources: our best friends, first grade teachers, parents, grandparents, politicians, old dead white guys, and even young celebrity trendsetters.
🐧If we want to be successful, popular, get a good grade, (or avoid death cramps when swimming), we listen to their advice.
🐧Some rules were established for practical reasons. And even though the reason for which they were created are no longer relevant, they live on.
🐧For example: The 40-hour workweek was established with union pressure in the 1930s. Most of America still abides by it today. It’s another one of those “rules.” Work less than 40 hours and you’re a slacker. Work more than 40 hours and you’re either very dedicated or a workaholic. Tim Ferris questioned the necessity and intelligence of this rule (and ruffled some feathers) in his mega best seller, The 4-Hour Workweek.
I love this insightful quote by Mark Stevens who explains why he doesn’t like conventional wisdom:
“It is not wisdom. It is just convention. And convention often boils down to doing things the way they have always been done simply because they are done that way.”
🐧”Penguins Can’t Fly and 39+ Rules That Don’t Exist” by Jason Kotecki is a short read but brilliant and it makes you question why we follow so many rules that simply do not make sense and which limit us in so many ways.
🐧It also comes with these beautiful whimsical illustrations. Who made the rule that leadership books can’t be whimsical, fun, with colorful illustrations?
Friends, this is my invitation to you to be on guard against anyone who tells you that you have to do it a certain way just because that’s the way it has always been. We don’t have to despise Mondays, we can eat dessert first and we can even enjoy peanut butter from a spoon! 😝
