Some activities lose their justification over time without anyone realizing it (or at least saying anything about it).
Certain recurring meetings persist for no apparent reason.
We participate in some paradigms not out of any kind of conviction that they’re still
relevant, but because they’re familiar, they’re comfortable — they’re the way we’ve always done it.
relevant, but because they’re familiar, they’re comfortable — they’re the way we’ve always done it.
Without a compelling reason or interruption, routine tends to triumph.
If there’s no apparent breakage, then there’s no apparent need for repair.
The impetus for a better way of doing things, therefore, starts with the realization that the way you, your team, or your organization has done something no longer makes sense or is no longer ideal.
To that end, it helps to have a kind of insatiable vigilance — the kind that makes a routine (one indeed worth having) out of asking: “does what we’re doing still make sense?”