“The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones.”
– John Maynard Keynes
I like reaching out to my clients by email. I have a colleague who communicates with clients via text messages. I still like going into the bank to make deposits. My husband asked me when I was going to start using mobile deposits. I’m reluctant to take my website’s URL off my business card, although I know QR Codes on business cards enhance the card’s effectiveness. My difficulty lies not so much in learning or implementing a new way of doing things as in escaping from the comfort of old ones. What happens when comfort or a standard way of doing things holds you back?
One of the things considered while determining why an organization is not progressing is whether leadership is a reason for bottlenecks. Known as Founder’s Syndrome, individuals who (for whatever reason) are passionate about their work and have been successful in implementing it, but are stubborn about, fighting against, or don’t see the need to change. These are individuals who themselves are an obstacle to change. These are individuals who balk at the idea of doing something different. They are quick to remind you, “this is the way we’ve always done this.” These may be individuals who have been in their positions for many years and have their own way of “doing things” that may have worked very well for them in the past. More problematic are business owners who had started the business with a ground-breaking and innovative idea. They hang on to that initial success and ignore the changes in the industry, market, or customer demand. Passionate nonprofit leaders who founded the organization, mostly on shoe-string budgets, will refuse to grow a budget or invest in the organization due to an ideology that poses that passion or empathy is all that is needed to continue running the organization.
You may be reading this commentary and determined that this isn’t you, or this doesn’t apply to your situation. I may not be talking about you. I could be talking about someone else on your staff. I know a business owner who was blindsided by the abrupt resignation of a long-tenured employee. To make matters worse, the dependable and reliable ex-employee had a reputation of not sharing her responsibility and expertise on how to operate a high-tech machine. While her role was established, her processes and procedures were almost a guarded secret. Further inquiry revealed that it was no secret that she was not forthcoming in explaining how she did things, even to her back-up. Upon her exit, even the sales representative responsible for training employees could not figure out the reconfigurations made to the machine to get the work done.
By the way, are your processes and procedures documented? When was the last time you checked to see if your processes, procedures, or policies were updated? Are you confident that your business operations will continue to run smoothly without disruptions if your key employee leaves? Can you or another employee be able to carry on in the absence of yourself or another employee?
I’m sorry! I’ve digressed. I think all of us may find that there are little things we hold on to for nostalgia, ease, and convenience. Holding on to the old is okay if it is not disruptive or keeping others from moving forward. Habits can stifle efficiency. Stalling technology prevents effectiveness. Comfort solely for convenience stalemates progress. Old ideas stagnate new ideas. Don’t get in the way of progress.
Posted by Dr. Drena Valentine to LinkedIn on May 12, 2021
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