"If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It" - Really?

Based on some research, I found that the well-known phrase, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, was popularized in the 1970’s during the Carter administration.  In the newsletter of the US Chamber of Commerce, Nation's Business, May 1977 edition this was said:

“Bert Lance believes he can save Uncle Sam billions if he can get the government to adopt a simple motto: ‘If it ain't broke, don't fix it.’ He explains: ‘That's the trouble with government: Fixing things that aren't broken and not fixing things that are broken.’"

Originally this phrase seemed to make a very valid point … if something is working well then there is no reason to spend money to fix it, especially when there are plenty of other things that are broken and need to be fixed. This quote was more focused on functional things and the point was that the government would sometimes spend money and time on fixing things even though they didn’t need fixing.

I would suggest that today this phrase is often one that is used to support inaction, lack of motivation, accepting the status quo and settling for mediocre results. We throw this phrase around much too often as if there is no room for improvement. When we do this in our own personal growth or with the growth of our business it will become paralyzing.

It can be very easy as an SME to fall into this trap. It’s a lot of hard work to get a business moving and build it to a point where it’s profitable and supports an adequate lifestyle for you and your family. Often times the road to profitability and an acceptable level of success is much more difficult than many picture. The motivation and big dream sometimes starts to wane a bit and you get to a point where having a functioning and profitable business that puts a roof over your head with a few perks is good enough. 

You start to say, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” However you don’t mean it the way that it was originally meant. What you mean is, I have a pretty good thing going, it’s not broken, this journey was tough, I’m going to settle for what I have right now. The problem is that there is a lot of room for growth but you’ve settled. You maybe assume that it will just get harder.

In my opinion, every business owner should always be seeking to build their best business possible to support their best life possible. Some read that and assume I mean, working 100 hours a week and running around like crazy in a frenzy to do whatever it takes to build your business. I don’t and my clients know that I always stress balance and building your business in such a way as it supports your best life possible! However, what I do mean is you’re already managing your business and so you might as well give your best, you might as well seek to grow. It will take the same amount of energy to keep your business alive as it will to grow it. The difference is that when it grows, when you break through obstacles it will energize you. The key is to do this in a healthy way, so as to not take you away from other important things, like family and whatever else might be important to you.

As a business coach I often run into business owners who say, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, but what I more often here is, “I’m good … we’re doing ok.” They say it with such a monotone voice and no energy. All I hear is, “The journey has been tough, I’m paying my bills, I’m settling right here in the middle of mediocrity, life is as good as it’s going to get.” I’m sad for them. Sometimes I try to get them to see what’s possible but in most cases they have already decided and they assume I’m just trying to sell them instead of seeing that I really care and am passionate about growth. It hurts to see people give up on their dreams and what’s possible.

I’m not saying we can’t celebrate a season of success, becoming profitable and earning enough to take the family on a vacation. Absolutely celebrate that! However, why stop there? Some will tell me that it will take more work and will be harder, but that’s not the case. There may be seasons where you need to step up a bit, but growth takes the same amount of effort whether your company is pulling in $100K or pulling in $100M. What you do and how you do it may change but the effort remains the same. In some ways it may even get easier if you take the right steps and build in a healthy way, with your ultimate vision in mind.

I just want to make sure you heard what I said in the last paragraph. It will not take you any more effort to grow a company that has a $1 million revenue than growing a company that has $100 million in revenue. It will take effort but just continued and consistent effort. The key is in how you manage and organize your business not the size. I’ve seen owners of $1million revenue businesses that are running around like crazy, working 100 hours a week, stressing like crazy. I’ve also seen owners of 9 figure revenue businesses who have a well-balanced life, working maybe 40 hours a week, taking vacations, enjoying life and continuing to see growth in their company. What’s ironic in these situations is that the smaller business is often not growing and the bigger business is. Growing your business takes the same amount of effort no matter the size your business. The difference maker is how you manage and organize your business.

My primary point is that if you’re a business owner don’t give up. Don’t settle. Don’t decide that mediocre is good enough. You are capable of more and so is your business. I’m not asking you to give more time or energy. I’m asking you to be smarter with that time and energy. Can you structure your time and your business in such a way that it will allow you to give time to the growth of your business? I know you can and I hope you do. 

As I conclude, I realize that most of you reading this have not given up on the growth of your business. Honestly, most people in that category would not take the time to read this. However, although you may not have given up on growth yet, you could be starting to wane. You could also not be positioning your company in way that will support balance and continued growth. I would encourage you to be very mindful of that as you grow. I intend to follow up this article with an article about that as it seems to be a good follow up. Best of luck in building your best business and life possible!

Bob Elster is the Founder and CEO of Potential:Business Growth Partners and Regional Director for The Alpha Group. He has been guiding business owners and businesses for many years. His passion is growth. He makes himself very available believe that every opportunity begins with a conversation and it never hurts to connect with another business leader. Feel free to reach out at [email protected]