Some Things in Your Business Need to Die

It's easy to do things a certain way simply because they've always been done that way. The higher the stakes, the harder it is to change those patterns. When you're running a business, how you use your marketing dollars can feel like rolling the dice at a craps table. Can you imagine what was going through the mind of the product development team that launched Red Bull? Who would have thought that making something that tastes worse, costs more, and comes in a smaller can than most drinks on the market would have become the leading energy drink brand? They took a gutsy risk that challenged the status quo, and won.

There is one reason to make big changes: when doing things the way they've been done gets in the way of you reaching your goal. Red Bull would have never become the leader in energy drinks if they had simply followed the existing rules of the beverage industry and not pursued their goal. Most deployments of the "it's always been done that way" excuse are directly tied to the fact that some businesses don't have measurable goals. When you're not pursuing a goal, it's easy to justify doing the same ol' things year after year. It's corporate superstition... walking step by step through the dark, one foot in front of the other, hoping that the next step doesn't send you tumbling over a cliff, and trusting that old unchallenged habits will continue to work. Rarely has anyone been fired for doing it the same way it's always been done. So, naturally there is a hesitancy about doing something new. However, when you clearly identify your goals and develop a plan to reach them, you will have more confidence to shed the dead weight of bad business habits. Your business might have old habits that are threatening the long-term success of your brand. It's your job to kill them off.

...when you clearly identify your goals and develop a plan to reach them, you will have more confidence to shed the dead weight of bad business habits.

I discovered a parallel to this in my personal life recently. As a child of the 80s, I grew up in an era where kids were spanked, privileges were revoked for bad behavior, and if you misbehaved you were punished for punishment's sake.

Fast forward 30 years to when I have teenagers of my own that occasionally misbehave. My first instinct when they break a rule is to punish them because, well... that will teach them! Or so I thought. I was sure that removing cell phones, grounding them from seeing friends, and doing all the things that would have been done to me if I were born 30 years later, would transform unruly behavior into saint-like patterns of inner reflection and humility. And while this might work with some kids, my fiery 16 year old daughter put up her defenses to any irrational punishment. We butted heads A LOT (and still do at times), but I have learned that if I am going to hand down consequences for certain behaviors then it needs to help me get to the goal of changing those behaviors and not simply be punishment for punishment's sake.

Our country's prison system is the biggest case study in the history of case studies that demonstrates that this is a flawed methodology to help guide people to make better decisions. I am far from mastering the art of parenting a teen, but we have made progress and getting to the goal is easier now that the dead weight of fruitless punishment is gone. I say all that to say: changing my parenting was hard and frightening, but when I keep my eye on the goal and I am honest about what is working and what isn't, I can see legitimate progress.

...when I keep my eye on the goal and I am honest about what is working and what isn't, I can see legitimate progress.

What are some things that you've been doing month after month, or year after year, simply because that's what's always been done, but they just aren't making you any money? Perhaps it's a certain type of ad, an old brand, that cantankerous employee who is driving customers away... what is the sacred cow that's holding you back? The answer might not be easy. It might even be a little scary. But it's probably pretty simple.