Does Tradition Hinder Progress?
Keep asking questions, do traditions help or detract businesses. Information is more accessible than ever, business intelligence is constantly evolving with new ways of thinking and leveraging data to improve. Identify things you are doing that do not need to be done. Evaluate each situation with a new perspective.
Have you ever started a new position and during your on-boarding, ask "why do we do it this way" and the response is “because that’s how we have always done it.” Does this make it right? If you cannot define the why, ask yourself about the validity of this process and results. You will most likely find that changes in business, processes, economy, etc. were never anticipated and therefore not incorporated into these traditional approaches.
Ask yourself what we are trying to achieve or capture and validate the process or report is meeting the goal. Make changes where appropriate and you will most likely find that the processes and outcomes are more relevant and accurate to drive tactical and strategic decisions. This does not only apply to reports but processes, policies, and procedures.
Embrace and welcome change
Challenge yourself and those around you to define and support change as the business and landscape evolves. Be accountable! Make it a priority to review and evaluate existing reports/processes, ensuring accuracy and relevance and don’t' be afraid to eliminate it. If no one can tell you why you are doing it a certain way, the next question should be “then why are we doing it?”
Learn for the past, change the future
Learning to cook a ham from my mother who learned from her mother, they always cut the backside off. So, the next generations did the same, but did not understand why. Turns out that the reason was because ovens were too small to fit the entire ham, so they cut the backside off to make it fit. Reevaluate and understand why you are doing something, you may find that there is a better way.
