Daily Inspiration: “If I had my way, the phrase ‘You can’t do that because we’ve always done it this way’ would be grounds for immediate dismissal!”

“If I had my way, the phrase ‘You can’t do that because we’ve always done it this way’ would be grounds for immediate dismissal!” – Futurist Jim Carroll

It’s probably the worst excuse used in business, government and other organizations worldwide.

And it realy, really makes no sense in our world today. Yet, how often do you encounter people who say it?

It’s crazy to think that when everything around us is changing at a crazy pace, people are bound in tradition, stuck in a routine, trapped in inaction , immobilized into inactivity. Inertia becomes their engine of energy – meaning, there is none.

In the meantime, the world they knew no longer exists, and just while they start to get comfortable with a new one, yet another new one comes along.

How do they react?

By putting up barriers, establishing excuses, slowing down success Their attitude starts to smother initiative and stops any sort of progress to turning any future trend into an opportunity – instead, that very opportunity becomes a challenge.

So why do we keep these people around?

Seriously. It seems to be a fair question.

History has taught us that every single successful organization has ideas that flow freely throughout the organization. Bureaucracy is abhorred, teamwork and collaboration is championed. There are creative champions throughout the organization — people who thrive on thinking!

And most of all, the key thing is a very different attitude – rather than stating “it can’t be done,” people ask, “how could we do this?”