Let’s look at what happens when traditions become business habits, procedures, and unwritten rules.
Some traditions are valuable. They provide stability, consistency, and identity. But others survive for one reason:
Because nobody has questioned them.
Let me tell you two stories.
A young couple is preparing their first Thanksgiving dinner. The husband notices that his wife cuts the tail off the turkey before putting it in the roasting pan.
“Why do you do that?”
“I don’t know. That’s how my mother taught me.”
So they ask her mother.
“I don’t know. That’s how my mother always did it.”
Eventually they ask Grandma.
Her answer?
“I cut it off because I never had a pan big enough.”
The pan is long gone. The tradition remained.
Funny when it’s a turkey. Not so funny when it’s your business.
When “we’ve always done it that way” costs money
I used to work for a specialty retail company that began in 1939, and over the years I wore many hats—from operations and marketing to customer satisfaction.
The CEO was extremely reluctant to change anything unless he was forced to. He was slow to sell online, slow to develop a meaningful website presence, and unwilling even to discuss changing the company’s target market.
The business had opportunities to grow, but tradition became more important than adaptation.
When the company was eventually sold, it brought a fraction of what I believed its potential value could have been. The new owners are now expanding, improving the brand, and increasing revenue.
Same basic business. Different willingness to question the old rules.
Times change. Customers change. Employees change. Technology certainly changes.
Sometimes our traditions need to change with them.
So let’s look at a few traditions that may deserve another look.
The meeting everyone attends because everyone has always attended it
You know the meeting. Twelve people are sitting there, while four of them actually need to be there.
I worked with a client to completely revise that tradition.
The agenda went out 48 hours in advance. If you weren’t on the agenda and didn’t need to contribute, you didn’t have to attend. Meetings had a time limit. Issues that weren’t on the agenda were handled later or offline.
Anyone wanting to add an agenda item had to identify what they needed: help, discussion, a decision, or simply information—and how much time they expected it to take.
Notes were distributed afterward so everyone stayed informed.
The difference was fantastic.
The tradition wasn’t “having meetings.” The tradition was how meetings had always been run.
Those are two very different things.
The approval process requiring three signatures even though nobody remembers why
Several years ago, I was developing a mentoring program for a company. We needed approval at almost every step.
A few times the project was delayed because one of the required people wasn’t available. When I asked whether someone else could approve it, the organizers were horrified that I would even question the process.
The project was delayed by several weeks. Fortunately, we didn’t lose the participants.
But what if we had been waiting to deliver a product to a customer?
Every organization needs accountability. But accountability shouldn’t mean paralysis.
That’s one reason I often recommend creating a roles-and-responsibilities chart that identifies not only who has primary responsibility, but who has authority when that person isn’t available.
Your process should protect the business—not hold it hostage.
The employee handbook rule created because of something Fred did in 2007
Fred retired twelve years ago, but apparently his legacy lives on. 😂
OK, I have no idea who Fred is. But you get the idea.
Having an employee handbook may be a good tradition.
Never updating it isn’t.
When was yours last reviewed? Have compliance requirements changed? Has technology changed? Has the way your employees work changed?
And perhaps most importantly: Do your employees understand why the rules exist?
If you want people to follow the standards you set, make sure those standards still make sense—and that people understand their purpose.
And if you’re using the same compliance video people were ignoring ten years ago, perhaps Fred isn’t your only problem.
Some traditions deserve to stay
Not every tradition belongs in the trash.
Recognizing accomplishments. Mentoring new employees. Sharing information. Celebrating wins. Beginning meetings by acknowledging something that went well.
Those traditions can strengthen culture.
But even good traditions need thought.
Recognition, for example, only works when it means something to the recipient.
I once received a $50 Starbucks gift card. Very generous—except I don’t like Starbucks. I gave it away. I would have been much happier with a Visa gift card.
Another company encouraged employees to use ridesharing, van pools, and public transportation. Their Employee of the Month received a prized parking space right next to the CEO.
Besides sending a slightly mixed message, one of the employees who won the award always took the bus.
Oops.
Tradition or inertia?
Traditions can create connection, identity, and stability. They can remind us who we are and what we value.
But “we’ve always done it that way” isn’t a business strategy.
So here’s a challenge.
Look at three things your company does simply because that’s the way you’ve always done them.
For each one, ask:
Why did we start doing this?
Does that reason still exist?
Does this help the business we’re becoming—or is it left over from the business we used to be?
Keep the traditions that strengthen your culture and performance.
Change the ones that no longer serve you.
And if you discover you’re still cutting the tail off the turkey because Grandma had a small pan…
it may be time to buy a bigger pan.
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