Experience can make our work harder when we stop verifying what we think we know.
At first, we make mistakes because we lack experience. Later, we may start making mistakes precisely because we have so much of it. We’ve seen similar problems, gone through difficult periods, made decisions that turned out to be correct, and developed a way of working that has yielded results for years.
Then we start to believe that everyone else needs to change—except us.
A new idea seems naive. A different way of working seems unnecessary. A question from a younger colleague looks like a lack of understanding. Technology is dismissed as a passing trend. A change in customer behavior is blamed on market volatility.
Instead of asking what has changed, we ask why people no longer work the way they used to. But reality owes no one the right to remain the same just because we were successful in the old reality.
What was once an advantage can become a limitation today. Decisions made over the phone were sufficient as long as the company had only a few people. Agreements that were simply remembered could work as long as there were few projects. The owner could know every customer and personally resolve every problem.
When the company grows, the same way of working is no longer efficient; it becomes chaos with good memories. Experience is valuable as long as it helps us spot change sooner. It starts to get in the way when we use it to prove that change isn’t necessary.
The phrase “we’ve been through this before” can save a company from repeating an old mistake, but it can also blind them to the fact that the situation has changed. The people, customers, technology, market pace, and business volume are not the same.
That’s why the true value of experience isn’t always having a ready answer. It lies in knowing when the old answer no longer fits the new question.
From the manuscript of the book “You Do Not Run a Company. You Run Consequences.”
Comments