Looking back over the past several years, I think that all of our pivoting and reimagining was the impetus behind our ability to let go of all of our sacred cows that were potentially holding our businesses back. Sacred cows are practices we hold onto that aren’t necessarily a part of our mission or vision and maybe they never were even in our best interest. We just kept holding onto to them because we’ve always done things that way. A sacred cow is a rule, standard or formula that we blindly follow because that’s the way things have always been. At one time, those standards may have made sense, but over time, they became sacred even though your business and maybe even your customers have changed. And, unfortunately, a lot of businesses don’t recognize those changes.
What is the worst part of hanging on to sacred cows? According to former IBM executive Catherine DeVrye, “we’ve always done it that way” are the six most expensive words in business. This mantra was put forth based on her experience in the computer industry in the 1980s. She helped discover that companies and organizations that fail to innovate and kept clinging to the past are poised to stagnate. And many of these pet projects come with a hefty price tag you keep continuing to pay way past the project’s natural expiration date.
I do understand. During the pandemic, I did realize that some of our practices at the chamber were outdated and no one would even notice if they were killed off. So we did kill them off. What things, you ask? Well, the good news is, no one has even questioned their absence so I think letting them fade away was the correct decision in looking toward the chamber’s future. And yes, the costs associated with those sacred cows are no longer hitting the chamber’s bottom line. Killing off those sacred cows was a win-win for everyone!
There is nothing wrong with consistent and effective business practices. If something is working very well, there is certainly no need to make a change. But keep in mind, you always need to keep looking for new solutions that will improve efficiency and better solve problems. In many cases, companies stagnate because they fail to recognize that their systems actually are not working all that well. Or worse, they know there is a problem, but they fail to fix it. And, no, I am not going to tell you what we kicked to the curb – you’ve never even inquired about their demise. But it really felt good! Those sacred cows were a pain, and I don’t miss cleaning up after them.
Lynne Conlan is Executive Director of the South Hillsborough Chamber of Commerce. Call her at 813-634-5111, or email lynne@southhillschamber.com.
