Everything is Broken


by Rick Stephens - Date: 2007-02-11 - Word Count: 348 Share This!

Have you ever heard the phrase, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it?" I was attending a seminar just last week when I heard the moderator say exactly that. Of course, everyone in the room understood his meaning, as we all do, but in the business world, doing things the way we always have can cost us customers, money, and good employees.

Instead of allowing processes to go on just because they seem to work, we should adopt an attitude of Continual Improvement, always looking for a way to make the process better, even if "it ain't broke."

There is an old story about a young girl helping her Mother cook dinner. As the Mother was putting the ham into the pan, she cut off a small piece on each side. Curiously the young girl asked, "Why do we always cut the ends off the ham before we put it in the oven?" The mother replied, "I don't know dear, it's just the way Grandma always did it. Let's call and ask her why." So they did. When asked, the Grandmother responded with the same answer, "It's the way my Mother always did it." So they called the young girl's Great Grandmother and again asked, "Why do we always cut the ends off the ham before we put it in the pan?" The Great Grandmother replied, "I don't know why you do it, I did it because I never had a pan big enough to hold the whole ham."

So you see, we can go along forever doing the same thing, the same way we always have, even though nothing seems to be broken, when in fact, if we would adopt the attitude of Continual Improvement we would begin to ask important questions, the biggest one being, Why?

If you want to make your business "the best it can be", to borrow from the Army slogan, look closely at those processes that "ain't broke" and improve them, and the next time you hear someone say, "If it ain't broke don't fix it", let it remind you to fix something today.

To Your Success,


Related Tags: change, improvement, processes, continuous improvement, continual improvement

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Rick Stephens is a recognized business advisor and consultant. He specializes in working with small to mid-sized business owners to strengthen their business processes and ultimately grow their business. Rick has been accredited by the Institute for Independent Business, an International accrediting body for senior executives.

Rick holds an MBA from the LeTourneau University located in Longview, Texas.

Rick Stephens is the Principle Advisor of the Consulting firm RG Stephens & Associates located in Plano, Texas. Rick offers business owners the opportunity to meet confidentially to discuss any business issue they may be experiencing. His initial meeting is always free and without obligation. Call him at 972-578-789

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