This Worked Yesterday, So It Will Work Today
Habits are what carry most people through each day. Self-improvement experts are always suggesting that people should change their habits. If it worked yesterday, will it work again today?
Many people stick with what is familiar.
Right arm in the right sleeve first, it is the way to put on a jacket.
Coffee before any work begins.
The number four combo in the drive-through restaurant.
In the workplace people often groan about boredom. They can’t stand Monday, start a little happy dance on Wednesday afternoon, and are excited for the end of work on Friday. Included in their status quo are the grumbles about their repetitive, monotonous, and humdrum jobs.
They retire there, but before they do, in their final days, they discover something. They discover that it is their chance to leave something behind. Perhaps it is a legacy, a chance to make an impact, a chance to tell the story of how to make it better and why the work matters.
Risk Change
Some of the best companies have failed. Some of the best companies have changed.
People sometimes proclaim, “Nothing will ever change around here.” Yet it is that same story that they work for each day.
Some businesses strive for process improvement through Six Sigma, or other cleverly named methods of perfecting a process. Reduce waste, improve efficiency, and have no defects.
It is fantastic during the build. It accomplishes something. Long term it creates a mindset of perfect it, lock it in and never change. Then there is the concept of continuous improvement, but then people are at odds with the philosophy. Do we change or stay exactly the same?
Habits are micro steps to creating an outcome. They build confidence or destroy it. Lessons are learned, some should be kept and others discarded. This worked yesterday, it took a while to perfect the process, lock it in. It will work today.
What is familiar is comfortable. Habits are supposed to be the process that creates the desired outcome.
If it worked yesterday, it will work today.
Worked Yesterday
Some things never change and some shouldn’t. Some shouldn’t be the way they are, and some should never have started.
One of the best ways to start your day may be with the optimism of your first day.
I am not completely sure what is going here, but I really want to learn something new.
Maybe this is the best habit of all.
– DEG
Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a five-time author and some of his work includes, #CustServ The Customer Service Culture, and Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.
