Habits are Valuable, Until They're Not
Most would agree a good habit gives individuals, teams, and organizations the power to create successful results. But what happens when the habit becomes "the way we have always done things"?
A proactive habit creates a routine or process that delivers a desired end result. For many of our desired outcomes, like an improved morning routine, physical health, or lifetime learning, habits help maintain our interest and aid continunity. Personal habits that keep us engaged in the activity are beneficial.
My life is my life and as long as the results are satisfactory to me, little may change in my habits and behaviour over the years. Though there may be a better end result I am missing, adopting a different habit to achieve that other end result may have little effect on me unless I desire the change.
Businesses are different because the measure of success is determined outside the business, by the customer. Their satisfaction with the end results can change without notification. For this reason a business must continually ask, “Is this the best way to do this?” to avoid being blindsided by an unseen change in the climate of their customer base. A business must disrupt itself to avoid being disrupted by a competitor.
Successful entrepreneurs continually disrupt their own business by examining if what they are doing is still relevant to their customers.