Why “That’s How We’ve Always Done It” Might Be Your Biggest Blind Spot

I smiled and asked, "Do you feel the situation, the context, the environment today is the same as last year?"

Without missing a beat, he shot back, "Well… that’s how things have always been done here. Even during COVID, this strategy worked! Why should it be different now?" 

And there it was—the Semmelweis Reflex in action.
This delightful little bias shows up when we reject new ideas simply because they don’t fit with the way things have always been done.
It’s named after Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis, who in the 1840s dared to suggest (brace yourself)… washing hands before delivering babies.

Logical, right? Except back then, he was mocked, ridiculed, and ignored.
(And we all know how that turned out.)

Fast forward to today, and it still sounds familiar:
** “But last year’s strategy worked fine.”
** “This is how we’ve always done it.”

Here’s the thing:
Change doesn’t kill us. But blind refusal to change… just might.

As coaches, part of our job is to hold up the mirror and ask (sometimes gently, sometimes not-so-gently):
** What assumptions are you holding onto?
** Where might the context have shifted?
** What would it take to try something new instead of clinging to the old?

After all, if we humans could move from landlines → pagers → fax machines → smartphones… surely, we can move beyond strategies from “last year.” 😉

If this resonates and you’d like to explore where you might be holding onto last year’s strategies, let’s talk (https://lnkd.in/gr7gMFau).