JUST YOUR VOICE PART 4: DROPPING THE STATUS QUO

A Note to Minions:

You’ve heard it before: relics belong in the museum.  Procedures have less to do with rules than with the overall aura of the office.  If you constantly feel that what you are doing is archaic or inefficient, it’s time to bring up your ideas, whether on-on-one or at a staff meeting. 

Even though you’ll feel the pushback excuses of “Because we’ve always done it this way.”  “But in the past…”  “But no one else….”, it’s time to clean out the closet.  Some excuses will come from co-workers who have gotten cozy in their positions.

Bag up the culture of the Status Quo and drop it in the dumpster.

The culture of static and the culture of change appear to butt heads.  More often, the now static procedures were radical changes in the past.  However, just because they were radical 30 years ago does not mean they meet today’s standards.  Evaluate, evaluate, evaluate.  The bosses at the top of the food chain got to where they are by changing their modes of business to greet the realities of today. 

It can be scary to be the outlier. By pushing for progress little-by-little, you will create a change culture, and your name will be at the top.

A Note to Supervisors:

Your clothes have changed, your computer has changed, and your staff has changed, so why not your procedures? 

Staff tend to be mobile: they come from different backgrounds and have worked in several offices.  Chances are, they have more than a few ideas on how to update the flow of the office, which then updates the overall feel of the company.  Use this to your benefit!