How to Try New Things + Why it Even Matters
There’s this quote that I love.
Well, let’s be real…there are like thousands of quotes that I fangirl about.
However, this one just hits home. Because well…you’ll see.
“The most dangerous phrase in the English language is ‘We’ve always done it this way’.”
When you give this a Google to identify the source of this quote, you’ll likely find Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper.
I’d prefer to give it to my good friend and business bestie, Patrick Kirby, who references this quote in his stage intro when he rocks the faces off of the nonprofit audiences that are privileged enough to hear him speak through Do Good Better Consulting.
Either way?
Sharp ones.
Whip-smart people acknowledge the inherent risk of this phrase.
I work with several public policy kinds of boards and just about anytime we have a decision to make that requires the spending or allocating of funds, the question that always gets asked is, “What have we done in the past?”
Before I come off like a high-minded prick about this, let me just say that I get it.
I mean, I really do get it.
It’s safe, comfortable, and dare I suggest, easy to just keep doing things the same way.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?
But, this mentality of not trying anything unless we’ve “done it before” is awfully limiting in a world that is changing faster than my 13-year-old’s slang vocabulary for things he finds cool.
Cool is not one of those words either, BTW.
Right now as of the time of this writing, I think it’s “bussin” but hell if I know.
I’m still trying to bring back rad. Wish me luck.
Relying only on what’s been tried in the past and furthermore, not revisiting something because it already has been tried and didn’t work well—which comes out sounding something like “We already tried that; it’s not gonna work now”—is a slippery slope to apathy.
It’s bad for people, companies, communities, and organizations.
Here’s why the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality doesn’t actually help unless we’re talking about physical things that are obviously broken or “broke” as it were.
Who decides if something is “broke”? With programs, services, and ideas, especially those that involve people, whether or not something is working as it should is pretty damn subjective.
There are always things that could be improved so why does something have to be actually broken before we look to improve it?
Maintaining things still requires real energy. Isn’t it likely better to be thinking about continuous improvement versus waiting until something is flat-out broken before committing to fixing it?
We really need to start asking better (insert different) questions about whether to and how to best invest our resources of time, energy, and money into the things that drive our communities and organizations.
And I’m saying right now, “What have we done before?” isn’t the best one.
Now is a reasonable time to say, “OK, Rebecca…in typical fashion, you’ve agitated me. I feel this and exactly what am I supposed to do when practically everyone around me continues to say the phrase of doom?”
Let’s discuss that, shall we?
Here are a few ways to encourage people in your community to Try New Things (👈 See those capital letters? That means it’s important. It’s one of our core values at Growing Small Towns. Maybe you’ve sensed a theme with these posts the past few weeks. Yup. We can work a theme.)
Help people see that just because something’s new to them doesn’t mean it’s new.
I’m a person who sees cool stuff everywhere I go. Then I promptly think about right-sizing the idea to my small town.
When a good portion of people don’t leave the four walls of your community to begin with and then aren’t wired to look at things with that specific lens, it’s not hard to understand what a whacko I may appear to people.
That’s the mental game. Just own it. You’re a weirdo.
Now that we’ve established that we’re a den of weirdos, that helps a bit, but it doesn’t help to navigate the conversations with people who need to buy into your idea and don’t see the world as you do.
My therapist broke down a pretty great framework to help other people better embrace change and because I recorded an entire podcast episode about it, rather than breaking it down here, I’ll just share it again. It’s a good one. Listen here.
But essentially, the biggest challenge with presenting something totally new is that people without a bigger vision really can’t even process or fathom what that might look like.
They’ve never seen it before; any normal person (not us in the weirdo den) would be skeptical.
So consider how to present them with the information to even first help them become problem-aware. From there, you can help them see where your idea has been implemented in other places. Share information. Educate.
Don’t force it on them and try your damndest to not label them if they don’t immediately hop on board. This might be a bit of projection here as I struggle deeply with this one.
As I get told “no” or I get a lukewarm response to my super hot enthusiastic proposal, I am quick to think, “Well, they’re being an asshole. They just hate change.”
Not only does that thinking not help anyone, especially me, but it’s also missing the bigger point.
People are gonna people; it’s what people do.
So the mental game is partly figuring out what’s going on between our two ears and realizing (and mindfully remembering) that every person in the room is also doing their own brand of psychological acrobatics.
Give them more information. Heck, I’m a big fan of the question, “What other information can I share to help make this clear?”
And if you’ve done your best and they still won’t budge, I also ask, “What else can I provide to help you change your mind about this?”
It’s direct but it’s important if you really can’t see where they’re coming from and they have the power to actually stop you from moving forward. (I’d argue that we give way too much credit to this notion anyway, but I am aware of times when other people can actually stop up your project. That sucks and I’m sorry it works like that.)
Consider trying a different messenger.
Look, I’d love to say this isn’t a thing, but since the days of Mad Men, where every time the woman walked into the conference room to pitch her idea, the men around the table asked her to grab them coffee, this has been a thing.
And this isn’t a sexism thing; it’s again, ding, ding, a people thing.
Thinking about who could carry the message forward to a specific group is a great way to put the focus where it ought to be: the validity of the idea not the validity of the messenger.
I wish this wasn’t an issue; man, if there were ever something for me to wish, this would be a top 10, for sure. I have often realized that I’m not the right messenger and while it stings, sure, it’s just facts. And when we want our thing to go and we need to put it in front of a bunch of people who are slow to act, resistant to change, or otherwise just skeptical about anything, we need to put our egos aside and let someone else carry the message.
It’s not right, but it’s real.
Reframe failure.
No one wants to fail and if some internet guru tells you he loves failure and greets it each day with a smile and steaming hot cup of coffee, he’s full of crap.
No one wants to take a risk, take a shot—especially in the public square—and have things not go as planned. It ends up feeling like you’re wearing a red letter F on your shirt and everyone knows how it got there.
So, no. I’m not telling you to cozy up with failure because some guy with a tiny 10,000 word book full of trite business tropes and ripped-off stories said so.
I’m gonna tell you to reframe it because failure isn’t the enemy—the fear of failure is.
We tell ourselves all sorts of stroies about what failing means, what people will think or say—psst…they’re not paying that much attention!—and what we think it might say about us.
Failure is how we learn.
All of us.
Like, legitimately, if you’re not screwing up on the regular, you’re not actually doing anything.
The screw-up is the way up.
When we’re trying something different, we’re going to make mistakes and while sure, you could see that as failure, the reframe is simply about instead saying, “Hmmm…that suuuucked. But…did I learn anything in the process?”
Not only does your big ol’ brain get fatter with all the lessons you learn, but your character gets refined.
Shine on, you brilliant diamond, you.
Finally, know this: if you don’t need permission to make your thing happen, the best route is to just do something.
Gather up your people who want to see the same thing happen and take action. Any action.
Start small.
As you go, you’ll learn, you’ll iterate, and you’ll get better.
No amount of knowledge gathering, coalition-building, or analyzing and then re-analyzing your brilliant plans can replace simple actions.
When was the last time you did something for the first time?
Trying new things doesn’t have to be about audacious, wild ideas.
It could be trying a new food. Parting your hair differently. Wearing a color you’re not used to.
These little things might seem insignificant but it gets you into the habit of thinking differently.
Try something new.
Eventually, that decision becomes a part of history, and one day, a policy board will sit around a conference table and ask, “What have we done in the past?” and the past will be different because of you.
And I mean, isn’t that rad?
Wanna be part of our den of weirdos that believe in what’s possible and hope for the future for small towns? Check out our upcoming Small-Town Growth Club.
You belong with us. We’d love to help you feel seen in your weirdness.
