Breaking the Cycle

So, you and your team are facing another issue, crisis, matter, fire, or challenge. And this is not the first time. You've encountered it before, and before, and before. It's so commonplace that it no longer surprises anyone anymore. It's exhausting, deflating, discouraging, and inefficient to keep diverting resources and energy to address the same thing over and over again.

You're tired of it. The team is tired of it. And, yes, even your clients, consumers, and customers are tired of the consequences that inevitably impact them. It’s time to break the cycle.

Here's the thing - you're not stuck in this cycle because you're incompetent or lazy. You're stuck because our brains are wired to default to what’s familiar, especially under pressure. When the heat is on, we reach for the usual tools and methodologies, even when they clearly aren't solving the problem. It feels safer. It feels faster. But it's neither.

I want to offer some simple, but pointed advice: Try something different.

You know that old saying about insanity? - "Doing the same thing, the same way, and expecting different results." I thought that saying had run its course. But no, it hasn’t - it's still relevant. And, here's what that really means in practice: We need to deliberately interrupt our patterns and experiment systematically.

I know what you're thinking. "We don't have time to experiment. We're drowning." But here's the brutal truth - we don't have time NOT to experiment. Every time we apply the same Band-Aid solution, we’re borrowing time from our future selves. That future crisis? It's going to be bigger, more expensive, and harder to contain.

Here are a few ways to break the pattern:

Invite different people into the conversation. The same voices produce the same ideas. Bring in someone from a completely different department, or better yet, someone who's never dealt with this issue before. Fresh eyes see what expert eyes miss.

Avoid defaulting to your usual response. Before jumping into action, pause and ask: "What would we normally do here?" Then deliberately choose a different path. This isn't about being contrarian - it's about recognizing that our default response has already proven insufficient.

Address the pain point from a different angle. If we usually tackle it from the operational side, try the customer perspective. If we typically focus on the process, let’s examine the people side. The problem hasn't changed, but our vantage point can reveal new solutions.

Take time to look beyond the symptom and do the onerous work of discovering and dealing with the root cause. Yes, this is harder. Yes, it takes longer upfront. But here's what I've learned: organizations that invest in root cause analysis once, solve problems permanently. Organizations that don't, solve the same problem forever.

Of course, this list isn't exhaustive, but hopefully it motivates you to consider systematic experimentation over reflexive reaction.

The real question isn't whether you're tired of "it" happening over and over again. The question is: are you tired enough to get uncomfortable with something new? Because that's what breaking cycles requires - choosing the discomfort of change over the familiar pain of repetition. Try it. 

Your future self will thank you. Your team will thank you. 

Be well.

CW