In today’s market, customer loyalty can be summed up with the question “What have you done for me recently?” To gain and maintain customer loyalty, it’s crucial to continually strive for improvement and proactively seek out better solutions to problems before they even arise. This shows your customers that you are committed to enhancing their experience and staying ahead of the game.

 

a recent client conversation

This concept was at the heart of a recent conversation I had with a client.

After a thorough consultation with a Finance Manager from a sizeable organisation regarding single-touch payroll, we agreed that it was time for their company to shift towards a sturdier cloud accounting solution. The focus would be on automating their HR and payroll complexities to boost efficiency.

 

the risk of stagnation

Knowing they had recently acquired another business; I recognised their potential risk of drowning in manual processes if they continued to operate in a desktop environment so was shocked by the Managing Director’s response to the proposal of upgrading their accounting and payroll systems.

He asked me “If it ain’t broken, why do we need to change?” 

We’ve all heard this from our parents growing up, and I will confess I’ve said this myself on occasion. But does it hold up in today’s fast-changing society?

 

rethinking the ‘if it ain’t broke’ mindset

After ending the phone call, I had one of those ‘ah ha’ moments. The mindset of ’if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’, is fundamentally misguided.

It is all about concentrating on the present with complete disregard for the future. It’s a short-term perspective, leaving you blind to long-term opportunities.

 

the importance of continuous improvement

The question of ‘why fix something that isn’t broken?’ often arises but imagine being the last company to sell horse-drawn carriages when the automobile industry was booming!

On the other hand, envision being the first person, like Henry Ford, to enhance an existing mode of transportation that was already functioning as it was intended. Do you spot the trend here?

 

it’s about efficiency and sustainability

Whilst something may appear to function and isn’t visibly broken or faulty, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is working effectively. These days, simply completing a task is no longer an adequate measure of success.

Instead, we must examine the efficiency and sustainability of the process. To stay at the cutting edge of innovation, we need to experiment, innovate, and improve things that are not yet ‘broken.’

This requires adopting a mindset that everything can be reimagined, done differently, and fixed. The outdated notion of ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ no longer holds true in today’s world; in fact, it never really was… if Henry Ford had followed this belief, we might still be getting around in horse-drawn carriages!

So, if it ain’t broke, then break it!

 

we’re here to help!

Need a hand finding ways to innovate in your business? We’ve got expert business advisors who’d love to help you – just reach out at oneplace@businessdepot.com.au or give us a buzz at 1300 BDEPOT!

 

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