Traditions cannot be looked at as being engraved in stone

The Burden of Tradition Mohit Malik Businessworld anoovaconsulting.bizl

What I am trying to highlight is that traditions need to be looked at as the means, and not an end in themselves. The well being of the business that supports these traditions comes first. Traditions without a viable business are not going to be of much use to anybody.

Yet, during the course of our consulting work we see organizations, not merely in the corporate world, but also in government, public sector and not-for-profit sector becoming prisoners to their past and struggling for survival as a result. Of course, at times, their state is due to apathy. But often it is an obsessive attachment to the traditions that becomes a drag in the journey forward. The longer an organization endures, more the traditions; more deeply ingrained they become, and tougher the journey.

Having said that, I am not trying to suggest that traditions are the organizational equivalent of vestigial organs. Not at all. Traditions are important. You cannot build a sustainable business without them. If you grow too fast and don’t have positive traditions to hold your organization together, it is likely to implode. Also, a business run by the force of will of the leader (often the founder), without traditions to provide cohesion, is not likely to survive for long after the leader leaves.

Traditions cannot be looked at as being engraved in stone. They, too, need to evolve, in sync with the environment of the organization. What is required is a pragmatic approach. The worst thing one can do is to throw out the baby with the bathwater. If it makes sense to retain the tradition, keeping in mind where you are, where you want to be and where the world is likely to be soon, keep it by all means. Rather, strengthen it. But if it doesn’t fit with what is needed today, or tomorrow. Kill it… before it kills you.