not so fast, Winnie

“If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep getting what you’ve always gotten.” So says Winnie the Pooh. While this used to be true, I do not believe it to be true anymore. Keep doing what worked in the past and you will get nothing now. In fact, you will find yourself going backwards. Many old, outdated methods are now counter-productive. There is no such thing as coasting forward.

Today’s leader has to stay on the cutting edge of effectiveness. This is not to say that because a method is old, it does not work. Some things are timeless. But to keep doing something simply because it has always been done that way is a great way to stop progress.

So, with all due respect, Winnie is wrong. A more accurate statement may be, “if you keep doing what you’ve always done, you will get left in the dust.”