NEW AND IMPROVED

"So long as a person is capable of self-renewal they are a living being."

Henri Frédéric Amiel

19th century Swiss writer

I propose an edit.

So long as a person attempts self-renewal they are a living being.

Without the attempt, being capable is of little value.

Keep trying and let the outcome take care of itself.

ORIGINALLY I DIDN'T THINK SO

"The more intelligent one is, the more men of originality one finds. Ordinary people find no difference between men."

Blaise Pascal

17th century French mathematician, physicist and philosopher

A bit judgmental but point taken.

Original thinking does not come easy (and no I'm not the first to conclude that.)

Because You Should, Not Because You Have

"A tradition without intelligence is not worth having."

T. S. Elliott

20th century English American poet

I think we can safely substitute "thought" for "intelligence", leading us to the primary message.

If you do things mostly or completely because that's the way you've always done them, why?

We Won't Be Like You

"The new organization is edgeless, permeable, amorphous . . . constantly reforming according to need."

Unknown

This sounds like something a new generation person would say to demonstrate how they are different from all generations gone before them.

And there's a slight implied bias suggesting that the new way will be the better way.

If so, great, we can all benefit from new and better ways.

However before concluding that is so I'd like to hear how this "constantly reforming" organization intends to manage itself.

New Thinking, Every Day

"Most people grow old within a small circle of ideas, which they have not discovered for themselves."

Marquis de Vauvenargues

18th century French moralist, writer

I have no problem only adapting the ideas of others, but the number should always be increasing.

Let's Try Something Different!

"One of the greatest pains to human nature is the pain of a new idea."

Walter Bagehot

19th century British economist

Strange too because "new and improved" is standard, very successful marketing text.

How receptive are you to change?

There Can Be Many Roads To Success

"Intolerance betrays want of faith in one's cause."

Mahatma Gandhi

If what you want to accomplish is truly the right thing, why not listen to suggestions to the contrary?

Being a manager does not mean one is always right; there are often many more ways than one to accomplish goals.

Change and the Value of New Ideas

"Nothing is so amusing as a total change of ideas."

Laurence Sterne
18th century British writer

Nor as effective for improving productivity.

There simply is no way to overstate the importance of encouraging the process of change in business.

The Power of Reinvention

"You'll find boredom when there is the absence of a good idea."

Earl Nightingale
Commentator

Your customers will be bored, your employees, you; literally everyone in anyway connected with your business.

But this is not limited to your product or service. Good ideas positively affect everything.

In addition to everything else you must do, do you consciously work to create new ideas?

Are You Listening?

"My eyes make pictures when they are shut."

Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Early 19th century English poet

They do, but a closed mind . . . an altogether different picture wouldn't you say?

How open are you to new business ideas?

Old and New Ways: Which Path Are You On?

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I . . . I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."

Robert Frost

There was accepted wisdom in the old purchase manager saying "No one ever lost their job because they bought IBM."

And then many of those purchase managers looked around and saw viable alternatives.

Brands "less traveled" then, many of which are now bigger than IBM.

The tried and the true or new ways? Which path will you walk?

Click picture to enlarge