It's Always Been Done That Way

We are all creatures of habit. We park in the same place when we travel by car. Sit in the same seat for meetings. Eat the same meals at the same restaurants. Live with routines that we develop and are difficult to modify.

Periodically it is healthy to become inquisitive about why we do certain things. The number one question small children ask is “why?” We adults humor them by answering their endless questions, but can miss their importance.

In training or sales communications, we must always communicate the “why” before the recipient cares about the “how” of an issue. Many times we are so close to the subject that we’re communicating about that we jump straight to the “how” while assuming the listener already knows the “why” because we know the “why.”

I’ve seen new members in organizations observe behavior and replicate it because they feel that “it’s always been done that way” to the point of not understanding why they are doing what they do. Once during a prolonged economic downturn, a civic organization had several presidents serve while they were unemployed. A new member innocently asked if it was necessary to give up your job for a year in order to serve as president. She believed that it had always been done that way.

The story of grandma and the roast pan illustrates the idea mentioned in the paragraph above.

A man comes home from work and as he walks in the door his wife is chopping the end of a roast off as part of her preparation for supper. The husband asks, “Honey, why did you cut the end of the roast off?”

She replies, “Because momma always did it that way.” “Let’s call momma and ask her why she did it”, the husband suggested.

“Momma, why did you always chop the end of the roast off”, asked her daughter? “Because your grandma always did it that way”, came momma’s reply. “Let’s call grandma and ask her”, the husband again interjected.

“Grandma, why did you always chop off the end of the roast before you cooked it”, inquired the granddaughter?

“Because it was always bigger than the pan that I had to cook it in” stated grandma as if she were surprised by the question.

Like the story above, it is interesting how often that in life or business, we forget the “why” of something within two generations of its beginning. Routines are established that may be perfectly good for many years, but unless we explain “why” they’re good to the individuals who come along later they may become ritualistic.

Texas A & M University to this day calls people who favor The University of Texas at Austin “Teasips.” It is a term that was coined many years ago. Most U.T. students or alums are unfazed by the remark because they have no idea what it means, which means they can’t be insulted by it.

While visiting with some Aggie alums one day, one of them called me “Teasip.” I asked if he knew what it meant, or where it came from. “No”, he replied, acknowledging that he said it because Aggies had used it as a derogatory term for Longhorns for many years. He said it because it was the thing to do, but because it didn’t insult me he was surprised.

I love tradition so don’t get me wrong. The case that I’m trying to make is that it is critical to always know why we do the things we do. If we know why, then we can instruct others as well, and we can avoid cutting the end off of the roast unless it doesn’t fit the pan.

© 2006 Richard V. Battle