A couple of weeks ago I wrote about approving memberships, and how some associations make it far too complicated. (You can read that here.) It's a good example of "we've always done it that way."

Anyone who has been around for more than a few days has probably encountered this line. "We've always done it that way" is equivalent to saying "I don't know, that's how I was told to do it." (Which is also an answer I hear too often.)

The best way to respond to that answer is to ask "But why? Why do we do it that way?" If the why can't be answered, it might be time to trash the process itself.

So take a look at any process within your organization that doesn't make immediate sense, and ask "Why? Why are we doing it this way?" The answer might scare you (and you might be able to eliminate some time-wasting processes!).