A View From The Pew: Stop doing things the same way without knowing why

Just because it’s always been done a certain way doesn’t mean it’s right, or that it always has to be done that way.

Some of the ideas and practices we learn when we are kids are very helpful to us. Look both ways before crossing the street. Don’t run with scissors. Don’t talk to strangers. This is all good advice.

But the truth is, when we are little, all the things our parents tell us to do are the “right way” to do things because we don’t know any other way to do them. And if our parents are doing it that way, then that must be the way we are supposed to do it.

A young girl was watching her mother bake a ham for a family gathering and noticed her mom cutting off the ends before placing it in the oven.

“Mom, why do you cut the ends off before baking the ham?” she asked.

“Hmmm...I think it helps soak up the juices while it’s baking. I’m not sure, though. That’s just the way your grandma always did it; so, I’ve just always cut them off. Why don’t you call grandma and ask her?”

So, the little girl phoned her grandma and asked: “Grandma, mom is making a ham and cut off the ends before placing it in the oven. She said that it’s probably to help soak up the juices but wasn’t sure. She said you’d know because she learned how to cook from you.”

“That’s true. I do cut off the ends of the ham before baking. But I’m not sure why either. I learned how to cook from my mom. You should ask her,” the grandmother said.

So, the inquisitive little girl called her great grandmother and asked: “Great grandma, mom and grandma said they learned how to cook a ham from watching you. Do you cut off the ends of the ham to help it soak up the juices?”

The great grandmother chuckled. “Oh, no sweetie. I just never had a pan big enough to hold a whole ham, so I always had to cut off the ends to make it fit.”

The story of the ham is not new, and has been told numerous different ways, but it is a great example of the logical reasoning errors we make every day.

We do things because that’s the way we were taught, but never ask the simplest question—why?

I think about the next generation of leaders in this community who are seeking a seat at the table. They tend to ask hundreds of questions, inevitably ending with...why?

There’s always a fear from the elders when young leaders join an organization that they plan to implement change. No one seems to like change. And whether it is intentional or not, we often feel protective of the way we do things and the decisions we’ve made.

When we do things because that’s what we’ve always done, we fail to seek opportunities for improvement.

We fail to see the assumptions we make every day because of habit and routine. When we just keep cutting off the ends of the ham, we fail to innovate.

Albert Einstein said: “No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.”

Stop cutting off the ends of the ham today. Ask why.