“We’ve Always Done It This Way”: The Most Expensive Words in Business
Every business has routines. Some are written down; others are passed along through conversations, quick demonstrations, or a simple “just do it the way we always do.”
Familiarity can be useful. A process that works well gives people a clear way to get things done. The trouble begins when “we’ve always done it this way” becomes the reason no one asks whether it still works.
The phrase itself isn’t automatically expensive. The cost can come when it ends a useful conversation.
Businesses change over time. Teams grow, responsibilities shift, customer expectations evolve, and new tools become available. A process that made sense years ago may now involve extra steps, repeated work, or avoidable delays.
Familiar doesn’t always mean effective
When a routine has been in place for a long time, people may follow it automatically—even if they aren’t sure why each step exists. An old form may ask for information that is no longer needed. A task may pass through several people because that is how it has always been handled. Employees may keep asking the owner for answers because the process was never clearly documented.
These patterns can be easy to overlook because they feel ordinary. But repeated inefficiencies can affect how smoothly a business runs. APQC’s research on process and knowledge productivity identifies wasted time, duplicated work, and inefficient processes as issues that can affect an organization’s bottom line and its agility, innovation, and customer experience. (APQC research)
What an outdated process can cost
Time. Extra steps, duplicated information, and avoidable questions can take time away from other work.
Capacity. When routine decisions or instructions always come back to the owner, the team may be unable to handle everyday work independently. The owner can become a bottleneck, even when everyone is trying to help.
Consistency. When a process exists mostly in people’s memories, it may be handled differently from one person—or one day—to the next. That can lead to missed details, corrections, and a less predictable customer experience.
The U.S. Small Business Administration also points out that everyday operations—such as a product’s return process—can shape how customers experience a business. (SBA guidance on managing a business)
This doesn’t mean every familiar process needs to be replaced. Some routines work exactly as they should. The important thing is to understand why they exist and whether they still support the business.
Ask better questions
Improving a process doesn’t have to start with a major overhaul. Start with one routine that regularly causes confusion, delays, or repeat work.
Ask:
What outcome is this process meant to achieve?
Does every step still contribute to that outcome?
Where do people get stuck or need to ask for help?
Is information being entered, checked, or explained more than once?
Could responsibilities or instructions be clearer?
Keep the steps that add value. Simplify or clarify the ones that don’t. If a process changes, make sure the people who use it understand the updated steps and know where to find them.
It also helps to decide who is responsible for keeping the process current. A procedure should reflect how the business operates now—not just how it operated when someone first created it.
Make room for a better way
“We’ve always done it this way” can be a useful starting point for a conversation: What was the original reason, and does that reason still apply?
Small, practical improvements can make everyday work clearer for the owner and the team. The goal isn’t change for its own sake. It’s to make sure the way work gets done continues to support the business.
At FMM Consulting, we look at the steps, responsibilities, and communication behind everyday operations to identify where a process can work better. If the same delays, questions, or corrections keep coming up, it may be time to take a closer look.
