You know the rest of that old saying: “You’ll always get what you’ve always got.”

It’s a familiar phrase that raises an important question for businesses: If they know that doing the same things produces the same results, why do they keep doing them?

The most common reason is – habit. They get comfortable with what’s familiar … things are working just fine … good enough … and they don’t even think about how to do it better.

They get stuck with established routines and procedures, and they settle into ways of working that become second nature. Over time, they stop looking whether those practices are still the best way to get things done – unless something happens to force them out of their comfort zone.

That points to another problem that’s implied in that old saying. In a world that's constantly changing, doing what you've always done may actually get you less than you've always got.

That's where Systematic Continuous Improvement (SCI) comes in.

It creates disciplined, ongoing routines and process for challenging the status quo. In regularly scheduled team improvement huddles, for example, people closest to the work identify opportunities to make it better, develop practical solutions, and put them into action.

The improvements may be small, but their cumulative impact can be enormous. And just as important, the process builds a culture where questioning the way things are done becomes a habit.

Here's a variation on that old saying worth remembering:

If you want to get better than you've ever been, you have to be willing to do things you've never done.

Let's talk about how SCI can make that happen in your organization.

Begin your improvement journey today!

Getting better at getting better.