Pope Francis struck a chord and touched some nerves in 2022 when he said about the church, "We are often chained like Peter in the prison of habit, scared by change and tied to the chain of our customs." With his passing just after Easter Sunday, it’s a good time to remind businesses about the same perils of being glued to the snare of, "We've always done it that way.”

Here’s a basic truth coming from the Pope’s warning: habits keep us stuck. Stuck in ways of doing things that no longer work—and even stuck doing “good enough” when “better” should be a constant aim. As Gretchen Rubin put it in Better Than Before, “Habit is a good servant, but a bad master.” Amen to that.

Systematic Continuous Improvement (SCI) is how we flip that flaw. It’s about building intentional habits that fuel progress, not trap us in rinse-and-repeat cycles – good or bad. And here’s the key: SCI isn’t just a job for managers and supervisors. It thrives at its best when every team member is part of the improvement engine.

The Pope's message is a stern reminder: Without intentional effort, we risk being hampered by our habits. Those "chains of customs" the Pope talked about? They're profit-killers. Every procedure that goes unquestioned, every process that's become sacred simply because it's familiar—those are the hidden barriers between you and your organization's ongoing journey to always being better than before.

Ready to break free from the chains of habit and unlock your organization's potential? Set up a time to talk by clicking on the link below.

Schedule a free 30-minute discovery call.

"Better ever after!"