In business, few phrases can slow progress faster than, “That’s how we’ve always done it.”
In a company that has been around for more than 40 years, that phrase comes up from time to time, especially when we ask why a process exists. Sometimes it is said with confidence, like the answer should be obvious. Other times it comes with hesitation, as if the speaker knows there may be a better way, but no one has stopped to question it.
I understand why it happens. In our industry, consistency matters. Standard operating procedures, protocols, repeatable systems and proven ways of doing things protect quality, customer service, production outcomes and accountability. Not every process needs to be reinvented just because something new exists.
But from a business strategy standpoint, there is a big difference between consistency and complacency. Consistency means we are choosing a process because it still works, creates value and serves the business or customer well. Complacency is when we keep doing something because it is familiar even when it is no longer efficient, scalable or aligned with where the business is going.
That is where “we’ve always done it this way” starts to cost us. The cost is not always obvious at first, and it rarely shows up as one large expense on a financial statement. It shows up in smaller ways: extra labor, duplicated steps, slower decisions, frustrated employees, delayed responses, outdated reporting and customers having to work harder than they should.
Over time, those costs get buried in the day-to-day until they become part of the operating model. Those smaller costs may not look urgent on their own, but over time they add up to shape how the business operates.
Change Has to Serve the Strategy
Some people see change as an opportunity. Others see the risk, disruption or extra work it may create. Both are understandable. The key is not whether someone likes change, it is whether the change creates real value for the business, the customer or the team. We must learn how to balance the desire to move quickly with the reality that some people hold to the old way because it feels safe and familiar. That does not make them wrong. It just means the “why” behind the change matters and needs to be communicated.
Our goal should never be to change something just so we can say we changed it. In fact, I prefer to challenge and ask questions when someone brings an idea for change. We need to ask:
- What business problems are being solved?
- Whether the process is actually broken, outdated, inefficient or no longer aligned with what the business or customer needs
- Whether the change improves the operating model or simply puts a new tool on top of an old problem
Taking something inefficient and changing it without fixing the underlying process usually creates a new version of the same problem, and sometimes it becomes even more inefficient. When that happens, the business has spent time, money and energy without creating meaningful value.
Before implementing a big or costly change, ask:
- What problem are we actually trying to solve?
- Is the current process still serving its original purpose?
- Who uses this process or information today?
- What takes the most time?
- Where do errors, questions or delays happen?
- Will the proposed change fix the issue, or do we need to clean up the process first?
- What happens if we do nothing?
That last question matters. We are usually quick to ask what a change will cost, but we do not always ask what staying the same will cost the business.
The Cost of Not Evolving
One of the clearest examples for me was shifting customer service ordering from phone and email to adding an online option. The strategy was not to force customers into a new system or take away the traditional service clients expect from Carthage. The goal was to build a better operating model: easier for customers, faster for the team and scalable as order volume grew.
We did not want to simply build an online order form and call it innovation; we wanted to study the process first:
- What took the most time in phone calls and emails?
- What questions came up over and over?
- Where were customers unsure?
- Where did our team have to follow up?
- What information did customers need access to, and how could we make it easier for them to find it?
From there, the goal became building something that still felt like Carthage customer service but supported a more efficient and scalable business model. Technology should not replace service; it should strengthen it.
At the time, there was resistance, and some of it came from people who had seen other online ordering models and believed it would not work. Their warning was fair because they had history and real experience with a version of this idea that had previously failed.
But this time we were not adding technology for the sake of technology. We were redesigning the experience around what customers and employees need: templates, order history, treatment calculators, group ID tracking, shipping notifications and other tools that make the process easier to use and manage. The platform reduced re-entry, improved turnaround time, lowered errors and created labor efficiency while keeping the customer service team involved where support was needed.
Years later, more than 80 percent of our orders come through that platform. We do not know exactly what it would cost to maintain the old way, had we not evolved. What we know is that order volume has increased substantially, and instead of adding more staff to manually process the work, we are operating with one less team member while handling significantly more orders.
So the question was not just whether the old process worked, but whether it could support the volume, speed and expectations of the business moving forward. That did not happen because we simply built a new platform. It happened because we understood the cost of staying with the old process: more manual work, slower turnaround, more follow-up and less room to grow. The cost of not evolving would have been high.
Start With the Process, Not the Tool
A common mistake in change management is starting with the tool. Someone sees a new software, system, report or technology and assumes it will solve the problem. Sometimes it can, but only if the process makes sense and the business outcome is clear.
If a process is messy, unclear, duplicated or unnecessary, technology may only make the mess move faster and more expensive. That is why process evaluation should be part of the business case for change. Before we automate, digitize, outsource, rebuild or restructure something, we need to understand it:
- What is the process supposed to accomplish?
- Who touches it?
- Where does it start and end?
- What decisions are made along the way?
- What information is collected?
- Who uses that information?
- What happens if a step is skipped?
- What happens if the process goes away?
Those questions can be uncomfortable, and it may take time to find the right answers. But they are necessary.
We have worked on applications where we were still collecting data no one was using anymore. At some point, that becomes waste. It may have mattered at one time, but if no one uses it today, we should be willing to ask whether it still belongs in the process.
Keep in mind that not every outdated process needs improvement — some need to be retired. That is where businesses have to be willing to retire sacred cows. Every organization has them: a report no one reads, a meeting that no longer drives decisions, a form that collects too much information or a step that exists because someone years ago wanted it done that way.
If no one uses it, stop doing it. If someone does use it but it is inefficient, improve it. Do not keep it alive because it has always been there.
Bring the Users into the Strategy
The people closest to a process often know where the problems are, even if they do not always identify them as such right away.
That is another challenge with change — when someone has done something the same way for a long time, it becomes ingrained. They may not see it as inefficient, but necessary. They may have built workarounds that are so familiar that they no longer notice the extra effort.
Spend time with those people. Ask what slows them down, watch how the work actually happens and pay attention to the questions they answer over and over. Look for where they must re-enter information, what customers misunderstand and what they wish the system or process would do for them, because that is where the real improvement opportunities usually show up.
Be patient enough to know that the first conversation may not uncover everything. Sometimes it takes several discussions. Sometimes a question you ask will trigger something later, after the person has had time to think about it. Sometimes people need to see that you are not criticizing how they work, but instead trying to understand what would make the work better. The best change happens when the people closest to the process can see its value.
That does not mean everyone will be excited immediately, but if people understand the business reason, see how the change solves a real problem and believe their input shaped the solution, they are much more likely to support it. Do not just tell people what is changing; tell them why it matters.
Make Efficiency a Growth Strategy, Not a Fear Factor
One of the hardest parts of operational change today is the fear of being replaced. That fear is real, especially in recent years with automation and AI. Employees hear about technology replacing jobs and when a company starts talking about new tools, it is understandable they may get uncomfortable.
I have seen this firsthand with AI tools. When we started using AI to help with application development, design, documentation and process work, some of our team members squirmed because so much of what people read online is about AI eliminating jobs. But that is not how we look at it. We want to use AI for the work that slows us down so our people can take on more projects, solve more problems and bring more ideas to the table. AI is not going to understand the business problem, get the right people in the room, make the final decision, own the outcome or follow up on the finished work. We still need people for that!
But if AI can help with the middle steps that take too much time, such as drafting, summarizing, researching, organizing, troubleshooting, documenting or building a starting point, why would we ignore that? That is the message employees need to hear when change involves technology. This is not about replacing their value, it is about removing the work that keeps them from using their value to move the business forward.
In our industry, ignoring AI and other emerging tools also has a business cost. If someone else uses technology to help producers make better decisions, move faster, reduce errors or simplify their work, and we do not, we risk losing our value to the customer. The cost of not evolving may be a lost client, a missed opportunity or falling behind a competitor who was willing to look at the same process and ask, “Is there a better way?”
Sometimes the ROI Is the Cost of Doing Nothing
Not every change has a clean return on investment (ROI) calculation upfront.
Some changes cost money in the short term and the payoff may come later, which makes them more difficult to evaluate. Lowering pricing on a service to compete and grow the business long-term is one example; investing in a new platform, new staff capability, updated systems or better reporting may be another.
If we only look for guaranteed ROI before making a decision, we may miss the bigger picture. Sometimes the better business question is not just, “How much will this return?” but also, “What happens if we don’t do this?”
- What would it cost to lose one client?
- What would it cost if our team could not keep up with volume?
- What would it cost if our service becomes harder to use than a competitor?
- What would it cost if we kept collecting data no one uses, maintaining systems no one likes or supporting processes that no longer fit the business?
Those costs are harder to calculate, but they are real and should still be part of the decision. Change may cost money, but sometimes staying the same costs more.
Change Does Not Always Need to Be Dramatic
When people hear of change, they often think of a major disruption. A new system. A reorganization. A large investment. A complete redesign. But some of the most meaningful improvements come from smaller changes that remove friction.
It might be eliminating an unnecessary approval, automating a repetitive task, simplifying a process, clarifying ownership, updating an outdated procedure, giving employees better access to information or removing a report no one uses.
A good change should make the business better, the employee experience better or the customer experience better — or, ideally, all three!
Know What Should Not Change
There are also things that should not change: our values, commitment to customers and focus on quality, animal care, integrity, accountability and relationships. In fact, those are the reasons we should be willing to change processes that no longer serve us.
If we are truly committed to customers, we should care whether doing business with us is easy or frustrating. If we are committed to employees, we should care whether their time is spent on meaningful work or unnecessary manual steps. If we are committed to quality, we should care whether our systems and processes support accuracy and consistency.
Change does not mean abandoning what matters. Done well, change protects what matters most to an organization.
The Swine Industry Has Always Changed
The swine industry looks different than it did years ago. Genetics, animal health, nutrition, facilities, production practices, biosecurity, data, technology and business management have all evolved.
That progress did not happen because businesses kept doing things the same way. It happened because people were willing to ask if there was a better way, then decide whether it made strategic and practical sense.
The next improvement may not be one major breakthrough. It may come from questioning an everyday process that everyone has stopped noticing. That is where each of us has an opportunity.
Look at the process you touch every day, the report you run, the form you complete, the meeting you attend, the customer question you answer repeatedly or the manual step everyone accepts as normal. Then ask:
- Why are we doing this?
- Who uses it?
- Does it still matter?
- Is it helping the customer, the employee or the business?
- Is there a better way?
- What would it cost us if we never changed it?
“We’ve always done it this way” may feel safe. But safety can be expensive when the world around us keeps moving. The challenge is not to change everything, but to be honest enough to evaluate what should stay, what should improve, what should be retired and where the business cannot afford to stand still.
