“If you always do what you’ve always done, you always get what you’ve always got.” This trite saying crops up all over the place. It is variously attributed to Henry Ford, Albert Einstein, Tony Robbins, Marian Diamond and several others. The trouble is that it just is not true. The world changes. It is volatile and uncertain. Things which worked well last year might work better this year but, more likely, they will work worse or not at all. If I always put $50 worth of gas in my tank then I will get a lot less fuel today than I did a few months ago. Over the past 30 years things have become more expensive – except those that haven’t – like the costs of data storage or flights. Markets change, fashions change, attitudes change. What was acceptable in the past might not be acceptable now – because of Covid or Climate Change or Metoo or any number of other influences.
If you what you always did gave you the same results then we could plan our lives quite happily. We could rely on similar outcomes for our marketing and sales campaigns. But we know this is just not the case. Campaigns which worked well in the past often run out of steam and need to be replaced.
In many cases the saying is used to urge you to try something different. And that is worthwhile. We should accept uncertainty (as a certainty!). We should question every assumption. We should try many experiments to improve our understanding of a world that is changing around us. A better motto might be; “If it works, keep doing it. If it no longer works, stop doing it. Keep asking questions and trying something different to see what works.” This advice does not trip off the tongue like the the first saying. But I am sure it is a better guide.
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