Peter Drucker once wrote: “If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old.”
I’m in the process of moving from Florida to Massachusetts and his words have been rattling around in my head. Making room for the new life ahead has meant letting go of a lot — boxes, habits, a version of “normal” I’d gotten comfortable with.
September is the perfect backdrop for this kind of thinking. The light hits everything at a lower angle this time of year — it shows the shadows summer hid. Innovation often works the same way: it’s rarely new information. It’s an old problem, seen from a new slant.
So here’s the real question: how often do you actually make room for that at work? For most of us? Barely ever. It’s way easier to keep doing things the “normal” way and not rock the boat.
I learned this the hard way as a first-time manager. My team was always last in line for budget, and I kept hearing “This is just how it’s done.” Except doing it “how it’s done” meant we’d never get what we needed. If we wanted the resources to do our jobs, we had to make room for innovation.
We turned it into a campaign for change. We pulled the team together and brainstormed: How could we improve customer service? Streamline our processes? Make a stronger case for budget?
We looked for ways to beat the system — and when we found them, we used them:
· We got ahead of the calendar. Instead of scrambling at year-end for leftover budget, we started requesting early.
· We talked to the customer directly. Not surveys — actual conversations about what wasn’t working for them.
· We stayed curious instead of defensive. Every “that’s not how we do it” became a question: “why not?”
The results spoke for themselves. Employee engagement hit an all-time high. We finally had the equipment we needed. Customer satisfaction scores went through the roof.
None of it would have happened if we hadn’t questioned the standard way of doing business — and if we hadn’t brought in the people who knew the problems best to help solve them.
What could you accomplish if you made room for innovation?
Here’s some ways to start:
1. Get curious. What makes no sense anymore? What’s draining you or your team? What’s quietly frustrating your customers?
2. Name the problem. Bring the problem into the open with the people closest to it.
3. Talk solutions. Once the problem is named, shift the conversation toward what could be different.
4. Watch for the ripple effect. Small process fixes often cascade into bigger wins engagement, retention, even the bottom line.
It deserves some thought. What’s the “old” you need to stop doing, so something new has room?
