Winner winner, chicken dinner

If we’re still using old strategies to get new results, there’s a good chance those practices may not only be obsolete, but also harmful.

It’s like running a computer on old and outdated software. By not upgrading operating system with any kind of regularly, we’re putting our machine at risk for battery overheating, malicious hackers, increased downtime and system failure.

Admittedly, I’ve been guilty of this latency in my career. I will over rely on certain business growth tools that were built for a previous era, like public relations or organic word of mouth marketing. Which had their heyday, but eventually these winning strategies from times past reach their point of diminishing returns.

But because of my stupid convictions, I persist in using them like it’s ten years ago.

Have you ever found yourself at that crossroads? Where you’re doing the same amount of work for even less output?

It’s as exhausting as it is frustrating. When the market has matured, and your playbook hasn’t, you start to doubt your value. Wondering if what you have to offer doesn’t even count anymore.

You think to yourself, this is bullshit, things just aren’t what they used to be.

And the reality is, of course they’re not. Nothing is. Show me one thing in this world that that is what it used to be. That’s evolution for you. Everything is changing all the time. The whole world is surging ahead, even if the tipping points don’t announce themselves with banners and trumpets.

And the ones who survive are not the strongest, but the most adaptable to those changes.

But your evolution won’t happen on its own. You have to take charge of your own growth.

I recently stumbled upon a fascinating discussion in a hospitality message board about this very issue. Vegas enthusiasts were debating which hotel on the strip was best, in terms of customer service, occupancy rate, amenities and brand awareness.

One comment that a guest made was about a popular hotel property:

They’re still running their business like a casino with rooms, instead of a hotel with a casino.

Winner winner, chicken dinner. How insightful is that?

Imagine how many businesses out there are making the same mistake. Resting in yesterday’s definition of themselves. Thinking too small about their value. Trying to use old boundaries to fit new situations.

If that describes you in any way, even if you’re not a business owner yourself, here’s my suggestion.

Enjoy changes as opportunities for renewal. It’s the only way to thrive. It’s how to perpetuate your success and avoid extinction. When change comes barreling down the avenue, whether it’s technological, biological or cultural, the first thing you should say is, great, this is the sign we’ve been waiting for, let’s go.

Doesn’t that sound better than watching your competition outmaneuver all your outdated tactics?

Wouldn’t you rather hit a new threshold and evolve, keep doing what you’re doing and go the way of the dodo?

Maybe it’s time to stop running your business like a casino with rooms, and think of yourself as a hotel with a casino.

Winner winner, chicken dinner.

Will you double down on something you’ve outgrown, make the radical change necessary to keep moving your story forward?