When You Know Better, Do Better

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Hey Indiepreneurs,

I always debate how much to talk about my day job here. I try to keep it to a minimum, but obviously a lot of what I do there affects what I do here (and in the rest of my life).

This week, we had the new CEO in town. He said that old conservative line of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” For a company that has just gone through another huge change, he meant it as a reassurance.

I’m generally a fan of the logic. One of my favorite quotes is from Gibert K. Chesterton (of Chesterton’s Fence fame), “Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors.” Often, we are so desperate for change that we never stop to think of the consequences.

All that is to say that I agree with the “if it ain’t broke” philosophy. The problem is when we get so enmeshed in our traditions that we don’t even realize when something is broken. Flashing warning lights are common in new cars and computers (both of which are summarily ignored by many users), but most of our life won’t have anything so obvious to warn us.

One popular example is spanking. I can’t find study right now, but I remember a while ago some researchers thought that spanking might be detrimental to child development. Spanking was so predominant, though, that they couldn’t even find a control group of non-spanked children.

“If it ain’t broke,” many new parents would say as they picked the switch (and I don’t mean the Nintendo one). But it IS broke!

I’ve worked in two main industries, one that can be traced to ancient Mesopotamia, the other to likely sometime around Adam. The thought of change in these industries is panic inducing for most involved. After this long of accounting and selling lumber, that grinding sound from the engine, the flashing red light from the dash, and the high pitched alarm every time the starter spins aren’t problems, they’re tradition!

This column has turned into more of a rant than I intended, and I know I’m running longer than I meant to.

My point in all of this is not to say we need to start tearing down fences, even if we don’t know what they’re for. What I mean is that every now and then we need to actually take a look at what we’re doing. We need to see if there’s a better way. If the answer is “nope!” that’s great! Don’t make changes for the sake of making a change.

At the same time, when you know better, do better.

If someone spanking their kids learns that it developmentally hurts them just like any other physical abuse, that person shouldn’t just throw their hands up in the air and say, “well, my parents did it that way and I turned out okay!” They should do better! Even if it takes some humility.

And while business decisions are not nearly as important as those involved in raising kids, if you learn how to do something better, you should do it.

The Links

• Still can’t find that original spanking study, but here’s one that came out before last week (which is the link above)
• I know the Peloton child (and pet) injury case is serious, but it brings memories of my own stupid past where I got on my grandma’s treadmill, turned it to max, and flew off the back.
• Did I share this Lord of the Rings Russian video already? Either way, it’s worth sharing again. It’s SO BAD.

Service Dog Update
It has been cold. Sherman has been doing fine with it, but us hoomans, not so much. I’ve gone out jogging with him on plenty of sub 20 degree days, but I’m really, really tired of it. So I’ve been taking him out on walks instead, bundled up like a Texan in their first Colorado winter.

He’s clearly been disappointed. He keeps trying to walk just a little bit faster, then he turns back with that look saying, “yeah, I know I’m not supposed to be in front of you, but you’re GOING SO SLOW!” He actually whined when we walked up to our front porch, clearly wanting to get a little more energy out.

He’s doing well, though. The adolescent poodle still comes out from time to time, but he’s maturing. He’s actually listening, which is the most fantastic part of all.