Innovation 300: Kill the Old Way

Imperative Explained

Kill the Old Way means identifying and removing outdated workflows, assumptions, and routines that no longer support the organization’s direction. Leaders spotlight what’s expired and replace it with practices that match today’s reality.
This isn’t about disruption for its own sake—it’s about reclaiming capacity, sharpening focus, and freeing teams to do their best work without tripping over yesterday’s habits.

Five Behaviors

• Identify legacy drag — Spot what no longer serves.
  
  
• Name the expiration — Explain why it’s outdated.
  
  
• Replace with relevance — Install a better fit.
  
  
• Protect the new way — Keep old habits from returning.
  
  
• Revisit regularly — Guard against quiet regression.
  
  

If You Don’t

Teams stay stuck in patterns that waste time and energy. Priorities get crowded out by outdated routines. Customers experience slower delivery and inconsistent improvement.

If You Do

Capacity opens up. Priority adherence strengthens, time allocation aligns to what matters, and waste hours drop sharply. The organization becomes more flexible and strategically focused.

Mini-Case

A senior IC noticed her team spending hours each week maintaining a legacy workflow. She declared it expired, replaced it with a simpler process, and monitored adoption. Output increased without any additional hours, and morale improved.

Try It This Week

1. Identify one outdated practice.
   
   
2. Declare it expired.
   
   
3. Replace it with a lighter alternative.
   
   
4. Reinforce the new habit.
   
   
5. Check in after one week.
   
   

Learn More

Explore Purpose 300: Budget Your Why to tighten focus, Strategy 200: Look to Subtract to remove noise, and Resilience 300: Mine Adversity for Assets to convert setbacks into improved systems.