The Myth of “That’s Just How We Do Things”: Updating Culture Without Starting a War

 “That’s Just How We Do Things here” !!! Ever heard that statement before??

Well every business that grows eventually hits a wall not because of its market, its systems, or even its people. It hits a wall because of one dangerous phrase: “That’s just how we do things here.”

You’ve heard it before. Maybe you’ve said it. It shows up in boardrooms, in break rooms, and under the breath of frustrated managers who know a better way exists, but don’t want to be the one to light the match. On the surface, this phrase seems harmless a marker of legacy, familiarity, tradition. But underneath? It’s a quiet culture killer. A growth blocker. A strategy saboteur.

Especially in family businesses or legacy-driven organizations, where traditions carry emotional weight, the phrase becomes a shield. It protects outdated thinking and repels new solutions.

Let's unpack why “that’s just how we do things” is such a potent threat to innovation, performance, and sustainability and how to challenge it without sparking a civil war inside your company.

When Tradition Becomes a Trap

Not all traditions are bad. Strong rituals can reinforce clarity, shared values, and culture. The problem isn’t tradition itself it’s unchallenged tradition. When habits go unquestioned, they become sacred. Sacred habits don’t just resist change they punish those who suggest it.

If your team starts every strategic conversation by defending the past instead of exploring the future, you’re not honouring legacy. You’re living in its shadow.

Why This Phrase Thrives in Scaling Companies

Rapidly growing companies especially those expanding from founder-led models—often develop unwritten rules. These rules become the backbone of how the business functions, especially when systems are still maturing.

And in the beginning, that’s necessary.

Startups move fast. They prioritize intuition, personal trust, and speed over documentation and structure. That’s how they survive. When scale arrives, the same informality becomes the thing that breaks things. What once was an efficient shortcut becomes a source of confusion. What once was a helpful rule of thumb becomes a bottleneck. What once felt like freedom now looks like chaos.

According to a 2024 report by Bain & Company, over 60% of businesses that plateau in their growth phase report “internal resistance to change” as a key barrier not lack of capital, talent, or market fit.

The resistance rarely comes from bad intentions. It comes from habit. From fear of irrelevance. From the pain of not knowing where you fit in a new system. This is where “that’s just how we do things” becomes a defence mechanism.

How to Break the Pattern Without Breaking Trust

Let’s be clear no one likes being told their way is outdated. Leaders who built the business don’t want to hear that the foundation they laid is now limiting growth. And teams who’ve found safety in routine don’t want to be told it’s time to let go.

That’s why change has to be co-owned, not just top-down.

Here’s how I’ve helped businesses move through this cultural reset without triggering mutiny.

1. Name the Pattern Without Blame

Don’t label people as resistant. Label the phrase. Bring humour into it. Say, “Have we fallen into the ‘that’s how we do things’ trap?” This disarms defensiveness and shifts the focus to behaviours not identities.

2. Create Safe Dialogue Spaces

Hold culture retrospectives where teams can share which practices still serve them—and which feel outdated. Use guided prompts like:

• What’s something we’re doing that used to work but now slows us down?

• What are we still doing because of tradition not effectiveness?

When people have voice, they create buy-in for the next step.

3. Replace Old Habits with Better Rituals

You can’t delete culture. You can only replace it. If you want teams to let go of the old way, give them a new one to believe in. New decision frameworks. New collaboration methods. New rituals that reinforce your current identity not just your past.

This works. In fact, a case study from MIT Sloan (2023) showed that teams who transitioned from legacy-based systems to co-designed team charters experienced a 34% improvement in cross-functional collaboration and 21% growth in productivity.

Culture doesn’t need compliance. It needs clarity. And that clarity has to evolve with the business.

What Happens If You Don’t Challenge It?

The biggest cost of protecting old ways of doing things isn’t stagnation it’s erosion.

• The best people leave.

• The hungry voices go quiet.

• Politics replace purpose.

• Innovation moves slower.

• Your culture starts defending its past instead of designing its future.

You wake up one day in a company that’s full of people who “remember when it used to be great.”

The only way to stop that is to lead a new kind of conversation. One that honours the past, but doesn’t get stuck in it.

What Does Courageous Culture Updating Look Like?

It looks like:

• A founder inviting the next generation to reshape what leadership looks like.

• A board member asking, “What are we doing that our clients stopped caring about two years ago?”

• A manager saying, “I don’t know how to lead this change but I’m willing to try with you.”

It’s not rebellion. It’s renewal.

Every thriving organization I’ve worked with has one thing in common: They weren’t afraid to question themselves. They didn’t protect “how we’ve always done it.” They redesigned it.