The Status Quo is Off the Table
Legendary investor Bill Gurley recently told a story about Tobi Lüke, the founder and CEO of Spotify. Tobi had called a meeting when a critical issue came up. Tobi told the group, “We are here to solve a problem, so the one option we are not going to leave the room doing is the status quo. That is off the table.”
Written down, it may seem obvious that’s what should be done in that situation. The challenge of course is that people are often not rational, and instead default to “the way it’s always been done.” Countless articles (here’s the original) have been written about status quo bias, but we don’t need to be convinced it’s real, do we? Of course not; psychological inertia prevents us from speaking up as we imagine the risk and increased effort any change could create.
Here are a few examples you may have seen:
During open enrollment for insurance, you keep the same selection as last year without reviewing other options
A software or vendor renewal gets fast-tracked instead of evaluating competitive options
A recurring meeting stays on the calendar even though there’s nothing to say
Especially during a turbulent climate, people are less likely to stick their necks out to promote new ideas that will rock the boat. Change invites risk, and people may be uncomfortable putting themselves in situations where the outcome is uncertain.
As a leader, what can be done? Longer term, encourage your team to build a culture of innovation through experimentation. The practice of trying new things (small and frequent bets) and evaluating results openly will help your team avoid freezing when facing a bigger change.
Be willing to ask the uncomfortable question getting in the way of progress. What’s the real reason the team won’t lean into change? Is it a fear of upsetting someone, concern about the amount of work that may be required, or admitting a past choice may have been wrong? No matter the reason, decisive action must be taken and communicated to build the inertia for change.
In the meantime, keep it simple. If you can spot a problem facing your business, follow Tobi’s framework and ‘take it off the table.’
