Start Over When Necessary

The Israelites were in great distress. Finally, they cried out to the LORD for help, saying, “We have sinned against you. . . . Punish us as you see fit, only rescue us today from our enemies.” Then the Israelites put aside their foreign gods and served the LORD. Judges 10:9-10, 15-16

My assignment was to fix the annual sales conference. Most people only showed up because it was required, and few left having gained much by attending. The format had been tweaked every year for the past decade. It was now a hodgepodge of elements that ran behind schedule. Half the seats were empty by the second day.

I decided to “blow it up.”

We changed everything, including the seating arrangements and starting time. We scratched all the old ideas and started over.

It worked. Nearly every seat was occupied when we concluded, early, on the second day.

Israel was in great distress. They needed to blow up their old ways and start over. Minor adjustments would no longer do the trick.

You should not take such drastic steps lightly, but they must be part of your repertoire for moving forward.