Use New Wineskins

No one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the old skins would burst from the pressure, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. Matthew 9:17

Albert Einstein is generally credited with one of my favorite axioms:

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

Jesus’ disciples were criticized for not observing many of the traditional religious practices of their day. People asked Jesus why his followers didn’t do things the way they had always been done.

His response was simple:

If you want different results, you need to make changes.

Have you been trying to fix problems in your organization by using the same tools that got you where you are? Has your response to being stuck been to do the same things bigger, faster, or more often?

Old wineskins aren’t bad. They have produced great wine. But it is time to make a new kind of wine and move in a different direction.

The old ideas are comfortable, familiar, and safe. They’re also a surefire remedy for maintaining the status quo. Is that what you want?