“We’ve always done it that way.” This is possibly the most dangerous phrase to be spoken in an organisation today.

Followed closely by:“We tried that before, and it didn’t work.”“That’s not what we do. It’s for others - in different organisations, sectors, or geographies.”

Salim Ismail, author of Exponential Organizations, talks about the corporate immune system kicking into gear. It rejects what is new, unknown, or unfamiliar.

Many of us have experienced it first-hand. In organisations - and in people - who experience an immune response, and shut down what is unfamiliar, they default to their lived experience or areas of expertise. Effectively, in their minds, they have pages of historic notes to which they continually refer.

And then there is a group of people who work with a blank sheet of paper. There is little lived experience. There often is no expertise.

This is youth. Those young enough to start without the burden of knowing better.

The UN’s International Youth Day falls this week. And we should pause for a moment to see what those aged between 15 and 24 are up to. Because they are up to some impressive things.

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