Challenge ‘Conventional Wisdom’ by Regularly Asking If Industry Norms Serve the Mission

In an industrial corner of Los Angeles, a team of young engineers stares at an enormous challenge—delivering a new product faster and cheaper than industry giants said possible. The rules are obvious, or so everyone tells them: separate planners from builders, outsource complex parts, accept years-long timelines. But a few stubborn voices quietly ask, ‘Why?’ Each time they examine a ritual—weekly status meetings, outsourcing welds, endless design reviews—they look for evidence these traditions advance their actual mission.

Bit by bit, old habits crack. Managers wander the floor instead of hiding in closed offices. Engineers and technicians share space and ideas, cutting weeks off problem-solving. Someone questions a supplier’s delay and suggests a homegrown solution. It’s chaotic at times, but not aimless—the mission (launch on a shoestring, beat the odds) directs every tweak.

The external world laughs at their pace, doubts their methods, calls them naïve. Yet, behind closed doors, progress happens. With each norm that falls, costs drop, surprises subside. Critics become curious; rivals get nervous. Years later, observers credit not just tools or code, but the refusal to settle for how things were always done.

Behavioral economics calls this the ‘fresh-eye advantage’—groups that challenge sunk cost bias or unexamined custom outperform those that blindly repeat. In innovation research, this is often what separates disruptors from followers.

Look at your own routines—at work, in class, or at home—and spot a tradition nobody questions. What’s your team’s or group’s real goal right now? For each tradition, write down the real reason it exists and if it’s still fit for purpose. Brainstorm at least one alternative—no matter how offbeat—that could serve you better, then actually try it in a small way. Over time, you’ll start seeing where custom helps or hinders and build confidence to design your own solutions, not just follow the crowd.