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Tuesday, September 16, 2025
By Sharon Arnoldi
I was walking around looking for a new coworker’s desk and came across this quote on a cubicle wall:
“The most dangerous phrase in the language is ‘we’ve always done it this way.’” – Grace Hopper
I took a picture of it, and thought wow that’s a great LinkedIn post!
Admiral Hopper, a pioneer in computer science, believed this mindset was a barrier to innovation. If we accept “this is how it has always been done,” we close the door to better ideas, new solutions, and the courage to change.
In engineering, operations, and leadership, I have seen how easy it is to fall back on old habits simply because they feel familiar. I am a huge asker of “why” and a strong proponent for trying something new. I am not afraid to fail and if needed to revert back to the old way because the act of asking and testing is what opens the door to progress.