sometimes it takes a new perspective

In the New York Times today, an article about Mike Leach, the coach of Texas Tech's football team made some excellent points. He gets extraordinary results from ordinary people by doing things differently. He does not do them differently for its own sake, but is one of the few top coaches who did not have a football playing background, but trained as a lawyer. As a result, he comes to each situation with a fresh pair of eyes. Not surprisingly, in spite of his track record, other football coaches avoid his methods and prefer to stay with received wisdom. Just as it took Lou Gerstner, a marketer from RJR Nabisco and American Express to turn around IBM, so someone with a new perspective can often do much better than someone who has too much experience in the industry.

Sadly, we see again and again, that companies look for someone who has done the same job elsewhere and expect them to do things differently.