During my police training, our lathi charge training routine was absurd.
On the instructor’s count, like dance choreography, we would all swing the baton with the right hand while covering the belt buckle with the left hand.
One day, somebody asked our instructor, “What is the purpose of covering the belt buckle with the left hand?”
He said, “In the old days, a constable’s identity number was on his belt. So hiding that number would prevent the poor guy he beat up from identifying him later and filing a complaint.”
Now, the funny thing — the practice of showing the identity number on belts had been stopped decades ago! But nobody bothered to change the training practice.
This happens even in companies and startups — not just in government bureaucracy. We create processes and systems. We hire teams. We create committees and groups. We start marketing campaigns. And we do all these for a reason.
Yet, we mindlessly keep doing things even when the underlying reasons are no longer valid.
The only way to avoid this trap is to question everything. Every few months, stop and ask — why am I doing what I am doing?
Either that or go extinct.
– Rajan