How to Tell When a Process Has Outlived Its Usefulness

Every leader reaches a point where they look at part of the business and think, “Why the hell are we doing this?” 

And the uncomfortable answer is usually:

“Because no one ever stopped to ask.”

It happens in the middle of something ordinary.

A glance at the calendar lands on a weekly meeting with six people and no agenda. 

A report that’s been skimmed for months suddenly can’t be explained in terms of what decision it actually informs. 

Or you watch work get handed off again and again, with no one able to tell you what “done” actually looks like.

The mind starts backtracking. When did this begin? Who asked for it? What problem was it meant to solve?

There isn’t an answer. Just the same three sentences, repeated in different voices.

“We’ve always done it this way.” 

“I can't remember what started it.” 

“Someone asked for it once.”

What began as a passing observation turns into something you can’t set down.

People are remarkably good at keeping things alive long after they’ve stopped being useful, mostly because removing them creates friction they’d rather avoid.

Processes stick around because no one wants to be the person who says, “We don’t need this anymore,” and roles quietly form around work that no longer needs to exist until effort gets confused for value.

The part nobody likes to admit is that once you start looking closely, it almost always leads to questions about roles, ownership, and headcount.

And once that reality clicks, the questions change.

What problem is this solving today, not when it was created?

If this disappeared tomorrow, who would feel it and how?

Is this producing a decision, a result, or just activity?

Does this still require a human, or is it only human because it always has been?

And if this landed on the desk today, would I sign off on it?

We don’t ask these to optimize work, we ask them to surface what’s still here simply because it never got reconsidered.

What doesn't get deliberately re-chosen never stays neutral. It quietly shapes how time gets spent, how decisions get delayed, and how capable people end up buried in work that doesn’t move anything forward.

So not everything you find needs to be removed.

Some things need to be redesigned.

Others need clearer ownership.

And some need to be thanked for what they once did and left behind.

This is how familiarity stops passing for necessity.