If You Wouldn’t Use a 60lb Computer, Why Use 1970s Hiring Methods?

One of the most common objections I hear when talking to companies about evolving how they hire, manage, and develop leaders is:

“But this is how we’ve always done it.”

That mindset sounds harmless until you apply it to literally anything else.

The first computer I ever used to type a paper was an IBM “luggable.”

Tiny green screen. Keyboard snapped into the base. 

And yes… it weighed over 60 pounds. (Thank goodness it had a handle.)

Fast forward to today:

We carry exponentially more power in our pockets on an iPhone.

When I was repping for Apple in the mid-90s, we were selling the G3 Power Mac (the “molar mac”) and the fruit-colored iMacs. At the time, they were groundbreaking. 

They were also heavy, limited, and, by today’s standards, primitive.

Now?

I’m working on a MacBook Air that’s lightning-fast, weighs under 4 pounds, and can do more in seconds than those machines could in hours.

Technology evolved. Because it had to.

So here’s the real question: 

Why are so many organizations still using hiring and leadership assessment methods designed in the 1950s and 1970s? 

We’ve accepted innovation in every other part of business: 

Sales tools

Marketing platforms

Data analytics

Communication systems

But when it comes to people decisions, the most important decisions a company makes, we often default to outdated models simply because they’re familiar.

Familiar doesn’t mean effective.

And “always done it this way” is not a strategy.

If we’re willing to upgrade our devices every few years, shouldn’t we be just as committed to upgrading how we:

Identify talent

Develop leaders

Drive performance

Because the cost of staying outdated isn’t just inefficiency, it’s missed potential, poor hires, and stalled growth.

There are better options today. The question is: are you willing to explore them?