Things that don’t work at all usually get immediate attention. Things that work but work poorly rarely do and often cause a lot of trouble for a long time.

On nice spring and fall days, I greatly enjoy the fresh air. For years, I lived on a farm in the country, and my computer was right next to the window. I would often open it and breathe in the fresh country air.

Before we even moved in, that window was tough to open. It’s the type with a crank handle for opening, but the threads on the handle were worn out. So, even though the handle turned, it didn’t actually open the window.

To open the window, I had to get a wrench to turn the screw under the handle while simultaneously pushing on the windowpane with my other hand. It was an awkward and jerky way to open the window, and it took several minutes to open or close it, but it worked. For years, I considered replacing the window, but it was always too expensive or too hot or cold out. I repeatedly ended up doing nothing and putting up with the painful ritual to open or close it.

Then one day, a tree branch fell and shattered the windowpane next to it. I had both windows replaced the very next day. Once it was truly broken, I saw that it got fixed quickly.

My friend Andrew Clay Shafer, calls this: “Broken gets fixed. Shitty is forever.” The meaning is that when things are non-functional, they get fixed; when they are just problematic, they often don’t.

Another time, I dropped my phone and cracked the glass. The phone was still usable, but a corner was difficult to see and every once in awhile I’d get a splinter of cracked glass in my finger. Still, it took me months to fix. It didn’t seem like it was worth the time and effort to get it fixed.

Now that you’ve heard of this, you will see it everywhere in all those little things you’ve been meaning to take care of. But they’re just annoyances and fixing them would also be an annoyance. 

In the business world, I see this often in legacy systems and processes. Some banks, for instance, continue to rely on software written in COBOL over 40 years ago. These systems are far from ideal, often cumbersome, and expensive to maintain, yet they remain in use not because they are the best solutions, but because they still function. The reluctance to overhaul or replace these systems stems from a calculation of immediate inconvenience versus long-term benefit. The hassle of significant change is avoided in favor of enduring the familiar discomforts of outdated technology. This approach not only limits innovation but also perpetuates inefficiencies, demonstrating how businesses can fall into the trap of tolerating suboptimal conditions rather than embracing necessary advancements.

From a business standpoint, the message is clear: Fix these things! Especially in business, fixing these items will often pay back handsomely over time whereas failing to fix them will continue to drain the company.