This article first appeared in Capital, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on December 19, 2022 - December 25, 2022

“Eh, why?” I asked, pointing to the changes made to the menu. “New boss,” the waitress simply said. Ah yes, that explains it. And that may be where the trouble begins.

In the years that the owners have run this joint, they have mastered the art of serving great food, with the added bonus of being staffed by people who worked tirelessly to serve diners. Few would argue that the place or its menu needed to be changed. Then, it got a new manager, and the individual had different ideas.

We are often told that change is good for us, that it eliminates boredom and complacency.

But the irony is that when you get a new boss, it is often the case that they become fixated on making their mark and putting their own spin on the role, never mind that their changes may cause more harm than good. Many also feel the need to cancel or change the business processes or projects implemented by their predecessors on the pretext that they do not fit in with the new plans for the company, even though their predecessors would have done some good things.

And it happens to even the most seasoned of entrepreneurs. We saw it in Twitter after billionaire Elon Musk took full control in October and began making major changes to the social media platform, including firing top executives and laying off half of its staff before proceeding to rehire them after he fired too many by mistake. Twitter reportedly experienced a massive drop in revenue, following Musk’s arrival.

Recently, change also happened to my favourite TV show. For 12 years, I have looked forward to watching Detective Amanda Rollins — portrayed by actress Kelli Giddish — and the team at the Special Victims Unit catch bad guys. Then, the creative team behind Law & Order: SVU had a bright idea and decided to write her character out of the show.

While it is understandable that writers feel that removing a character improves the storyline, it is sometimes unnecessary — Law & Order: SVU being a case in point. Giddish’s departure left fans like myself devastated after having gradually warmed up to her character in the series. When questioned by Variety about her departure, Giddish said it was a call made from above to keep the show current.

Similar sentiments must have been in play when a skincare brand that I regularly use tinkered around with the look and packaging of its products ... yet again. “The management thought the brand had begun to look tired and wanted to give it a facelift,” the salesperson explained.

I cannot help but wonder why companies that have products that are long established, valued by their customers and profitable to their business should seek to improve and change them — not because their customers want them to do so, but just because they can? Human beings are creatures of habit and when we get very comfortable with something, we do not want to waste any brainpower seeking an alternative. As the saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

The same thought arises when a big corporation splashes out a lot of money for a new logo that looks like it took just minutes to design. Rebranding is dangerous work because not all branding efforts are well received. Some rebranding is totally unnecessary and can come off as confusing. In this case, the company had decided to join the corporate minimalist logo trend and it featured the company’s name in just one colour. If a rebranding leaves consumers wondering, why bother?

On Dec 10, the new government led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim completed its cabinet lineup. As it begins reviewing government projects old and new, it is hoped that the government will not be too quick to terminate projects or dismiss proposals that are with merit and can benefit the country. After all, recent history has shown that the termination of contracts led to legal dispute, only for the contracts to be reinstated in the end, causing further delays to the projects.

Of course, some changes are simply overdue, such as the Kuala Lumpur light rail transit system. Resources were needed for proper maintenance but, perhaps more crucially, so were individuals with the foresight to plan for the future and drive the execution as planned. But like the old adage says: “Don’t make a change for the sake of change.”

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