A Tradition is not a Value

I remember when growing up that one of the favorite musicals of my family was "Fiddler on the Roof". If you don't know the story, it centers on how a poor Jewish milkman, Tevye, struggles to maintain "Tradition" against the tide of rapid change (the backdrop being the Russian Revolution some 100 years ago). Like Tevye, we all want to keep our traditions. But so many of us confuse traditions with values.

Values are what we stand for, deep down. Traditions are how we express our values. Values are timeless. Traditions can be too ... but not always.

Lately, I have reflected a lot on my life's calling, my career, my family, and even the organizations I have been part of.* I see so many organizations dying from the inside today. They are dying because they cling stubbornly to traditions (two pistons! no amplification! no dance!) that have eventually poisoned the water.

And this is not just drum corps. Community organizations are literally dying - old members are aging and new ones aren't joining. There are organizations that say they serve young people but don't even know how to reach them anymore. The list is long of drum corps that have taken tradition right into the grave, and a number of kids are poorer for not having the opportunity. (Maybe some I discussed in the post Loss below).

Young people like to question traditions, but they don't do it with maturity, and so we more, um, experienced folks react viscerally to defend the traditions when they do. But we have to learn how to questions traditions, too, only with maturity. How? By asking, "Does this tradition enhance or hinder our values?"

It is funny that I remember the time the Holy Name/Garfield/of Bergen County/Cadets used the motto Tradition: Innovation. To me that said it all. And look at how old they are (founded in 1934), and how young they continue to be in the new and innovative ideas they bring to the competition field. The Cadets have traditions, but mostly they have values that have been infused over time.

So, anyway, most of last week I was at a work conference. On Monday of that week it was announced at the meeting that my fellow professional association members have humbled me by asking me to join their Executive Committee, which comes with a path toward leading the organization in a few years. I hope I can help find ways to strip out the unnecessary traditions, and enhance the values.

Look at the organizations you belong to, and whether or not they are dying by traditions instead of living by values. If not, you will be the one who needs to come up with the new traditions to enhance the values.

Some people call it "Thinking outside the box." The Cadets are my favorite corps for doing this, and doing it successfully. I think it is because they also know this: "Thinking outside the box implies that you know how to think inside the box to begin with."


* Okay, "of which I have been a part." That is grammatically correct ... but clunky. I tossed tradition for a bit there ...