Rapid transformations and technological innovations make experience a subject of intense debate. On one hand, experience is considered a valuable asset, an essential element in leadership and decision-making.

On the other hand, in the face of accelerated global changes and new economic paradigms, the question arises: is experience actually an obstacle, a factor that limits the ability to innovate and respond to new challenges?

To answer this question, we must distinguish between two types of experience: operational experience and strategic experience. While the former can quickly become obsolete and inefficient in a constantly evolving business environment, the latter can serve as a valuable tool for an organization's adaptability and long-term success..

Operational experience: advantage or trap?

Operational experience is linked to an organization's daily processes and procedures. It ensures that the business runs smoothly, meets daily objectives, and conducts operations efficiently without disruptions. Typically, it is acquired through years of work in various roles, allowing individuals to gain a deep understanding of a company's current activities.

At first glance, operational experience seems like a strong advantage. With each year in a role, a director becomes more familiar with processes, effective problem-solving methods, and past strategies that have proven successful.

However, in today's landscape—dominated by digitalization, automation, and economic shifts—operational experience can quickly become an obstacle. Why?

When changes occur so rapidly, what worked yesterday may no longer be effective today. Automated processes and innovative technologies can render traditional methods obsolete.

Moreover, a strictly operational approach can lead to a lack of flexibility. If a manager focuses too much on what they already know and what has worked in the past, they may overlook new trends and essential solutions for the future. Additionally, they may develop resistance to change, failing to embrace the flexibility and innovation crucial in times of rapid transformation.

Is strategic experience an asset?

Unlike operational experience, strategic experience is oriented toward vision, long-term planning, and adaptability. Leaders with strategic experience can anticipate market shifts, understand economic trends, and quickly adjust to new realities. They can identify emerging opportunities and help their organizations navigate economic and technological disruptions.

Strategic experience is not about how to do things correctly now, but rather about what needs to be done to ensure success in the future.

It encompasses a deep understanding of the market, the ability to make long-term decisions, and adaptability to constant change. When the business environment shifts and a company must reinvent itself to survive, strategic experience becomes extremely valuable.

A leader with strategic experience is not afraid to make fundamental changes or adopt new technologies because they understand that stagnation can lead to decline. They do not merely look at past successes; instead, they focus on the future—on how the organization can evolve and become more competitive.

When does experience become an obstacle?

While experience can be an important asset, under certain conditions, it can become a hindrance. Here are some examples:

1. Applying traditional acquisition criteria to a tech company

A senior executive with experience in mergers and acquisitions in the logistics industry is involved in acquiring a software company. He applies the same evaluation criteria as in traditional acquisitions, focusing on fixed assets and operational structure while ignoring critical technology aspects, such as intellectual property rights over the source code. In the end, he realizes that the software he purchased does not have exclusive rights, allowing competitors to easily replicate it, significantly reducing the acquisition’s value.

2. Refusing to adopt new production technologies

An automotive manufacturer with decades of experience in traditional vehicle assembly dismisses the new production methods used by Tesla, which integrate components directly and reduce the number of individual parts. Believing that the traditional method is sufficiently efficient, he refuses to innovate. As a result, his company ends up with higher costs and longer production times than competitors who embrace new technologies, ultimately losing market share.

3. Ignoring industry shifts

A banking CEO with extensive experience in branch management dismisses digital banking and the rise of online financial services. He believes that personal customer relationships and physical infrastructure remain essential to success, ignoring signs that younger generations prefer digital interactions. When competitors introduce mobile banking services powered by AI, his company rapidly loses customers and is forced into an expensive and abrupt digital transition to stay competitive.

4. Overconfidence in one’s own judgment

Above all these situations where experience becomes a hindrance lies the trap of hubris—an excessive confidence in one’s own judgment, fueled by past successes.

Leaders who have made good decisions throughout their careers sometimes begin to believe they are infallible, that their intuition is enough, and that they no longer need to consider different perspectives or reassess objective data. This arrogance leads them to reject innovation, ignore real risks, and underestimate industry changes.

When hubris takes control, experience ceases to be an asset and becomes an invisible barrier, preventing leaders from seeing evolving realities. This often leads to poor decisions and, in some cases, spectacular failures.

How to use experience effectively?

Successful leaders understand that the past provides valuable lessons but does not guarantee solutions for the future. The difference between experience that drives progress and experience that hinders it lies in how it is used: as a flexible guide or as a rigid doctrine.

Here are some key principles for leveraging experience effectively:

• Continuously adapt experience to new realities – Use experience as a starting point, not a final answer. What worked in the past may no longer be relevant today. Learning, experimenting, and adjusting strategies to new challenges is crucial. Instead of mechanically applying past successes, filter them through the lens of the current context and make well-informed, flexible, and innovative decisions.
• Combine experience with continuous learning – Don’t rely solely on what you already know. Invest in ongoing development. Stay curious, read extensively, attend conferences, engage with professionals from different generations and industries, and constantly challenge your own beliefs. This approach allows you to harness experience without being trapped by it.
• Use experience to guide, not dictate – Experience is valuable when it serves as a tool for guidance, not as a set of rigid rules. Use it to ask better questions, assess risks and opportunities more wisely, and support your team in making well-founded decisions.

Experience is not a universal solution but a tool that must be used wisely and flexibly. In today’s rapidly changing business environment, operational experience must be re-evaluated, while strategic experience should become the foundation for business decisions.

Leaders who continuously rethink and adapt their experience will be the ones who successfully navigate the challenges of the future.

* * *

About Constantin Măgdălina

Constantin Măgdălina has 15 years of professional experience, during which he worked for multinational companies, both in the country and abroad. Constantin has a Master's degree in Marketing and Communication at the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies. He is LeanSix Sigma and ITIL (IT Information Library®) certified, which facilitates a good understanding of processes and transformations within organizations. On the other hand, the certification obtained from the Chartered Institute of Marketing completes his business expertise. In the more than 4 years of activity within a Big 4 company, he initiated and coordinated studies that analyzed aspects related to the business environment in Romania. Among them are the economic growth forecasts of companies, knowledge management, the buying experience in the era of digital consumers, the use of mobile devices or the customer-centricity of companies in Romania. He is the author of numerous articles on topics related to innovation, streamlining business processes, digital transformation, emerging trends and technologies. He is invited as a speaker at numerous events and business conferences.