Don’t Be Like the Yankees: Outdated Policies Will Make You Look Foolish

The New York Yankees have won 27 World Series titles, making them one of the most successful franchises in sports history. Despite their dominance on the field, they’ve been taking an L off the field since 1973 with one of the most bizarre policies in professional sports: their ban on facial hair (aside from mustaches, because apparently that was fine).

George Steinbrenner, the Yankees’ former owner, implemented the rule in an effort to create a “clean-cut, professional” look. While the Yankees’ brand of baseball excellence remained strong, the rule quickly became more of an outdated relic than a meaningful policy. For 50 years, the Yankees stuck to this rule while the rest of the baseball world moved on, allowing players to express themselves while still maintaining professionalism.

And now, in 2024, they’ve finally admitted defeat. The Yankees will allow facial hair, and the collective response from baseball fans? What took you so long?

My Perspective: As a Lifelong Beard Guy, I Just Don’t Get It

I get that not everyone loves facial hair, but as someone who has had a beard for a long time, this is part of who I am. A small part, sure, but if you lined up a group of people who know me and asked them to describe me, “beard” is going to be in the first few details.

I can also tell you that if a company had a policy against facial hair, I wouldn’t work there. Not because I’m making some kind of dramatic stand but because that type of micromanagement is indicative of other workplace issues. What does that rule actually accomplish? If an employer is focused on something as irrelevant as whether or not I have a beard, I’m already questioning what other outdated rules they have in place.

And that’s exactly what the Yankees did for 50 years. They limited their talent pool, made themselves seem old-fashioned, and for what? Absolutely nothing.

Which brings me to insurance agencies.

What Does This Have to Do With Insurance?

Insurance agency owners can be a lot like the old Yankees. Maybe you have policies or processes that were put in place decades ago and made sense at the time. Maybe you inherited a rule from the previous owner or have stuck with a way of doing things simply because “that’s how we’ve always done it.”

Here’s the thing: just like the Yankees’ facial hair ban, there’s a real chance that those policies aren’t actually serving you, your staff, or your clients anymore. Instead, they might just be making you look out of touch.

The Risk of Sticking With Outdated Policies

If you run an insurance agency, you don’t want to look around and realize that you’ve been doing the wrong thing for 50 years when there was a better way all along. You don’t want to be known as the agency that refuses to change, holding onto inefficient processes that frustrate your staff and slow your operations.

Let’s be real: when policies don’t make sense, they don’t get followed. Staff members quietly work around them, new hires roll their eyes, and your business starts suffering because your team is spending more time dodging dumb rules than actually serving clients.

How to Avoid Having Outdated Policies

So, how do you avoid being the insurance equivalent of a team that stubbornly refused to let players grow beards for 50 years?

1. Regularly Review Your Policies & Processes: Take a hard look at your internal policies at least once a year. Are they still relevant? Are they solving a real problem or just creating extra work?
2. Get Feedback From Your Team: The people on the front lines of your agency often have the best insight into which rules make sense and which ones are holding them back. Send out an anonymous survey or hold a staff meeting to discuss policies that feel outdated or inefficient.
3. Ask ‘Why?’ More Often: If your response to a policy or process is “Well, that’s just how we’ve always done it,” that’s a red flag. Dig deeper and ask, “Does the rule actually improve efficiency, client experience, or compliance?” If not, maybe it’s time to let it go.
4. Test and Adapt: Try rolling out policy changes in phases. If something doesn’t work, adjust it. Policies should be living documents that evolve with your agency, not set in stone like a baseball team’s archaic grooming rules.

Embrace Change Before You Have To

The Yankees finally realized their facial hair ban wasn’t helping them win games. Instead, it just made them look out of touch. Don’t wait until your staff and clients are side-eyeing your agency for doing things the hard way. Evaluate, adapt, and create policies that actually serve your business.

Success isn’t about clinging to old rules—it’s about knowing when it’s time to evolve. And if the Yankees can figure that out, so can you.