Most marketing ops people seem to long for a fresh slate with their martech stack. If only they could start over from scratch in Marketo, they’d build it right this time. Yet once we get into these systems, even in ideal circumstances, the issues start to crop up. Inconsistencies in how things were built. Old, retired programs not being properly disabled & sunset.
Ultimately we dream about building the perfect system the first time, but perfection is never how things turn out. Instead, we ought to recognize these systems are ever-changing environments, in constant need of maintenance, like a garden that will be choked with weeds without attention and upkeep from the gardener.
No amount of dreaming about a clean slate will solve this. In fact, if you embrace a regular cycle of clean up, organization, and refactoring old processes to current needs, you can realistically keep that “shiny new car” feeling, and the efficiency it brings.