I was bringing relatives into Epcot when my young nephew tugged on my pants, then, slightly hesitant, whispered in my ear, “Is this a graveyard?” I laughed and assured him it was not.

He was referring to the stone panels all around us and they did, I have to admit, look like gravestones. Those “gravestones” were actually 30 granite monoliths featuring Leave a Legacy etchings. At the turn of the millennium, Disney began selling small etchings. For guests, it was a chance to memorialize their Epcot visit. For Disney it was a money maker. For Epcot purists, it was an eyesore. The original Epcot design was grand and inspiring. The new entrance was, well, tomb like.

Let’s call it Christmas Treeing. It happens all the time. You put something together with a unified theme and look and proclaim it done. The next person in charge of the tree adds their own ornaments. So does the next, and the next, and the next. Before long, there are so many ornaments that you can no longer see the tree. And the unifying theme? Gone. What’s left? Clutter. Or, in the case of Epcot, a graveyard. As the snaps above show, The Epcot entrance is now fortunately restored to its prior glory (snaps courtesy https://www.flickr.com/photos/aloha75/ and Disney).

Clutter happens at businesses too. Each new leader, eager to put their unique stamp on things, adds ornaments: often without proper reverence or understanding of the reasoning behind prior decisions. New trainers do it too. So do new employees. Before you know it, all unity is lost and along with it, the business’s main purpose and its ability to effectively serve its customers.

One famous example from several years ago was Sears decision to increase revenue by establishing quotas requiring its auto repair shop advisors to up-sell services. The result? Those advisors shifted focus from helping customers fix their car problems to fleecing customers for every possible dollar. When the practice was disclosed, Sears was found liable, lost customers and its auto repair business never recovered.

Conversely, Steve Jobs once described his job at Apple as the guy responsible for saying “no” to all those extra features that would add functions while making functionality difficult. He kept the ornaments to a minimum. The result? Products that were simple to use (unlike the feature laden Apple products of today).

What about you and your organization? Do changes happen for change sake? Do those changes cover up the underlying purpose you are supposed to deliver? And are customer service and internal procedures cluttered with inane rules and processes? Are your managers, or your team, or you, overly focused on putting their unique stamps on offerings?

Simple, unified, focused is usually the best approach in business and life. But we do love to hang our own decorations. We unfortunately, with that impulse, can bury our businesses.