How to Respectfully Break The Rules

Breaking the rules and challenging the status quo can be exciting—it’s the spark behind progress and innovation. But it’s not always as simple as it sounds.

Here’s a short story about how I successfully challenged the system at university—and four lessons I learned along the way.

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When the Rules Didn’t Make Sense

In my final year at University, studying Industrial Design, we had to submit an individual project proposal that would count for 20% of our final grade. As my classmates and I sat down to present our ideas, I quickly noticed that a good friend of mine had an almost identical concept to mine.

We both wanted to design a series of sustainable furniture—customisable pieces that could evolve with people’s changing needs. We were both frustrated by the culture of cheap, throwaway furniture and wanted to design something built to last.

Not only were our ideas aligned, but our drawings were nearly identical.

We looked at each other, sharing an unspoken moment of recognition… “Shall we do this together?”

To us, it was obvious that working together would lead to a better project. It would also be far more realistic to how design works in the real world, where collaboration is the norm.

But there was one problem.

The University didn’t allow group projects.

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Challenging the System

The examining system required individual submissions, and that was that.

The reasoning was logical—but to us, it wasn’t a good enough reason to accept it without question.

We weren’t rebelling for the sake of it. We genuinely believed that:

✔️ The experience of working together would be more valuable than an individual grade.
✔️ Collaboration often produces better outcomes—real-world design projects aren’t done in isolation.
✔️ Rules should evolve to reflect how things actually work beyond the classroom.

So, we proposed a solution:

• We would produce double the work.
• We would split the final grade equally, no matter what the result.
• We would accept full responsibility for making it work.

To our surprise and delight, our professors listened. They agreed to let us break the rule—on one condition: We had to prove that it was worth it!

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The Outcome: Was It Worth It?

In a word: ABSOLUTLEY!

✔️ Our combined skill sets created a stronger project.
✔️ We pushed each other further than we would have alone.
✔️ We gained real-world collaboration experience.

And the best part? Despite not chasing grades, we ended up getting a top mark for the project. More importantly, we proved that change is possible.

We showed that sometimes, rules need to be questioned—not recklessly, but thoughtfully and respectfully.

If we hadn’t challenged the system, we would have missed out on one of the most valuable learning experiences of our degree.

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Myself (Andy) and Tom

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How to Break the Rules Respectfully

If you ever find yourself in a situation where the rules don’t make sense, here are four key things to remember:

1. Respect Why the Rule Exists – Most rules exist for a reason—maybe not one you fully agree with, but still a reason. Understand it before you challenge it.

2. Don’t Make It Personal – If you’re asking for change, focus on the system, not the people enforcing it. Blaming or confronting individuals rarely leads to progress.

3. Sell the Benefits – People are more likely to listen to logic than rebellion. Make a clear, compelling case for why an exception (or change) would be beneficial.

4. Don’t Give Up Immediately – Change is often easier to reject than accept. If you’re told “no“, ask why—and see if there’s a way to work around it. Persistence matters.

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Final Reflections

This experience taught me that rules aren’t always set in stone—sometimes, they just need a convincing reason to change. Not every challenge will be successful. But when something genuinely matters, standing up for it is always worth trying.

What outdated rules have you encountered? Have you ever successfully challenged a system? I’d love to hear your experiences.

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