“Best Practices”…The Most Abused Term
Sanjay Ahuja
15+ yrs of experience in learning transformation, I've reshaped learning by blending technology, strategic foresight & purposeful design, enhancing engagement & innovation.
How many times have we heard the term “Best Practices” used in presentations or business meetings. Really!! Is that your best? Is there no more scope for improvisation? The enterprises, especially those who offer IT enabled services, is plagued by so-called “best practices” term, which come to think of has really no relevance. It’s one of the most exaggerated terms used for a standard delivery or practice. We all know that practices / processes evolve continuously for improvements. One cannot call it best just because there is a lack of innovation or creativity to improve it further. So saying that we follow best practices is like saying that we are perfect. And just like nobody is perfect, no practice can be labeled as best. In fact acceptance of best practice could be a deterrent to creativity. In others words we are saying that this is our best and no better solution is available. Is that even possible in this ever changing business environment…….where technology has a short expiry date as the newer & better versions keep coming up so frequently.
Stay tuned for the second most abused term!
Management Consultants - Business Solutions Int.
9yBest practice is the practice of a company best in its field. But is this practice documented or do we have to guess it from what we read about the company? A lot of these companies are not ISO certified i.e. they don't have their procedures documented. A second point to remember is that the glue that ties together the steps of a procedure into a best practice has more to do with culture and the so called social capital, issues very particular to the individual company and which are not readily imitable.