Modify Before You Apply The Best Practices
Dr. John Loblack
Helping small to medium size nonprofits with strategic planning process.
No two businesses are the same.
It makes no difference if they are in the same industry. If they are producing the same goods or providing similar services. They are not the same!
Therefore, what works wonders in one might be disastrous for the other.
In one scenario, the band-aid might be precisely what the “doctor” ordered. In the other scenario, the impact of that band-aid might be inconsequential, especially if it is applied without modification. Leaders must, therefore, do their due diligence before diving into best practices.
In other words, instead of using the monkey see monkey-do approach to problem-solving, leaders would be better served to invest the time, energy, and money to understand the challenges their businesses face. When they do, they will increase the odds of developing their own best practice.
In the process, they will have resisted the temptation to implement someone else’ best practice without first modifying it to fit their respective enterprise. It will also help them center their attention on controlling the things they can control, the things inside their business rather than those on the outside. ?
More than anything else, leaders who insist on doing their homework will be teaching the rest of us a valuable lesson that we should modify before we apply. If we follow the trails they blazed, we won’t be surprised with the results. ?