The One Best Practice Strategy That Wins

In the process of writing my book, Great Leaders Always Follow (launching Jan/Feb through WestBow Press), I interviewed a number of great leaders at all levels of their organizations. I learned as much or more about leadership in my time spent with those great men and women than I have in all of the great books on leadership I've read over the years. There were many things I learned that go against mainstream thought, and one of them coincided with one of my pet peeves with corporate lingo.

One of the phrases I take issue with is "best practices." I like Intel's phraseology much better of "Best Known Methods." The former sounds closed-minded and void of innovation. Why try to innovate the "best?" The latter suggests there could be a better method, and we just haven't found it yet.

Michael Porter once said that strategy is about trade-offs, choices; it's about intentionally deciding to do and be something different. So why would you follow a best practice strategy? If strategy is choosing to be different and best practices are what others do well, then it sounds like "best practices strategy" is an oxymoron, right?

Still, there will be far too many companies and leaders who are determined to follow the best practices of others in attempt to replicate success, and that's fine. Not everyone can be the leader in their industry, but who wants to be second place? The fact that the "safe" route will continue to be pursued gives great leaders the opportunity to truly define and pursue a strategy which pivots from current best practices toward creating the best practices of tomorrow.

So, there is one best practice strategy that does win. Setting the standard for what the new "best practice" is. The opportunity is in following indicators of gaps, something someone missed, and filling that void. Great leaders always follow indicators, and they are always looking ahead toward what's next. While average leaders spend their time trying to replicate the successes of others or improve their current processes, the great leaders are innovating new processes which will yield returns far higher than a highly refined, yet outdated, process. The speed of innovation is too fast in the 21st Century to rest on your laurels.

The same thing happens in a strategy or a business model. When you pivot from following the standard to setting the standard, your organization will truly be positioning itself for leadership. Then the rest of the industry can continue following a best practice strategy, because it will be yours. Then, while they're figuring out how to Six Sigma their way to success, you innovate again, making the old best practice irrelevant. The end result, a sustainable competitive advantage.

If this resonated, please like and share. If you're interested to read more about what I learned in interviewing great leaders from around the world, be on the look out for the release of my book, Great Leaders Always Follow.