“We’re following best practices to ensure we become a world class organization.”
Really? Doing as others do assures you an ascent to world class status? Seems to me it will more likely deliver you to the land of mediocrity. Following in another’s shadow casts a dim light and a “me too” label on your brand.
Best practices is not the mindset of innovators. Of mavericks. Of risk-takers. It also isn’t in the biography of the men and women who made fantastic life-changing discoveries in science and medicine, created new industries with their inventions, or altered the business and social landscape with their hi-tech applications.
“Why would I want to use best practices? I don’t want to be like everyone else.”
If only more leaders would think like this, we’d truly have differentiation and stronger competition in the majority of our industries. Executives would drive their companies based on a clear vision, rock solid set of values and an unshakeable confidence that they will out-think, out-wit and out-work the opposition.
Instead, we have executives who succumb to the quarter-by-quarter profit demands of Wall Street, react to what they are hear from prospects, customers, the channel, analysts and the media and adjust their strategy regularly to ensure they don’t miss the boat the competition is captaining.
It’s a bizarre mindset, being a leader who follows. And it’s quite possibly the worst practice of best practices.
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