"Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail" - Muriel Strode

Does your company follow "best practices?"  What comes to mind when you hear that statement..."We follow best practices."  If you are like most, you key in on the words "best practices" and equate the company with industry leadership.  Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth.  You see, I key in on the word "follow" instead, which is the true limiting factor of those who pursue the holy grail of best practices.

The pursuit of best practices means just that, you are pursuing the technique, method, process, activity, incentive or reward that is more effective at delivering a particular outcome than any other technique, method, process, etc., as defined by others, who you see as leaders in the specific area of effort.  This puts you in a constant "maintenance mode" of trying to keep up with the pack.  In essence, you are playing the game of "follow the leader."

Innovators, by contrast, don't follow best practices...They set them.  Did Apple capture the market by following the best practices of other MP3 player manufacturers?  Did Southwest Airlines experience explosive growth by following the best practices of other airlines?  Did Walt Disney create a completely new concept in family entertainment by following the best practices of other amusement parks?  Best practice leaders are the one's constantly erasing their business models and starting over.  They push the envelope, accept risk, support a creative culture and harvest ideas from anywhere and everywhere.

Best practices do, however, have benefit for those companies who have fallen behind in maintaining good techniques and processes for streamlining their operations and developing an innovation culture.  These companies need a path to follow in order to catch up with the competition.  Be cautious, though, when setting which best practice standards you decide to follow.  Just because Motorola's Six Sigma program works for Motorola's operations, does not ensure they will produce the same benefits for your organization.

Remember, following best practices will only help you to catch up and maintain, it will not allow you to pass unless you take a fresh, new approach.  Learn to lead.  Learn to innovate.  Learn to set your own best practices that others will want to follow.  Then, and only then, will you lead by example and be considered an innovative market leader.

Have a great week!!!