If W. Edwards Deming could see what you’re doing, he’d punch you in the face. OK, not really. He may have been brutally honest in his lectures, but I don’t think he ever punched anyone. However, he would have plenty to say about how often one business copies (I believe the term today is “benchmarks”) the good ideas from another business with no thought about context. Why is it that if we hear about another organization’s idea—particularly one that claims to have a positive influence on business performance—we’ll try to copy it?

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