In my line of business, the term “best practices” is common. It’s an abbreviation for the sum of all experiences people have had, condensed into how-to instructions, design or behavior patterns, lessons-learned documents, and so on, all collected to a “best practices” document. In my mind, the term is a dangerous exaggeration of what is really delivered.

To stay competitive in the business world, we must find and maintain a balance between standard operating procedures and innovation. We operate in a quickly changing environment and the very term “best practices” can be an impediment to innovation and kaizen if adhered to with undue fervor. Consider the following three points.

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