Written by Dick CarlsonIf I hear one more highly-paid consultant talking about “best practices” I may just have to drop kick them through the uprights on the practice field. The whole idea is such a crock that I’m amazed anyone takes it seriously.
Here’s a 30-second video of the “Best Practice To Light Your Charcoal Grill Quickly”. Take a look.
Will you be using this technique soon? I won’t — unless I want to lose my deck, my wife, and melt my Weber Kettle down into slag.
The point (he has a point?) is that the concept of “Best Practice” assumes that we all share the same conditions, the same metrics for success, and the same risk/reward structure. The guy in the video was only interested in how quickly he could get that charcoal going — so, for him, it truly was the “Best Practice”.
In my field, learning, I see the same thing happen. Someone comes out with a list of “Best Practices In e-Learning” with no context. They suggest that you offer multiple methods for learners to take in the information. They suggest that you include rich animations, videos, talking parrots and streaming video. They suggest that you comply with SCORM, NORM, and NNPT. Not to mention offering versions for the deaf, the visually impaired, and those who are allergic to keyboard dust mites.
Uh huh. My development budget is $250 this quarter. Not gonna happen.
The whole concept of a “best” anything is a crock, anyway. What’s the “best” car? Well, I’m partial to the Jaguar XJS V-12, but it’s hard to haul plywood home in it from Home Depot.
So why do people keep publishing this dreck? Because we want to THINK we can come up with some kind of one-size-fits all listing of answers that won’t require you to actually know anything about the discipline involved to be an expert. Sure would be nice:
Jet Pilot
“Best Practice if engines go out, hit big red “fix it” button on control panel.”
Neurosurgeon
“Best Practice if patient acts nutters, stick long steel rod up nose and stir around.”
Hockey Player
“Best Practice to score goals, hit puck thingy into net thingy.”
The harsh truth is that there ARE no real “Best Practices”. Unless you come up with an exhaustive list of conditions and specifications — developed by an expert who understands both the situation and the discipline — and even then, all you’re getting is an educated guess.
Fire your consultants. Hire someone who’s actually done it, multiple times, successfully.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
So glad someone said this. Anytime I hear “best practices” I throw up a little in my mouth. It’s like any other buzz word, doesn’t really mean anything at all.
> Hire someone who’s actually done it, multiple times, successfully.
Actually, at my workplace there are fulltime hires *and* consultants, and we only hire people who’ve done something multiple times successfully.
Don’t run away from “Best Practices” – it depends on the industry. In the tech industry (my co./industry as you might have guessed) there are actually *many* best practices. The cost of *not* following best practices when it comes to tech is too great to simply dismiss the term as a buzzword. That is, there are many lessons learned from past projects – use those snippets of wisdom & don’t repeat the same mistakes.
That’s all they really mean by “best practice” anyway.
Another example for you –
BEST PRACTICE: Do not attempt to light a grill with liquid oxygen.
That is a best practice we should all employ.