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Many organizations have used our Corporate Pulse system as part of their
Management Development process. Our assumption about Corporate Pulse is, we
must know the organization, before knowing the direction in which to develop
managers. Corporate Pulse can also be used to assess the current motivations
and abilities of Leaders.

I have an interesting article and a demo diskette of Corporate Pulse
software for those with more interest.

Mike Thomas
904-435-1000

>I recently joined the HR department of a large pharmaceutical company
>where I will be heavily involved in Management Development. Being new to
>the field I would like to get some help and advice from you.
>
>In particular I am interested in answers to the following questions:
>1) what are "best practices" in Management Development?
>2) What companies (not necessarily pharmaceutical) are using them? Which
>are the frontrunners in this field?
________________________________________
Michael Thomas V 904.435.1000
Pathway Learning F 904.432.7401
Pensacola, Florida E miket@gulf.net

"The Path to Organizational Vitality"

On Fri, 25 Feb 2000 Conna Condon wrote Re: Technology-driven change
>
>I am working on a "transformation" team that has me wondering ... [...]>
>The project is designed to take the current environment and "transform" the
>organization to the common operating environment that is supposed (I'll
>debate this) to be a global "best practice."
>
>My issue is that as I do discovery of current "as is" processes I am finding
>what I suspect are local "best practices" that I would hate to lose by
>imposing a global process.
>
>So, are common operating environments technological/tactical .. but not
>strategic (as I think Nolan suggests in his 1979 study).

Very perceptive. "Best practices" are past tense. A Best Practice was
best for the situation that existed when it became "best." There is no
reason to believe that the practice will be best for the situation you are
considering. Challenge those who propose it to show that it will (future
tense) be best and that its inherent agility will enable youall to evolve
the practice at the rate your enterprise will require. Consultants who
peddle palliatives to lemmings love best practices but the "intelligent
edge" of human enterprises will find their own way. Help your enterprise
find theirs.

Jack Ring, 32712 N. 70th St., Snottsdale, AZ 85262-7143
480-488-4615, Cell) 602.369.4615
A system must be designed not for the existing situation but for the
situation that will exist after the system is activated.

Jack Ring proposed that the key issue in help organizations who seek best
practices is to "Help your enterprise
find theirs."

I agree with this view whole heartedly. I have tried to frame the issue in
learning-organization terms, and to get people to think about the question
'How did they learn what they needed to know to come up with the best
practice?' My premise is what needs to be derived from another organization
who has figured out how to do something especially well is the process they
used to develop the best practice. If another organization emulates the
process, they have a much better chance of developing a practice that meets
the needs of their particular situation.

I also think that benchmarking and best practices often times become
confused. I do believe that typical benchmarking studies are invaluable to
help organizations set a standard. For example, to find out that another
organization can process an order in 1/3 the time that yours can sets a
target level for what is possible. The mistake that is often made is to
assume that the answer to meeting the target is to implement the same
practices that other organization is using to achieve the standard.

Luke Novelli, Jr., Ph.D.
Principal & Chief of Intellectual Capital
Innovation Resources Group
2618 Battleground Avenue, Suite 307
Greensboro, NC 27408
Phone & Fax 336-218-0093

Colleagues,

The dialog on best practices seems to have evolved into agreement that best
practices don't work. That best practices can't be imported, can't be taken
out of context, can't be taken away from the intangibles that made them work
in other areas.

The TQM concept was a best practice. Yeah, it didn't work out exactly the
same way in each place it was applied, yet we'd all have to agree that
quality has improved since Six Sigma.

Let's pay attention to the people who receive the best practice ideas. They
are intelligent. Give them a good idea, and they'll fit it into their job,
their context, and their intangibles. Just like TQM evolved to fit
different companies.

Best practices forced on us create all sorts of push back. Ideas fed to us
generate new ways of succeeding.

The idea isn't wrong or right; the way it is applied (or forced) can be
great or terrible.

This is another area in which leadership is required, not management.

Gary
----------------------------
Dr. Gary Lundquist -- The Scientist-Marketer
Author of: TECHNOLOGY AND THE AGENTS OF CHANGE
The power of marketing to change companies and change lives
Garyl@market-engineering.com
Market Engineering International, Inc.
The Bridge Between Science and Marketing
www.market-engineering.com
303-840-9929, FAX: 303-841-6636
12006 N. Antelope Trail, Parker, CO 80138, USA

Isn't there a difference between a good concept or theory ... such as TQM ..
and a best practice ... such as defining one process for moving a computer
and attempting to do it that way at every company .... after all, I have
heard it said, a move is a move is a move. Nobody should need more than 1
process for it.

TQM is a concept that when reduced to practice must be implmented in the
manner that works within each individual industry, business, social
structure, culture, set of politics and regulations, and in balance with the
mission/vision. No one right "best practice" for doing TQM.

Conna Condon
PC Specialists
Nova SEU DBA candidate
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dr. Gary Lundquist" <garyl@MARKET-ENGINEERING.COM>
To: <MG-ED-DV@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU>
Sent: Sunday, February 27, 2000 8:55 PM
Subject: Re: Best Practices


> Colleagues,
>
> The dialog on best practices seems to have evolved into agreement that
best
> practices don't work. That best practices can't be imported, can't be
taken
> out of context, can't be taken away from the intangibles that made them
work
> in other areas.
>
> The TQM concept was a best practice. Yeah, it didn't work out exactly the
> same way in each place it was applied, yet we'd all have to agree that
> quality has improved since Six Sigma.
>
> Let's pay attention to the people who receive the best practice ideas.
They
> are intelligent. Give them a good idea, and they'll fit it into their
job,
> their context, and their intangibles. Just like TQM evolved to fit
> different companies.
>
> Best practices forced on us create all sorts of push back. Ideas fed to
us
> generate new ways of succeeding.
>
> The idea isn't wrong or right; the way it is applied (or forced) can be
> great or terrible.
>
> This is another area in which leadership is required, not management.
>
> Gary
> ----------------------------
> Dr. Gary Lundquist -- The Scientist-Marketer
> Author of: TECHNOLOGY AND THE AGENTS OF CHANGE
> The power of marketing to change companies and change lives
> Garyl@market-engineering.com
> Market Engineering International, Inc.
> The Bridge Between Science and Marketing
> www.market-engineering.com
> 303-840-9929, FAX: 303-841-6636
> 12006 N. Antelope Trail, Parker, CO 80138, USA
>

I think the first question to ask is: Who said it was a Best Practice?
All too often consulting operations announce "Best Practices" based on
their own judgement not to mention a desire to peddle the latest silver
bullet. In most cases this salubrious award turns out to be a case of
*premature immaculation*.
Jack Ring, 32712 N. 70th St., Snottsdale, AZ 85262-7143
480-488-4615, Cell) 602.369.4615
A system must be designed not for the existing situation but for the
situation that will exist after the system is activated.