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Best in ShowAs a management consultant, I am frequently asked by my clients to do
“benchmarking” in a particular area, be it leadership development, human resources policies, employee motivation – whatever. Now, I can research “best practices” with the best of them, but I always like to ask my clients what they expect to learn and what they will do with the results. How will benchmarking others help them achieve their own goals? Of course, you want to know what the most successful organizations do to be so
successful, but can you really expect the things that work well in someone else’s circumstances to work equally well in yours? A company’s best practices work because they are a part of that company’s systems, processes, and culture. Transplanting them to another environment may work, but quite often it doesn’t. One reason it doesn’t is that although you may see the external aspects and the
reported outcomes, you rarely have a view into the inner workings of another company – usually all you’ll get is a few anecdotes in a business book or a magazine article. What you don’t know is how these best practices were implemented: how the other guys came up with the practice and what problem it was intended to solve, what preparations they had to make and what hurdles they had to jump over. Without a blueprint, how will
you know whether this is something that could work for you, too? People don’t usually like being told to do something because it’s a “best practice” someplace else. In fact, most ideas for change that are imposed from the top down generate a lot of resistance. People want to have some say in what goes on around them and in how they do their work, and they are usually in a pretty good position to
spot problems and come up with solutions that will work best for them. That leads to improved morale and a more dedicated workforce, and that makes for a higher-performing organization that gets consistently superior results. Besides, adopting solutions wholesale from outside your own organization isn’t going to foster a lot of creativity or ingenuity inside, and it’s not going to encourage your own
people to think independently. Most of the really big breakthroughs happen when someone – an individual or a team – looks at the situation and sees things in a completely new and different way. Looking for best practices can put blinders on your team and actually get in the way of their seeing completely new possibilities with big potential. With events moving at breakneck speed in the world today, it’s important to be leading
change, not following it. By focusing on the best practices of others, you’re effectively relegating your own organization to second-place or even further back in the pack. You’re locked into a view of the world that never changes and you’ll never catch up with let alone surpass the competition. Benchmarking has its uses. It’s not a bad thing to calibrate where you stand in relation
to others, and it can be comforting to know that you are at least in the range of others in your industry with regard to whatever it is you care about. But if you want to get the most value out of a management consultant, ask her to help you think through how you can go beyond best practices to discover the right practices for you and your organization, the practices that will allow you to get the breakthrough results you really want. Could you use some help uncovering the right practices for you? Coaching is a great way of working with your strengths so you can perform at your peak. If you’re tired of struggling to get the results you need, or you just want to prepare for the future, let’s talk about how coaching can work for you. Call (410)626-6008, or email info@bloomfieldassociates.com. 
When you and your team are “stuck” and you can’t see a way forward in a particularly challenging situation, try brainstorming together in a different way: - Imagine that you are just starting out, so that there are no established ways of doing things, and no one can say “but we tried that before.”
- Imagine that you are giving your best advice to your closest colleagues in a similar situation.
- Imagine yourself on the other side of the problem – that is,
success. What got you there?
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More than 60% of employers now hire more than one-quarter of their new employees from Internet job sites. Donald Trump is starting his own online school. For $300 per course, students will learn about such subjects as real estate and marketing.
Between 1983 and 2002, the share of auto-body and related repairers who were female shot up 369 percent. More women are also entering the traditionally male jobs of detectives, firefighters and airplane pilots and navigators. During the same period, the percentage of men working as dressmakers rose 277 percent. More men are becoming nurses, cleaners, secretaries, typists and kindergarten teachers. Is work becoming more gender-neutral? 
Chief Channel Officer (CCO) A “C-level” executive who is responsible for a company’s alliance or “channel” strategy. Many companies increasingly view alliances and channel partners as a critical part of meeting their fiscal goals. Some of today’s most successful organizations, including
IBM, Microsoft and eBay, have already begun to intimately involve top executives in forming their channel strategies. 
 The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century
, by Thomas L. Friedman. What I like about it: Like his widely-read book on globalization, The Lexus and the Olive Tree, this book synthesizes a keen observer’s knowledge of what’s happening in the news and presents us with the larger trends already discernible in the world around us. The next
phase of globalization is already here: we’re all connected.
Beth Bloomfield
Executive Coach, Strategy Consultant
Principal, Bloomfield Associates
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"Experience is not what happens to a man; it is what a man does with what happens to him."
— Aldous Huxley | |
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After receiving many inquiries from students and new coaches about her popular teleclinic “Build Your Executive Coaching Practice,” Beth Bloomfield is offering another running after all, provided there is enough interest to fill the group. If you think you may want to participate, please contact Beth at (505) 992-2675. If you live in the Annapolis area, you like sailboats, or you’re interested in supporting women’s causes, consider
donating to the Chesapeake Bay Women’s Challenge sailing regatta to be held July 30-31. Proceeds will go to Anne Arundel County Court-Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), and business sponsorships are still available. Call Beth Bloomfield at (505) 992-2675. | | |
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