Best Practice Assertion

How many times have you heard a supplier assert that they offer a technique that is a “best practice?”

What do they mean? How do you test whether a technique is a best practice?

The words “best practice” is hyperbole used by suppliers to make a technique sound more attractive. That’s a harsh statement, but it fits the rhetoric I hear from suppliers.

Let’s test whether my assertion is hyperbole.

Better/Best: When you’re comparing the merits of two things or people, use better; when comparing three or more, use best.

Ms. Venolia recommends you write “best” when three or more things have been compared. It’s rare, in my experience, to find that two things were compared, let alone three.

How do I know? I ask, “What other techniques did you compare to determine whether this technique is the ‘best practice?'” After a period of pondering, a typical supplier will answer, “Compared to having nothing.”

Ms. Venolia might suggest that the supplier assert, “Our technique is better than nothing.” That’s the facts, but do you know any supplier who would ever say that?

There is a further problem with the term best practice: A best practice for you must be the best for doing your business rather than someone else’s. A best practice for a large company, such as an airline manufacturer, is unlikely to be the best practice for a small business in a different sector, such as a law firm, and vice versa.

Want to have more meaningful conversations with suppliers? Start by eliminating hype like “best practice” from the conversation.

I suggest you put your suppliers on notice. Let them know you will be asking questions about any claim they make that a technique is a best practice. Unless they are prepared to prove their claim, suggest to them that they substitute the words “our technique.”

Clarity increases the meaningfulness of a conversation.

Need help creating more effective conversations with suppliers? I can help. Contact me.