Even though Quality is no longer the buzzword that it was in the 1980s, its offshoot, ‘Best Practice’ unfortunately lives on. In the private sector this does not have a huge impact because many organisations try and keep their cards close to their chests and often ‘reinvent the wheel’. In academia or public sector organisations, the sharing of Best Practice is widespread. In some cases, the accompanying knowledge is also transferred, but the dangers of doing this are great.

If someone tells you to do something but without telling you why, you would think twice about doing it, particularly if it might hurt. Often, organisations adopt working practices and tools simply because someone else is using them successfully and they have no idea why that course of action should work in a new situation or what the side effects might be.

For instance, I have a classic car which occasionally has a problem with a sticking carburettor float. The remedy is to tap it gently with a small hammer. Someone else might deduce that the way to fix a car which has stopped without explanation is to hit it under the bonnet with a hammer. I have made use of some knowledge that was transferred with the ‘Best Practice’. This is just one of the reasons why knowledge transfer is an important part of any Innovation Programme.

If we look at the world of Literature or Art, then copying what someone else has created is known, rather bluntly, as plagiarism. This is quite rightly frowned upon. Even if the originator gives you permission to duplicate the work, the original ‘soul’ or ‘emotion’ that went into the work is lost.

Next time you adopt Best Practice, think about what else you should be transferring into your organisation to make sure that it works.

When you take part in a workshop, do you cringe when the facilitator suggests ‘creeping death’ i.e. where you each take it in turns to tell the other group members your name, what your job is etc? Well this is a technique that you can use in a workshop, appraisal or coaching/mentoring situation.

If you have read Charles Handy’s latest book, The New Philanthropists, you will see that this is familiar.

Give the group some time to come up with three objects each such as a flower, an object from childhood and an object from their current life or job. These can be drawn, modelled or painted and should be arranged so that the most important object is at the front (and hence larger and in focus), least important behind.

At the end of the allotted time period, ask for volunteers to describe their ‘still life’. Not only will this break the ice, you will find out information that would not ordinarily come to light, as well as information that will guide how you conduct the rest of the session.

You can also do this yourself, but be honest about the objects that you choose and the way you arrange them.

Here is just a small selection of business trivia to start off 2007:

• If Ralph Lauren hadn't changed his name, his self- titled brand would be known as Ralph Lifshitz
• 7 Up originally contained the tranquiliser Lithium (it was removed in 1950)
• Children under 5 consume 23 percent of all Cheerios sold
• Residents of Hawaii consume more Spam than residents in all other states
• Somewhere in the world, a Tupperware demonstration starts every 2 seconds