Leaders from healthcare, manufacturing, service, education, government want to improve quality and performance by reproducing the practices of their industries' most influential organizations. Transplanted practices, however, often fail to reach the level of results they achieved within their originating organizations. Even beneficial practices can meet surprising resistance and implementation failures can permanently damage an organization's capacity for improvement and impact the careers of those most eager to help.

Leaders need to accelerate the rate of best practice adoption while lowering resistance to change. Based on a 3-year study of quality improvement as an organizational change, SMG has developed a practical roadmap to speed and smooth best practice adoption.

Many organizations underestimate the integration process seeing best practices as interchangeable, easily transferred, and intuitively understood. For leaders looking to move their organizations forward we offer a new choice - where you and your organization's other leaders can learn in two days the secrets of successful best practice adoption. For example:

• Best practices must be molded to fit the culture of the receiving organization (adjusting them to resemble your other best practices and accommodate your current practices) before they can be introduced, supported and ultimately integrated into your organization.
• The goal is to expand your organization's capabilities one step at a time - creating a sequence of successes rather than reaching too far beyond current support in an attempt to remake an area. This incremental approach mirrors the Toyota improvement method.
• In summary, you need to graft best practices into your organization.

1. Shape           Mold the practice until it looks like it came naturally out of your area
2. Introduce      Respectfully bring the practice to your team to speed/ease adoption
3. Motivate        Bring accountability to daily behaviors for quick & long-lasting results

• Faster, broader adoption;
• Lower resistance to change;
• Deeper employee engagement;
• Measurable performance improvement.

Miles is finishing the book "Grafting Best Practices" and is interested in hearing positive and negative examples of best practice adoption projects. Please contact him below if you have a story to arrange a brief phone conversation - perhaps Miles may ask for permission to mention it in his book.

More information will be posted here - including a signup sheet for those interested in the book when it comes out.

(go to top of page)

Day 1

• Best practice potentials and pitfalls
• Part of a larger leadership system
• Foundational concepts: practices are products; grafting is required; progress is incremental; cultural support horizon; accountabilty for daily behaviors
• 3-Step Roadmap: Shape, Introduce, Motivate

Day 2

• Case studies
• Roadmap in your organization
• Group first steps for roadmap
• Action plan development
• Follow up accountability

• Many organizations find a one-hour web meeting to be extremely helpful - to understand more clearly what will be presented and to confirm details associated with the training.
• Call 888 843 4269 or 519 822 3400 or email " info at smknowledge dot com " to book a webmeeting
  (please forgive the web friendly email address - it is designed to reduce spam)
• Looking for advice on your organization's situation or plan? Let us help you.
• Got a best practice story (both positive and negative would be welcome)? Miles is looking for a few more examples to put into his upcoming book. Real names (both for individuals and organizations) would never be used in negative examples but positive stories could encourage others and occasionally Miles may ask for permission to relate a positive example in his book.

(go to top of page)