Adapt and Adopt

There are certain management theorists and practitioners that I follow. I read and admire their work and I often see the potential for applying their concepts to my own situations.  

However, not one of them is always right. Not one of them has all the answers. And in most cases, not one of them is intimately familiar with the environment in which I’m operating.

I can’t simply take what I’ve read, and apply it exactly the same way in my environment. 

Before you can adopt a practice, it needs to be adapted to your organization.

This also holds true for concepts that you may have applied in one company and are now interested in applying to another. 

Are the internal systems in your current organization similar to those in the organization in which this concept worked? Are the culture and values similar? Are the business models similar?

Are you attempting to copy one aspect of a successful strategy and not paying attention to the other aspects? How do you know the practice you’re copying was really the cause of the desired results?

Apply ideas when and how they are appropriate to your environment. There is no plug and play. 

Adapt and adopt. Or, if that’s not possible – move on to the next idea!

Technorati tags: Business, Implementation