Idea to retire: The “best practice” of doing more with less

[Commentary] Was there ever a dumber idea than doing more with less? Perhaps “best practice” qualifies. Both ideas should be relegated to the ash heap of history even faster than they will get there, which they inevitably will. As long as they are around they do enormous damage. This essay explains why these ideas are pernicious, yet have broad appeal. Public sector IT managers are not alone in receiving such suggestions. However, they deal with “systematic” issues and should be in the vanguard of public managers who respond to these well-intentioned but ultimately ridiculous suggestions.

Going forward, public sector IT managers should respond to suggestions of doing more with less by assessing what really needs to be done, and treating the least necessary as candidates for doing less. This should be accompanied by determining which stakeholders will be hurt, and how best to deal with them. The objective is to balance inputs and outputs without stretching inputs beyond their limits. Similarly, discussions of best practice should be followed by talking to those who purportedly follow the practice. Learn from them to help determine whether the practice might be good for the manager’s organization. Avoid the quagmire of “best;” it is neither necessary nor helpful. Find good practice. It might come from outside.

[Dr. John Leslie King is W.W. Bishop Professor in the School of Information at the University of Michigan, and Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science]