Down With (Lean) Standard Work!
- Sol and Rod Morgan
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Why “Best Practices” Might Be Killing Your Creativity — And What To Do Instead
I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts, Terry O'Reilly's "Under the Influence", and there was mention of "best practices being a form of group think" and that "creativity requires friction to blossom". And this got me thinking about Lean and Standard Work.
Standard work is an important concept and tool in Lean, defining the safest, most efficient, and highest-quality method for performing a task. So why would anyone in their right mind call for its downfall?
Because somewhere along the way, is it possible that standard work might be handcuffed to or confused with the seductive but dangerous concept of best practice? And if that is the case, this coupling has quietly and sometimes catastrophically dulled the very creativity that Lean was meant to inspire and unleash.
With that in mind, standard work isn’t the problem (despite what the headline claims) and the real issue is with the claim of “best practice”. If we are serious about continuous improvement, innovation, curiosity, and frontline empowerment, the language we use is incredibly important in that words don’t just describe culture... they create and sustain it.
The Hidden Problem With “Best Practices”
Granted, “best practice” does sound impressive... definitive, authoritative, proven, and as such, unassailable. This brings me back to Terry's mention of "best practices being a form of group think" — a nice, tidy box everyone agrees on and no one dares to question.
Best practices may imply to many:
There is one correct way.
We’ve already found it.
Deviations are risky.
Innovation happens elsewhere.
Your job is to follow, not think.
When leaders announce, “We’re adopting industry best practices,” they may unknowingly signal, “Stop questioning. The thinking has already been done.”
And in that moment, curiosity can flatline. Creativity can dry up. Continuous improvement becomes… continuous compliance. Lean devolves into a checklist instead of a mindset.
From a continuous improvement perspective, I don't think that was Toyota's intent. Lean was never meant to be static. Standard work was never meant to be frozen. Yet “best practices” when mistakenly coupled with standard work, have a nasty habit of turning clay into concrete.
But in its defense, standard work is still a foundation of a quality system, helping to both assure quality and keep people safe. So...
Standard Work Is Not the Culprit... But It Can Be A Handcuff
Standard work answers the “when,” “where,” “what,” and “how” of a task...
It creates clarity.
It reduces variation.
It builds a baseline for learning
But when standard work is characterized by "best practice", something subtle shifts:
The “how” stops being an inquiry and becomes a mandate.
The “why” quietly disappears.
The human element — "the frontline mind" — is removed from the equation.
And that’s the paradox: Lean promotes frontline engagement, yet the term "best practices" often silences the very people closest to the work. After all, what can be better than best? When you replace curiosity with compliance, Lean stops being Lean.
Enter: Better Practices
Here’s the shift that might make a difference: Replace “best practice” with “better practice”. Some may say that seems small... semantics. But in culture, semantics can be seismic in terms of impact. “Best practice” produces a statement: This is how it’s done, where, what, when, how fast, etc. Whereas the term “better practice” can inspire questions:
How? Why? Why this way? Why now? Why here? What conditions have changed? What can we learn next?
“Best” is final. “Better” is provisional.
“Best” shuts the door. “Better” wedges it open.
“Best” belongs to experts. “Better” belongs to everyone.
And suddenly standard work, freed from the tyranny of “best”, becomes exactly what it was meant to be:
A snapshot, not a monument.
A baseline, not a boundary.
A question, not an answer.
This shift also introduces a missing element into most standard work conversations: the “why?”. With “better practice,” frontline teams are no longer just executors, they become investigators. They have permission and even a responsibility to ask:
Why do we do it this way?
Why did this become the standard?
Why does this no longer fit our reality?
Why hasn’t anyone challenged this before?
These questions aren’t rebellious and endorse or promote anarchy. They’re Lean. They represent the heartbeat of continuous improvement.
Decoupling Standard Work From Perfection
When we stop calling practices “best,” we stop pretending we’ve arrived. We acknowledge that;
Technology evolves
Customer expectations shift
Workforce skills change
Regulations adapt
Markets disrupt
Insights emerge
Better ideas surface from unexpected places
The journey of continuous improvement... continues!
And so must our standards. By shifting from “best” to “better” we do not weaken discipline, we strengthen learning. We honor Lean’s duality:
Stability + Creativity
Consistency + Evolution
Structure + Curiosity
Words Shape Behavior, So Choose Better Ones
This never set out to be a linguistic argument. I believe it is a behavioral one... Because when you change the word, you change the mindset;
Teams are more willing to challenge outdated norms.
Leaders become more open to experimentation.
Friction becomes a source of innovation rather than a sign of dissent.
Standard work becomes a living document, not a museum artifact.
Improvement becomes a shared journey instead of a prescribed destination.
“Better practice” keeps the flame of inquiry alive. And curiosity? It is and always has been at the heart of all improvement.
The Future of Lean Isn’t Perfect — It’s Evolving
If Lean is going to stay relevant in a world of AI, automation, generational shifts, and rapid disruption, it must reclaim what made it powerful in the first place:
A culture where people think.
Where questions matter.
Where improvement belongs to everyone.
Where standard work is the beginning — not the end — of innovation.
So yes… Let’s keep standard work. But let’s set it free. Let’s stop pretending we’ve found the “best”. Let’s champion the “better”.
In a world driven by curiosity, evolution, and the relentless pursuit of improvement, the only practice that truly matters is the one we haven’t discovered yet.
FREE ACCOUNT: Curiosity doesn’t end when the article does. If you’re someone who likes to explore ideas, challenge norms, and refine your own practice one insight at a time, I invite you to continue the journey. RPM-Academy’s Lean Six Sigma and Agile online portal is built exactly for people like you — thinkers, doers, and continuous improvers. Explore a library of 1,000+ online accredited courses and 100+ certificate programs.
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