The document discusses the concept of "next practices", which are future-driven strategic solutions for organizations to anticipate and respond to challenges. It outlines 7 steps for moving beyond conventional best practices and status quo thinking, including developing next practice intelligence, taking a cross-functional approach, and emphasizing collaboration. Next practices require transforming hierarchies into collaborative and transparent cultures with shared responsibility and accountability.

2. Next Practices
7 STEPS TO MOVING YOUR
ORGANIZATION BEYOND THE
STATUS QUO

3. In light-speed changing markets, yesterday’s
approaches to running a business or
applying outdated techniques to
contemporary problems will quickly be
disrupted. Moving beyond the status quo has
never been more important. The Executive
Next Practices Institute, a think-tank of
hundreds of top executive and thought
leaders, has been focused on the concept of
“next practices.”

4. Next practice development isn’t about making
something more efficient – it entails a
fundamental transformation of the core
business culture and model to ensure that all
the moving parts of a business are aligned and
effective.

5. Best practices vs.
Next Practices
 Best practices are past driven – repetitive
formula for tactical business problems.
Next practices are future-driven strategic
solutions that enable you to better anticipate and
respond to workplace violence situations.
Next practices represent an enhanced way of
looking at issues that have embedded
uncertainties, risks and variables.

6. Key Elements of Building and
Understanding Next Practices
1. The Need:
Every organization needs to get past status-
quo thinking in order to create
transformation and change that will enable it
to effectively respond to challenges and
obstacles. Standardization of tasks can lead
to productivity, but also rigidity.

7. 2. Beyond Best Practices:
Conventional best practices tend to be proven,
locked-down business techniques that can be re-
executed successfully on demand at the middle-
management level. There are few best practices for
C-level executives who face a constant flow of new
challenges, unforeseen problems and marketplace
conditions beyond the reach of conventional
thinking.

8. 3. Next Practice Intelligence:
In place of proven techniques, next practices offer
flexible tools, frameworks and situational analysis
methods that enable leaders to get a clear view of the
current situations they face and frame intelligent
responses to it.
4. Moving Parts:
The full next practice approach includes policies,
practices, behavior models, and performance
techniques, used in combination with highly
collaborative and cross-functional communication
between people. Taken as a whole, this approach
enables leaders to be exponentially more effective in
directing change.

9. 5. Metrics:
Next practice techniques and method are
designed to be measurable so their effectiveness
can be understood and assessed. Using emerging
and leading edge metrics displayed in non-
traditional, visual formats, next practice dashboards
forecast results rather than trail in data display.

10. 6. Cross-Functional Focus:
Next practice thinking requires a cross-
functional problems addressed by stakeholders
from all areas related to a give topic or problem
area. The next practice philosophy considers it
essential to have people of different
perspectives working on a challenge
simultaneously, in a holistic way, to effectively
and successfully arrive at a solution.

11. 7. Collaboration is Key:
Next practices assume a high level of
collaboration between stakeholders at all levels –
from senior executives to management to the
ground floor – in working on any business initiative
or challenge. Power derives from the diversity of
ideas and collaboration around those ideas.

12. Next Practices For
Leadership

13. The Next Practices approach centers on how to
transform top-down closed-door hierarchies to an
open-door, fully transparent collaborative high
accountability and participatory world – a place
where cross-functional teams are part of a shared
responsibility universe to help support and inform
executive decision making and keep the workplace
safe.

14. Characteristics of a Next
Practices Organization:
 An aware, highly communicative culture.
 Strong employee engagement.
 Individual growth.
 Shared responsibility.
 Accountability.
 Line-of-sight to value, at all levels

15. About Scott Hamilton
President & CEO, Executive Next
Practices Institute, Managing Director,
NextWorks™
Scott Hamilton is a globally noted business leader in the
area of executive and organizational performance from
entrepreneurial ventures to the Fortune Global 1000 .
Hamilton is the co-founder of NextWorks™, a unique
advisory and research team that assists leaders turn their
vision into unified, positive action. His globally based
programs help executive teams build their internal
organizational capability to innovate, execute and produce
extraordinary results.

16. Scott’s industry exposure has been both broad
and deep. He has led major corporations in senior
roles and as an advisor with executives and
leadership teams in companies such as Parsons
(Engineering Services), Worley Parsons
(Engineering), McDonald’s (Manufacturing and
Distribution Suppliers), Nestle USA (Food and
Distribution divisions), Bergen Brunswig
(Healthcare- Distribution), Aramark (Hospital
Management), AlliedSignal and DirecTV
(Telecommunications and technology), among
others. His client programs have included large-
scale change efforts, organization design, team
building, merger

17. and acquisition/integration teams, internal brand
building, customer alignment and in-house
executive development programs.
Hamilton is also the President & CEO of the
Executive Next Practices Institute (ENPI), a
research and forum-based association comprised
of several thousand top business leaders(CEO,
COO, CFO, Top HR, others).

18. The forums are broadly known as “ENP” and the
public sessions feature top thought leaders guiding
highly collaborative sessions in the review of
emerging trends, innovative techniques, and
formulation of new strategies that move
organizations “beyond the status quo”.
Hamilton is a frequent keynote speaker at
conferences, trade associations and private
company events.

19. Executive Next Practices Institute
www.enpinsititute.com info@enpinstitute.com
Media Contact:
Stephanie Olesen, Beyond Fifteen Communications
stephanie@beyondfifteen.com, 949.733.8679 ext.
103