The 50 Best Tips of 2006

Use benchmarks and best practices judiciously.
One of the most effective ways to benchmark is against yourself, one season to another, or year over year, against a standard or expectation. External benchmarks give a general idea of where to zero in. Internal benchmarks let you focus on trends in specific areas. You may have internal benchmarks that say some aspect of your operation is at 90 percent, but if you have no external benchmark of what's good, you could mislead yourself into thinking 90 percent is good. A combination of internal and external benchmarks works best.
—Curt Barry, president, F. Curtis Barry & Co., “Benchmarks and Best Practices,” March, Catalog Success