Rhyme without reason

Small organizations often look to bigger one's for inspiration, direction, and guidance.

That's how we end up with third-wave coffee shops that sell frappe-hybrids, and private stores that all look (and work) relatively the same across industries.

Where this inevitably gets us into trouble is when the organization we look to doesn’t have a good explanation for doing what we’re copying.

Consider the website that copies the same design, navigation, or run-of-the-mill copy as a larger competitor. If the latter doesn't know what they're doing, the former will end up paying for something that doesn't work as well as they'd like, setting themselves up for mediocre success.

Or consider the mom and pop store that invests in the same state of the art tech or tool that a nearby chain is using, only to have it impede their productivity and slow them down.

It's a small point to make, but one with huge repercussions: be careful who and what you copy. It's best to always have a reason why.