Supply Advantage

The Contrarian View

Why “Best Practice” Breaks Under Pressure

Under pressure, organisations often reach for best practice.

Frameworks.

Benchmarks.

Imported systems.

It feels responsible. It feels rigorous. But context matters more than elegance.

A process that works in a mature, aligned organisation can paralyse a fragmented one.

A system designed for efficiency can destroy momentum when trust is low.

A reporting structure that looks robust can slow decisions when speed matters most.

Execution doesn’t break because people resist change. It breaks because change ignores readiness.

Under pressure, the question isn’t “What works elsewhere?”

It’s “What works here, right now?”

Best practice without context is risk disguised as discipline.

Misdiagnosis = Engagement Is Rational, Not Attitudinal

When performance drops under pressure, disengagement usually follows.

This is where many leaders make their most damaging mistake:

In reality, disengagement under pressure is often a rational response to ambiguity.

People don’t disengage because they don’t care.

They disengage because effort appears to be punished and caring feels unsafe.

Commitment disappears when ownership carries risk but no reward.

If you want engagement back, don’t start with motivation.

Start with clarity, consistency, and trust.

Execution improves when people believe their effort actually leads somewhere. ________________________________________