APRIL NEWSLETTER: Help for identifying best practices

Everyone wants to use best practices. But how do you identify the best practices for your situation?

Tom Brakke of The Investment Ecosystem blog shares a simple exercise that you can do. In “Common Practices, Best Practices, and Next Practices,” he suggests that you ask, “How would you describe what you do in comparison to the standards that are prevalent across the industry in like positions and situations?”

You can organize your responses into three columns:

Common practices
Best practices
Next practices

I like the simplicity of the three columns.

I also like the idea of striving for “next practices.” Brakke says,

Innovative organizations are constantly working to improve their methods. Identifying next practices and working toward them (while knowing that some won’t come to fruition) is part of their DNA.

Brakke publishes free e-newsletters so you can receive his ideas in your inbox.

Mice or mouses?

What do you call more than one computer mouse? Read “Computer mice or mouses? It’s a case of irregular plurals” for some expert opinions.

For my part, I’ll continue to try to avoid referring to the plural of this device.

Protect your personal data from Meta

Want to limit the ability of Meta, Facebook’s parent company, to monetize your data? The Electronic Frontier Foundation offers practical advice in “Mad at Meta? Don’t Let Them Collect and Monetize Your Personal Data.”

Egg substitutes for baking

If you’re interested in working around high egg prices, check out “No eggs? Here’s your guide for substituting” on the King Arthur Baking website. I’ve had good luck using “flax eggs” in pancakes and banana bread.

My best tip for improving your investment commentary

If you’re frustrated by your lack of results from publishing your investment commentary, read “My best tip for improving your investment commentary.”

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