Against Best Practices

The advantage of best practices is that you have something you can follow without having to analyze the situation in depth. The disadvantage of best practices is that you may have to analyze the situation in depth to notice that they maybe aren’t the best choice in the specific situation. The harm that best practices can do are lessened by viewing them as a rule of thumb conditioned on certain premises rather than as a dogma.

“Dogma” is the key word in this situation, I believe (and in a lot of similar situations). There are very few examples for when dogmatic obedience is healthy, helpful, or appropriate. Sadly, the trends seem to be heading the wrong way, with more tribalism than pragmatism.

I like to use the term "golden path" instead of best practices.

In a golden path, lots of others have gone before you and figured out all the nuance. But this doesn't mean the path is the best one for you, but does mean you should have a good reason for starying from it

That’s why I think Best Practice is a bad term. I rather call it something like Best Toolkit or Best Elements.

To which they will respond with something from their VC deck, like, “because we’re Uber for <whatever>”

Buddy that’s not a reason, that’s a rationalization.

I'm proud of my little joke on dogmas: "The only dogma I believe is that all dogmas are wrong".

Maybe the problem is the word Best. Perhaps Standard Practice is better — suggests "the usual way we do things" without presuming it is the best and only way to do things.