Last week I was writing documentation for a client in order to train someone to edit and post their blogs.  I was using my blog for capturing print screens for the documentation. In order to do that properly one must create a blog.

The very last print screen I did was “How to Schedule a Post”. Then I moved on to complete the documentation. I did not return to my blog to delete the sample blog that I had been using.

Thus on Friday, May 17, 2013, a blog titled “Experiment” posted. If you are a subscriber that blog showed up in your RSS feed or email based on your preference. A few people have responded to me with concern that my blog has been hacked and even a ? Mark.

I apologize for this oversight on my part and for your receiving a meaningless post in your emails and feeds. Maybe it is time that I create a learning site?

Have a great week. Thank you for subscribing to my blog.

Part of what I do on a daily basis is write best practices documentation. While many say that perfection is not needed, I disagree in this instance. A big issue I have with documentation is consistency in terms. For example; you may refer to an insurance company as an insurance company or an insurance carrier. I am editing someone else’s document today. So far I have seen insurance company referred to as:

• Company
• Carrier
• Insurance Company
• Insurance Carrier

All of these were used in the same document to refer to a type of entity. A previous employer of mine taught me to always use Insurance Carrier to denote the Insurance Company. I am also specific about your insured. They may or may not actually be insured. I refer to them as your client. If they are a prospect and the workflow applies to them then they are so described.

Amber Naslund wrote a great post “The Painstaking Work of Business Renovation” at her blog BRASS TACK thinking. As I read this article I recognized everyone of my clients and prospects. Also, it doesn’t really matter what part of your current business processes or contemplated business process you are talking about, there are issues.

I write a lot about how to define, train, implement and monitor best practices. In talking with agencies that I have worked with I find that one of their biggest challenges is determining the best way to publish their documentation and another is how to keep the information current. This article will discuss the following three topics which I believe address these issues:

1. What is the best way to publish our best practices?

2. How and when do we review and update our best practices?

3. Who edits our best practices?

I am currently working on writing standards and workflows for a client on the filing of surplus lines taxes. Now this is a sticky wicket in almost any agency I visit. This used to be so easy. The broker that placed the coverage for the retail agency filed the taxes. Well, that is not the case any longer. So the workflow has just happened over the years and is jumbled and confusing.