At the end of WWII, the US Air Force abandoned their many airfields on islands in the Pacific. Their presence often destroyed the local economy. Runways were built over crop fields and villages moved. The locals did not starve, however. Food brought in for the airmen was shared with the villagers. But, then this made them dependent on the cargo that arrive by ship and plane.
When the planes and airmen departed the villagers were left with a problem. Should they try to re-establish their original way of life? Or, should they bring back the planes. Many took the second route. They had observed what the airmen did and believed it caused the planes to land and bring supplies. So, they simply tried to reproduce it. They sat at bamboo desks and wore wooden headsets while repeating into bamboo microphones what they heard the airmen say. The incantations being part of their 'cargo cult'.
Those of us in process improvement recognize this folly of operating without a theory. In regular management consulting, however, this is what is known as a 'best practice'.
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