Piece of paper: Difference between revisions

Some of the [[JC]]’s hoary old platitudes about what pieces of paper are ''not'' for:

*'''Don’t codify internal policy''': [[Contract]]s are no place to reinforce your internal [[Policy|policies]] about things, however much internal audit might think that’s a good idea. for one thing, policies are often stupid, overblown things — “codified overreactions to situations that are unlikely to happen again,” in {{author|Jason Fried}}’s snappy words — and whilst, of course, it is great to have a set of idealised, pedantic<ref>Did I say “pedantic”? I mean “prudent”.</ref> steps to ensure things are done properly and nothing gets screwed up, putting those in a contract turns a prudent [[checklist]] into a contractually enforceable truncheon with which your counterparty can beat you, should someone disregard those pedantic steps, ''even if nothing gets screwed up''. and if there is one thing we know about the [[meatware]], it ''will'' fail to follow pre-ordained steps, because ''that’s how the [[meatware]] rolls''. as an exercise in exalting [[La Vittoria della Forma sulla Sostanza|''form'' at the expense of ''substance'']] — a cardinal sin in the [[JC]]’s playbook — you could hardly ask for a better example.<ref>Employment lawyers: we don’t often spend time talking to you, but the classic HR error is to put the employer’s pre-agreed procedural steps for conducting any disciplinary hearing into an employment contract. That way any failure to follow that ''exact'' process, however pointless, is a [[breach of contract]] and no longer simply a question of procedural fairness but, as a clear-cut breach of contract, a ''substantial'' unfairness.</ref> Besides, your policies can and will change. Do you fancy repapering every time ''that'' happens?