A tension faced in the guideline enterprise is finding the right balance between development, implementation and evaluation of recommendations. Are developers getting mired in the minutiae of creating the best guideline report? Are implementers choosing the best messages and strategies to optimise utilisation? Are evaluators assessing the most meaningful outcomes or the outcomes that are easiest to measure? Together, are these players in the guideline enterprise optimising what is known in their respective fields and the relationships among each other to create a system for success? In this presentation, we will turn for inspiration to some great thinkers, consider the research environment, and bring in real life examples to address these questions.