Encyclopedia of Leadership

1. Honor the past.Invariably, current business processes are the way they are for historical
   reasons. These processes were elaborated over time due to breakdowns in the past, not
   because people were stupid. [☛4.5 Culture]


2. Redesign processes to get results.Assess where work can be done in parallel, then inte-
   grated at crucial points. Results must justify means—redesigning functions, tasks, and
   jobs. [☛2.2 7S Model]


3. Combine several jobs or functions into one.Reengineering cuts across traditional func-
   tions.


4. Maximize use of information technology.Automate, but also harness information tech-
   nologies to do things in ways that couldn’t be done at all in the past. (Most reengi-
   neering efforts are highly dependent on the use of information technologies.)


5. Capture data only once, if possible.Capture data electronically when it is created.


6. Push work and decisions as far down to frontline workers as possible.Reengineered employ-
   ee benefits programs have employees accessing their own information and making the
   changes on-line, for example. [☛9.2 Situational Leadership]


7. Minimize handoffs.These are often a source of errors, delays, and conflict.


8. Make controls and reconciliation everyone’s responsibility.As with TQM, minimize the need
   for checking by others. [☛7.7 Quality Tools]


9. Emphasize change leadership.With the focus on process redesign, the need to help peo-
   ple make the human transition to new processes and roles is often ignored. [☛5.1
   Change Equation]

HOW TO USE THIS LEADERSHIP TOOL

“We have found that many tasks that employees performed had nothing to do with meeting customer needs—

that is, creating a product high in quality, supplying that product at a fair price, and providing excellent service.

Many tasks were done simply to satisfy the internal demands of the company’s own organization.”

—Michael Hammer and James Champy, REENGINEERING THE CORPORATION

This table describes a typical reengineering process. Also, because reengineering has met with

skepticism and failure as well as success, a checklist of dos and don’ts is provided.

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SECTION 4 TOOLS FORDESIGNINGPRODUCTIVEPROCESSES ANDORGANIZATIONS 109



Get Started.

❑ Be absolutely

clear about the

purpose and

goals of the

project.

❑ Be sure you have

top management

support.

❑ Start by mapping

the current

process.

❑ Work with the

people who cur-

rently work with-

in the process, to

map the process.

This state involves the

introduction of

change. Consider

adding some new

people to the team

who are expert at

change leadership.



Analyze current

processes.



Implement sustainable

changes and capture

the benefits.



Find (invent) more effective

and efficient ways of

➟➟➟accomplishing goals.

This is the most creative

phase of the redesign process

and can take considerable

time and research.

❑ Use these questions to

redesign the process: