Faster Cheaper Better: The 9 Levers for Transforming How Work Gets Done

by Michael Hammer, Lisa W Hershman, George K. Wilson (Reading)

The rough patch we have had for the past couple of years is only going to continue. Michael Hammer's brilliance was especially acute during tough times when people in business had to hunker down and just be plain better than the competition. His focus was on the nuts-and-bolts of how work actually gets done, showing people how to transform a business by improving the way it is run--whether it's a factory or a software company. While he worked with CEOs, much of his life was spent two and three levels down, with people who run refineries, develop new pharmaceuticals, make the packaging for food products, market financial services, deliver health care, or develop software. Hammer's mantra was, "My job isn't to tell people what business they should be in, that's up to them. I simply tell them how to do it best--whether it's something as complex as software or as simple as widgets, and that means doing it differently." The central problem Hammer saw is that despite good intentions, companies don't perform at the levels they need to because the way they do things is screwed up. This book is a tool kit for how to do things right, providing its listeners with the skills to make deep and fundamental changes in how companies do their work. Given the range of people and the types of companies Hammer worked with, Faster Cheaper Better will benefit a wide range of people. It includes those at the top as well as middle managers and business professionals. Its focus on operations and process make it the ideal book not only for those who run a factory, refinery, or the customer service operation of a bank, but also people and companies engaged in creative activities--such as book publishers, software companies, and pharmaceutical firms.

Genres: Business, Management, Buisness, Self Help

1 pages, Audio CD

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Нестор · Rating 5 out of 5]

Очень хорошая книга по управлению измениями и улучшениями.

Категорически рекомендую.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some basic easy to understand principles in end-to-end process management. Not a whole lot I haven't heard before, but the book is put together well and could be a good reference for future project leadership.

I'm not sold on adding people for the sole purpose of managing projects...what the book refers to as "CPO" Chief Process Officer. Extremely large and challenging projects may require this. My concern is people who hold positions like "CPO" end up with few valuable skills aside from presenting, organizing and delegating. Then CPOs are stuck inventing projects to sustain their job. Nevertheless, the duties outlined as responsibility of the CPO within this book are valuable.

[Abhi Yerra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book could have been much shorter and still kept to its core message which is processes help businesses do move faster, better, cheaper. However, it is a book written for larger companies with bigger bureaucracies so there are a lot of examples that touch on that.

However, for the small business it is essentially have a Standard Operating Procedure and consistently evolve it.

[Annasnova · Rating 4 out of 5]

Assigned reading for my MBA course on Business Processes. Easy read with a compelling model of structuring end-to-end business processes to improve performance across the board. Though I feel like this book would need to be discussed in class with peers to fully absorb the lessons it teaches.

[Abayomi Agboola · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good book wiyh great insights into impotant aspects of creating an efficient work process where there is no hero. That being said, it could be shorter, concise and less painful to read.

[Sarah Dahl · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some good principles in this book. I found it a little outdated.

[Robert Chapman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was more geared to process change in larger enterprises; however, there are a lot of transferable thoughts for smaller companies as well. In the end the book drives home notion that process change is all about adding value for your customers, which in turn drives up profits and lowers cost of operations.

The stories of how bad processes have totally screwed up the customer experience are pretty enlightening. There are also many stories of how process engineering worked wonders and turned around bad situations.

[Kathleen Rainwater · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book focuses on the potential of process improvement in an era of increasingly intense competition. The authors present seven essential principles (identifying and fine-tuning such factors as "who does the work," "where the work is done," etc.) and a tool kit of nine "levers," or changes, for how actual work streams can be organized and executed more effectively in companies across industries and across the globe. Case studies in the final section show how these end-to-end process have been applied in real enterprises,

[Ben Donahower · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is mostly geared towards larger companies but any company or anyone with an interest in process management will get something from this book. My only concern with this book is that because it's about process, there are many methodologies and step by step systems presented in the book that would be best augmented with (preferably digital) checklists, charts, and other breakdowns of the material that was spelled out in the written word.

[Theodore Kinni · Rating 3 out of 5]

The late reengineering guru's final book is nuts-and-bolts look at making companies work better. Part 1 is terrific -- filled with straight talk and prescriptive advice.