Reengineering beyond the borders of the company

With “Re-engineering the Corporation,” Michael Hammer marked the start of a revolution for many companies. Journalists have since had a field day reporting on spectacular successes and dismal failures resulting from this trend. But beyond the hype, reengineering was truly a profound movement that guided the efforts of many managers who learned to see the organization from a process point of view.

“The Agenda” arrives at an opportune moment, as companies experience the hangover following the Internet boom. The author incites managers once again to reengineer company processes, but this time to go past the boundaries of the organization. This may seem like old news. However, “The Agenda” contains the very same qualities that made the first book so popular, i.e. simple, effective ideas on the business concerns of today, illustrated in abundant detail.

The author structures the book around nine points that he identifies as priorities for any manager. Upon analysis, we found that two messages are particularly relevant to managers hoping to expand upon the transformation process initiated in the first reengineering wave:

– Create more value for your customers, i.e. don’t just deliver a product, but optimize the way customers use the product.

– Capitalize upon untapped sources of performance improvement., i.e. go beyond the boundaries of the organization and work on optimizing all processes—both creative and operational.