Improving Performance: How to Manage the White Space on the Organization Chart, Third Edition

CHAPTER ELEVEN

OVERCOMING THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS OF PROCESS IMPROVEMENT

Mistakes are always paid for in casualties and troops are quick to see any blunder made by their commanders.

—DWIGHT DAVID EISENHOWER

Companies of all sizes and industries have become aware that they need to improve business processes such as product development, order fulfillment, planning, distribution, billing, hiring, and customer service. Everybody is doing—or at least talking about doing—“Process Improvement,” “process redesign,” or “process reengineering.”

As with other performance improvement efforts, most organizations can point to the results of their efforts: cost savings, quality improvements, and cycle time reductions. However, there has been more sizzle than ...