Product Description

This book is best suited to those business leaders who have a burning desire to win. It's a book with a compelling message about the resurgence of business process thinking for competitive advantage. In an easy-to-read format, the book outlines why and how thoughtful CEO’s and leadership teams can manage enterprise business processes as the means to transform their good companies into great ones.

Spanyi's book is a must read for business leaders searching for ways to manage the business in a more integrated manner by applying 21st century BPM techniques, thinking and technologies. Business process thinking is the prerequisite for executives to take advantage of powerful new BPM technologies. The book is, however, less about tools, templates and technologies and more about the set of values, beliefs and business practices needed to navigate through challenging economic times. Indeed, that’s why Spanyi says BPM is a team sport--Play it to Win! And to win, leaders must manage the cross-functional teams throughout the organization who must work collaboratively to create enduring value for customers and shareholders.

Much of what has been written on BPM is mechanistic and technical. Several of the works are long and tough to digest, and the links to strategy, organization design, people issues and technology are lost in the details. In a fast-paced and engaging manner, Spanyi describes how BPM can provide a robust framework enabling an organization to achieve strategic focus, organizational alignment and operating discipline.

Spanyi proposes that organizations need to consciously work on transforming the mental models of the executive team from the traditional functional paradigm to a customer-driven model that is based on business process thinking. The book provides insight into why change initiatives like reengineering, continuous improvement and Six Sigma, when implemented piecemeal, are not nearly enough to achieve dominance in today's turbulent business environment. BPM is needed to provide the context for both change initiatives and the application of emerging technology, so that change programs can be deeply and fully integrated across the organization.

The book is written such that the initial reading can be done in less than the time it takes to fly from Dallas to Boston or from Toronto to Miami. A quick read can acquaint the reader with the essential concepts. Readers can then consume the book more carefully a second time, and combine its reading assignments to gain a more complete background and understanding of this vital subject (all the readings can be acquired through the book’s Web site).

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #581938 in Books
• Published on: 2003-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

Geary Rummler, PhD, Founder and Chairman, The Performance Design Lab, Coauthor of Improving Performance: How to Manage the White Space on the Organization Chart
There are a lot of BIG (and important) ideas in this little book.

Robert Boulet, Former President and CEO, GE Capital IT Solutions Canada
This book is required reading for everyone in a process-managed enterprise.

Pat Paladino, Vice President, Canada Life
This book is a prerequisite read for executives searching for ways to create an environment that enables sustained competitive advantage.

Customer Reviews

Good book for executives and directors looking for BPM direction
A very easy read, from a different perspective than most business books. Written from the "outside-in" perspective - the stage of events occurring during a training session that Andrew conducted with a group of corporate executives. It is written using informal conversations and discussions - a unique way to cover process improvement, however at times a bit distracting.

One of the most interesting points made, was the Andrew's requirements prior to his training workshop. He distributed a required reading list to prepare the workshop attendees for the discussions which was a brilliant plan - so many training courses are bogged down because half of the attendees are well-informed, the others are not.

Although a very good book, there is nothing really new or refreshing covered; all of the concepts in the book can be found in the standard process improvement library. Clearly it was written from the Rummler/Brache perspective, which in my estimation is the best. For the process improvement consultant or analyst looking for a book with illustrations and implementation details, go with the Rummler/Brache book. However, for the high-level corporate executive or director level that aren't looking for details, this book is a must-read.

The Best book on Senior Management's role in Process Change
(similar to my review on amazon.co.uk)
A must read. Recommended for anyone into process. During my recent training I have read over 30 books - this one gets my top vote. I recommend it to my colleagues - is it available in other languages including French?

Understanding The Management Perspective
In this book, Andrew, dares to tread where other books on BPM fear to tread. Namely that the big benefits can only be delivered if the buy-in for BPM comes from the Executive level. In Andrew's words "For BPM to truly succeed everyone must get it - from the Boardroom to the LunchRoom."

Given that this is the basic story of the book - and the book very much tells a story - it would be easy for people to assume that the book is solely aimed at executives. This is certainly not the case and anyone who is thinking about or has been involved in a BPM project will get a great deal out of this book.

It is one of the easiest reads I have come across on the subject and Andrew does a fantastic job of beinging together so much material in such a concise and readable manner.

This is one of the few books that I have read and reviewed that I recomend extremely highly to people at all levels within an organisation and to students also.