Rating: 
Summary: The customer economy requires more than reenginering
Review: Michael Hammer became a guru by coining the term reengineering and writing bestsellers on business processes. Reengineering was a revolutionary "big idea" that took businesses with storm in the early 1990s. A decade after his first publications, Hammer's book, "The Agenda", acknowledge that reengineering is no "silver bullet" ... it cannot stand alone. Modern management needs to use several business concepts simultaneously to thrive in the new customer economy, i.e. where supply exceeds demand (overcapacity), customers are sophisticated and informed buyers, and many products are becoming commoditised. With long-term trends like globalization and technology, there's no foreseeable end to the customer power that flows from it. So we better be prepared.
The nine building blocks of Hammer's "Agenda" address the ways in which firms are managed, organized, and operated:
1. MAKE YOURSELF EASY TO DO BUSINESS WITH (ETDBW). Take a long hard look at yourself ... from your customers' point of view...!, and then redesign how to work to save them time, money, and frustration.
2. ADD MORE VALUE FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS (MVA). To avoid the trap of commoditization, in which you fight for a minuscule margin against a horde of look-alike, you need to do more for your customers.
3. OBSESS ABOUT YOUR PROCESSES. Customers care only about results, and results come only from end-to-end processes. Manage them, improve them, appoint owners for them, and make everyone aware of them.
4. TURN CREATIVE WORK INTO PROCESS WORK. Innovation doesn't have to be chaotic. Bring the power of discipline and structure to sales, product development, and other creative work. Make success in these areas the result of design and management, not luck...
5. USE MEASUREMENT FOR IMPROVING, NOT ACCOUNTING. Most of your measurements are worthless; they tell you what has happened (sort of) but give you no clue as to what to do for the future. Create a model of your business that ties overall goals to things you control; measure the items that really make a difference; and embed measurement in a serious program of managed improvement.
6. LOOSEN UP YOUR ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE. The days of the proudly independent manager running a sharply defined unit are over. Collaboration and teamwork are now as necessary in the executive suite as on the front lines. Teach your managers how to work together for the good of the enterprise rather than the stab each other in the back for narrow gain.
7. SELL THROUGH, NOT TO, YOUR DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS. Don't let your distribution channels blind you to your final customer, the one who pays everyone's salaries. Change distribution from a series of resellers into a community that works together to serve that final customer. Be ready to redefine the roles of everyone involved in order to achieve that end.
8. PUSH PAST YOUR BOUNDARIES IN PURSUIT OF EFFICIENCY. The last vestiges of overhead lurk, not deep in your company, but at its edges. Exploit the real power of the Internet to streamline the processes that connect you with customers and suppliers. Collaborate with everyone you can to drive out cost and overhead.
9. LOSE YOUR IDENTITY IN AN EXTENDED ENTERPRISE. Get past the idea of being a self-contained company that delivers a complete product. Get used to the notion that you can achieve something only when you virtually integrate with others. Focus on what you do best, get rid of the rest, and encourage others to do the same.
The first two agenda elements are concerned with customer management (ETDBW and MVA)- i.e. how to distinguish firms from look-alike rivals and how to create loyal customers. The third and fourth are about business processes - Hammer's old theme of reengineering. The fifth is about measurement systems and the sixth about the teamplayer role of the manager. The last three are about using modern technology such as the Internet to create value by linking firms with one another - instead of trying to optimize only within own your company's legal boundaries.
Hammer is concentrating on HOW not what. If you're focused on executing, then I think you'll like Hammer's agenda.
Peter Leerskov,
MSc in International Business (Marketing & Management) and Graduate Diploma in E-business
Rating:
Summary: Packed with Knowledge!
Review: Michael Hammer is the man responsible for the early 1990s reengineering craze, but we'll forgive him for that after reading the mea culpa that he includes at the start of his newest book. While it's unlikely that the remedies Hammer prescribes in The Agenda will be misused as a business cure-all in the same way that reengineering was co-opted, the methods, techniques and philosophies that he presents this time around are actually more practical and on target. In a nutshell, Hammer tells us that the customer is now in control and spends his entire book explaining how to re-build your company around meeting your customers' needs. For that simple lesson, we from getAbstract highly recommend this book to all readers.
Rating:
Summary: New Relevance of Processes to Achieving High Performance
Review: Michael Hammer's latest book, THE AGENDA, is a "must read" for business leaders seeking fresh insights and actionable steps to dramatically improve performance on their watch. In the current economic climate, the demand for process redesign is UP, as companies prepare to weather the uncertainties ahead by getting their operations in order. THE AGENDA provides a quick read targeting front-line executives battling with two challenges -- achieving sustainable performance and achieving sustainable performance amidst complex change. The book adequately addresses the first challenge of achieving sustainable performance with a spot-on assessment of the power of business processes in realizing outstanding performance improvements. The second challenge -- making sense of the world of complex change -- is masterfully addressed with a series of useful, thought-provoking frameworks that add value by offering context to make sense of the world of the changing customer values, through the lens of case studies demonstrating new business models and well-executed processes.
As a co-author of a recent Accenture study linking noteworthy performance of 15 organizations from the US, Canada, and Europe with process-based enterprises, I can recommend THE AGENDA to the growing number of clients intrigued with the emerging trend of companies choosing to manage by process. The book is a useful source of case studies, principles and accessible business concepts. Action-oriented management teams interested in taking on the emerging trend of high performance and a commitment to well-designed business processes will benefit from this book. Martha M. Batorski, Associate Partner, Accenture Accenture is a global management and technology consulting firm, with over 70,000 employees in 46 countries. Ms. Batorski has extensive experience architecting and redesigning Fortune 1000 enterprises, as well as new venture start ups, across several industries. She is based in Los Angeles, California.
Rating: 
Summary: Hammer Ain't No Futurist
Review: Not everything can be effectively addressed by better processes and how many times do we need to be told that customers are important? More specific to the field I represent, applied futures, Hammer spends the final section of the book trying to be a futurist. He makes a mess of it. His thesis is that because organizations are incapable of foresight in a rapidly changing environment, they must be able to respond instantly to changes. In other words, "It spots and reacts to significant change in practically the same breath." He goes on to trash the value of scenario planning as incapable of dealing with rapid change. Admittedly, scenario planning's track record is not bullet proof. However, scenarios have been successfully employed in many organizations. This is largely unrecognized because the efforts are not made public, with many being proprietary. Did Hammer do his homework? And how realistic is it to expect organizations to spot and react to significant changes in practically the same breath? Reacting to significant change usually includes allocating resources, changing strategy, reorganizing human resources, developing alliances, securing physical plant, reconfiguring information networks, etc. If this can be done in the same breath, this reader is gasping. Lastly, professional futurists do not predict the future. But that misperception makes it easier to discredit the field and perhaps legitimize Hammer's new definition of planning. All this is interesting because The Agenda is published by Crown Books, a unit of Random House. Its tagline is "Profit From the Future." Randall L. Scheel is Director of the Association of Professional Futurists.
Rating:
Summary: The Low-Pain, High-Gain Navigator!!!
Review: Only someone who has lived implementation can truly appreciate the value of Dr. Hammer's latest book! It's the long-awaited practical prescription sought by leaders of change seeking dramatic results for their companies. What makes his simple concepts profound is that so few knew to implement them in the coherent and holistic manner he describes using the customer as their conscience. As a Vice President inside a conservative fortune 1000 company, I had the responsibility of creating and managing the journey to transform our business operations -- which turned around a troubled ERP implementation,improved on-time delivery to customers from 57% to 96% within 6 months, and focused business processes as the strategy to achieve operational excellence. The magnitude of these changes ends up overhauling nearly every aspect of operations, how leaders behave and manage their company, and the basic context in which employees relate to their work. Indeed, not a task for the faint of heart. Having gained my stripes by "the school of hard knocks", I found myself lamenting how much easier it would have been on a lot of people and careers had I had "The Agenda" as my navigator. I learned and borrowed from several of the companies Dr. Hammer mentions and know many of the people, their methods, and their stories first hand. Dr. Hammer has culled out the best from so many hard-won experiences. For us, the customer-driven economy is very real and I believe getting your own house in tip-top shape is the only way you can survive when business has to be right first time at Internet speed, everday -- No Excuses! Simply put: With "The Agenda",others are set to achieve so much more with far less stress! Now, use it to leap frog the rest of us and create the next frontier -- the world economy eagerly awaits it.
Rating:
Summary: Customer Satisfaction Process Improvement
Review: Outstanding guidelines of enabling businesses to focus on developing and implementing processes to increase customer satisfaction and in the same vein increase business effeciency and effectiveness. A must read for any user interested in improving their existing operations.
Rating:
Summary: Every business needs an agenda!
Review: REVIEW: Take some best practices in the areas of customer focus and value chain models; throw in a process and systems perspective; intersperse all this with lots of examples and finish with a couple of useful chapters on implementing the concepts and you have "The Agenda". While this may sound a little negative, the book is quite useful, easy to read, and practical. In a way, the book is a bridge from existing management theory to practice. I don't think Hammer breaks much new ground as far as new theory is concerned, but that's okay. He does an excellent job at explaining how some recent theory is beginning to change actual business practice. He takes his observations about good practices at select companies and wraps them in an "Agenda" to give them more appeal to the management masses. Those familar with Peter Drucker's marketing concept and Michael Porter's value chain model should recognize a lot in Hammer's book. While Hammer goes beyond mere rehashing of these concepts, they clearly have their roots in these. While the book tends to sound a little grandiose at times (for example the subtitle, "What Every Business Must Do to Dominate the Decade") the book contains many agreeable insights and concepts. Worthwhile reading for those interested in, or responsible for, management of organizational improvement/change STRENGTHS: Organized well and easy to read. Practical and not abstract theory. Chapters nicely summarized in bullets. Many examples of the concepts in use at companies. Also, the last two chapters offer some very practical advice on how to actually implement the concepts. Too many business and management books fail to include this. WEAKNESSES: If you're more interested in cutting edge theory, this probably isn't the book. Sometimes there almost seems like too many examples which can seem like filler. Most of the examples in the book are focused on traditional industries (e.g. manufacturing, banks, etc.). Those that could (perhaps) benefit most from Hammer's teaching may be in newer service and non-profit organizations (e.g. education, government, healthcare). These areas are hardly addressed by the book. Lastly, Hammer includes almost no reference to other work or graphics. WHO SHOULD READ: The book is probably most useful for mid to upper level managers/executives in medium to large organizations; especially those interested in, or responsible for, management of organizational improvement/change. The book is less useful for those interested in new theory and those that feel they have an excellent understanding of the Drucker and Porter concepts mentioned above. ALSO CONSIDER: Major works by Peter Drucker on management practice; Michael Porter "On Competition" (more academic tone); Clayton Christensen "The Innovator's Dilemma" (for a different take on/perils of customer focus). [feedback welcome]
Rating: 
Summary: Popularizer of Important Management Concepts
Review: REVIEW: Take some best practices in the areas of customer focus and value chain models; throw in a process and systems perspective; intersperse all this with lots of examples and finish with a couple of useful chapters on implementing the concepts and you have "The Agenda". While this may sound a little negative, the book is quite useful, easy to read, and practical. In a way, the book is a bridge from existing management theory to practice. I don't think Hammer breaks much new ground as far as new theory is concerned, but that's okay. He does an excellent job at explaining how some recent theory is beginning to change actual business practice. He takes his observations about good practices at select companies and wraps them in an "Agenda" to give them more appeal to the management masses. Those familar with Peter Drucker's marketing concept and Michael Porter's value chain model should recognize a lot in Hammer's book. While Hammer goes beyond mere rehashing of these concepts, they clearly have their roots in these. While the book tends to sound a little grandiose at times (for example the subtitle, "What Every Business Must Do to Dominate the Decade") the book contains many agreeable insights and concepts. Worthwhile reading for those interested in, or responsible for, management of organizational improvement/change STRENGTHS: Organized well and easy to read. Practical and not abstract theory. Chapters nicely summarized in bullets. Many examples of the concepts in use at companies. Also, the last two chapters offer some very practical advice on how to actually implement the concepts. Too many business and management books fail to include this. WEAKNESSES: If you're more interested in cutting edge theory, this probably isn't the book. Sometimes there almost seems like too many examples which can seem like filler. Most of the examples in the book are focused on traditional industries (e.g. manufacturing, banks, etc.). Those that could (perhaps) benefit most from Hammer's teaching may be in newer service and non-profit organizations (e.g. education, government, healthcare). These areas are hardly addressed by the book. Lastly, Hammer includes almost no reference to other work or graphics. WHO SHOULD READ: The book is probably most useful for mid to upper level managers/executives in medium to large organizations; especially those interested in, or responsible for, management of organizational improvement/change. The book is less useful for those interested in new theory and those that feel they have an excellent understanding of the Drucker and Porter concepts mentioned above. ALSO CONSIDER: Major works by Peter Drucker on management practice; Michael Porter "On Competition" (more academic tone); Clayton Christensen "The Innovator's Dilemma" (for a different take on/perils of customer focus). [feedback welcome]
Rating:
Summary: Business in the new decade
Review: River Rouge will be remembered in history as the most ambitious plan of an automotive giant to make all parts of the automobile - including steel and timber from within the company. Ford Motor today, will at best laugh this away and may be some years down the line this effort will appear as a fairy tale. Now companies believe in doing what they can do best and get rid of the rest. Out-sourcing is essential to retain core competence and is no longer a threat to existence. Re-engineering focuses on processes within Corporations. This is analogous to a situation where each functional department had its stand-alone software before the advent of ERP. ERP demolished internal walls and resulted in substantial improvements in operational performance . Similar is the urgency to tear down the walls between a network of corporations that collaborate together to deliver solutions to the same end customer. Still companies exist in isolation and believe in -"good fences make good neighbors". Hammer introduces the term "Virtual Integration", the polar opposite of what Ford tried to do in River Rouge. Ford today is a "Designer and Marketer" of automobiles, while thousands of its suppliers take care of manufacturing the parts that make the final machine. The Internet transforms inter-enterprise processes and becomes the collaborative hub. Co-customers and Co-suppliers take advantage of this new phenomenon. Technologies like XML and protocols like RosettaNet enable the seamless integration of Business Processes across Organizational boundaries. These developments do not mend walls between Corporations but help us in tearing them apart. " The Agenda" predicts a world where businesses work as a network of collaborative virtual entities and outlines the challenges in the new terra. Throughout the book, the focus is on the end customer and to make the business - ETDBW - Easy To Do Business With; and to deliver MVA - More Value Added. Now what is on your agenda? . Buy the book and read it!
Rating:
Summary: Why doesn't Amazon let you rank this book Zero (0)
Review: That is what this book deserves, a big fat zero. This stuff was treated in much greater depth by business thought leaders several years ago. Notions of inter-enterprise process engineering, powered by the Internet, were rigorously documented several years ago. This professor turned management prophet must have spent his millions derived from his previous book of "stories" --circa 1993-- and needed a new source of funds as the world went far past him and his business process rengineering (BPR) stories, long ago. This guy writes stories, not first principles upon which companies can act. Ever tried to "implement" a story? Save your money --buy Tapscott, Fingar, Weil or Hagel books on the subject.
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