ReengineeringWhy It Fails

Scott SchlofmanDecember 14, 2006

“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently… they change things… the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

Steve Jobs

What Is Covered• Defining reengineering• Reengineering and me• Why it succeeds and why it fails• Worldly examples• Group activity• Summary

Defining Reengineering

• You can’t do the same thing over and over and expect different results.

• Starting over

Reengineering and Me

• How can we use this in our organization?

• Is change really needed in our group?

Change Is All Around

• Clientele changes

• Technology changes

• Added competition

Success or Failure

• Leadership

• Attitudes of need and urgency

• Old system and changes

• New system and changes

Reengineering succeeds or fails with:

Leadership

Overall vision

Departmental breakdown

Personal vision

Leadership in every organization

Attitude of Need

• Tunnel vision

• Trapped in habit

Create the need for change

Attitudes of Urgency

• Choose the right pace

• Urgency helps focus

Create a sense of urgency

Old System and Changes

Understand previous system

Diagram the old way

Abandon the old way

New System and Changes

Diagram the new way

Implement the new way

Persist in the new way

Traps to Avoid [i]

Dwelling on past

Focusing primarily on technical skills

Creating too many targeted skills

Turning simple tasks into complex procedures

Worldly Process Examples

• Not needing to reengineer• Finding waste• Seeing the results

Worldly Service Examples

• Need to reengineer• Doing something totally new• Seeing the results

Group ActivityInstructions

• Object

• Activity description

Group ActivityPart ONE

Phrase 1Reengineering will fail 70-80% of the time.

Phrase 2 Work this time fails with human error.

Phrase 3 With the new process, failure occurs because of the complexity of the new system.

Group ActivityPart TWO

Phrase 1

Phrase 2

Phrase 3

Group ActivityPart THREE

• Write the first 2 words of Phrase 1

• Write the first 3 words of Phrase 2

• Write the first 4 words of Phrase 3

Look at first index card

Group ActivitySummary

“Reengineering will work this time with the new process.”

Group ActivitySummary

• Which process was the quickest?

• Why was it the quickest?

• How can we apply this to our organization?

Training Summary

• Change is vital for survival

• Succeed or fail by small things

• Leadership and attitude

• Persistence

Training Summarycontinued

• The past is written

• Focus on the tangible

• Manageable amount

• Simply eliminate waste

Reading ListArbinger Institute (2002). Leadership and Self-deception. San Francisco, CA:

Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.

Beckhard, Richard (1992). Changing the Essence. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publisher.

Beckhard, Richard, & Harris, Reuben T. (1977). Organizational Transitions: Managing Complex Change. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc.

Bishop, Charles H., Jr. (2001). Making Change Happen One Person at a Time. New York, NY: AMACOM.

Black, J. Stewart, & Gregersen, Hal B. (2002). Leading Strategic Change. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Reading Listcontinued

Bridges, William (1991). Making Transitions. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc.

Deutshman, Alan. (1994). Change or Die. FastCompany Magazine. Retrieved October 12, 2006 from http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/94 May 2005.

Hammer, Michael, & Champy, James (1993). Reengineering the Corporation. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publisher, Inc.

Virginia Tech. Specific Examples of Reengineering. Retrieved December 13, 2006 from http://filebox.vt.edu/users/hmeyer2/examples.html