New Book Review: "Rethink"
New book review for Rethink: A Business Manifesto for Cutting Costs and Boosting Innovation, by Ric Merrifield, FT (Financial Times) Press, 2009:
Copy provided by Amazon.
If there is one overall motif or theme for this book by Ric Merrifield, it is a constant attempt to focus on the "whats" or end goals of business processes, not the "hows" or methods in which these goals are accomplished. While this is the stated attempt of the author, it is clear from even a cursory reading of the text that although "whats" are often discussed, it is a discussion of the "hows" that actually carries the book.
The 5-page introduction of this book is fantastic, although during this initial introduction, Merrifield mentions that the term "capability" has been more precisely defined over time, and that industry focus is now "on the desired outcomes of an activity – what it does as opposed to how it is done. So instead of speaking of capabilities in the pages ahead, they are referred to as 'whats'. The distinction is important, particularly because management theory in recent decades has focused so strongly on such how-oriented programs as reengineering and Six Sigma. It has also helped make the approach basic enough to be understood and applied by employees at every level of a company".
The only problem with this philosophy is that "capability" is actually a Six Sigma term that is still being used in industry. A higher capability level in Six Sigma essentially brings with it less defects, based on how the voice of the customer defines such defects. This book suggests that in Six Sigma, business processes are frequently examined without regard to what such processes aim to produce, but this is a straw man argument. Before being chosen for a Six Sigma process improvement effort, such a project typically undergoes an examination of priority level that involves looking at the "whats" as well as the "hows" behind the process, which includes consideration of both cost and benefit.