One of my favorite things is reengineering a process, project, or even just departmental file folders. In other words, take a good hard look at something that is broken, turn it inside-out and right-side-up, and create something new-ish that does what it was meant to do in the first place. Allow me a moment to explain.
First, let’s start with an official definition. Business process reengineering, according to theThe AMA Dictionary of Business and Management, is defined as:
An approach to organizational restructuring based on a radical reassessment of the reasons the business/process exists. It asks the questions, “What are its core competencies?” and “What are its strengths in terms of the market and its products and services?” It seeks to reinvent the business/process, taking advantage of the information technologies that allow simultaneous processing of tasks that were conventionally done sequentially. It links inputs and outputs more rationally so as to enhance efficiency and productivity and the learning curve of employees.
The essential elements of reengineering, also according to the The AMA Dictionary of Business and Management, are:
- Initiation from the top from someone with a vision
- Leadership
- New value system that focuses on adding value for the customers
- Rethinking the way people perform their work
- Emphasis on cross-functional work teams
- Enhanced information dissemination
- Training
- Involvement of all participants
- Rewards based on results
For me, reengineering often happens after the phrase “that’s the way we’ve always done it” or “that is what was in the original file from 10 years ago.” Those words often signal an opportunity for some renegineering magic.
For those of you who find yourself agreeing strongly, nodding your heads, saying “YES! I love reengineering!” — you are probably a disruptor. (Don’t worry, it is not as bad as it sounds.) A disruptor is someone who “thinks of novel ways to move the business forward”, are “brimming with new ideas”, and “imagine all possible futures” (Take the Clifton Strength Finder test to find out for sure).
Are you a ‘disruptor’? What have you reengineered lately?
References
- Business process reengineering. (2013). In G. T. Kurian, The AMA dictionary of business and management. New York, NY: AMACOM, Publishing Division of the American Management Association.
Article publié pour la première fois le 19/03/2019
