Change or Die: The Business Process Improvement Manual

I recommend this book to the process improvement neophyte. It is an easy read and understandable. The book provides a straightforward improvement process with best practices and facilitation techniques. The improvement process starts with forming a process improvement team and selecting processes for analysis and ends with evaluating new process results. If you have never done a process improvement project before this is probably the best step-by-step manual with lots of details and tools.However, as an experienced business analyst I give the book a three star rating due to some disappointments with the book's improvement process omissions.* Value chains and the danger of improving only sub processes rather than the entire value chain is not addressed.* Stakeholder resistance was identified as a concern, but not as a source of risk. Resistance was not listed as an entry on the risk register.* Risk was not clearly delineated as threats and opportunities with separate risk registers.* Leading and lagging process measurements for composing a new process owner dashboard was not discussed.* Non-value activities required by auditors were not clearly highlighted. If these activities are eliminated an unsatisfactory audit could follow.* A hierarchy of process improvement proposals based on levels of process owner risk tolerance was not clearly discussed.Had the above items been addressed, this would be a dynamite book deserving of a 5 star rating. But, it doesn't. With these omissions, I believe the book is overpriced. Perhaps one might rationalize the price considering a CD containing various tools accompanies the book.

I have to admit I thought this book was for strategists -- the intellectual process types. However, while reading the Vision/Goal section, I thought this is a 21st Century reference manual for Executive Coaches. There are excellent questions for coaches to ask their business clients throughout this book. As a trainer, there are insightful activities and workshop tools that I can integrate into my training, i.e. "making excuses activity." I am looking forward to using this book in my executive coaching practice and in designing my workshops, classes and webinars.

This book gives very good examples and lessons on changing cultures and working towards process improvements. The CD is a wonderful bonus!If the corporate personnel can latch on to this thinking...a company could be very successful. For a mid manager level seeking this type of change and improvement, it can be frustrating.

If you are currently tasked with leading organizational change, this is a must read! This book will provide you with an actionable framework for initiating and managing change. This book includes excellent tools, templates and examples that are invaluable. This isn't a book you'll read and put on the shelf to forget, this will be a book you keep nearby for quick reference at all times.

Many business improvement programmes have stuck rigidly to one type of approach, however in today's global arena there is a new breed of recommendations for carrying out business process improvements. The new rules for such changes are highlighted in Attong and Metz, (2013) publication entitled Change or Die. The authors take a hybrid over- arching approach which draws on the good from previously identified methodologies and training techniques. The strategy applied to their methodology is one of facilitated teams and stakeholder engagement delivered through the creativity of individuals and the need alignment between strategy and process. Based on case studies their research summarises the types of engagement, team building and business process improvements that could be applied to a given project to bring about the desired end state. They conclude that no one person is smarter than everybody and that there is usually more than one right answer. Much of their research has included the use of Hurson's productive thinking model.