Customer Reviews

The Agenda: What Every Business Must Do to Dominate the Decade

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There's an old saying to the effect that a carpenter sees every problem as a nail. To Dr. Hammer, every opportunity or problem looks like it needs new and better processes.

The Agenda is structured as follows:

It makes the case that business is "not so easy any more."

Then Dr. Hammer describes 9 ways that companies have been and could continue to improve. Become easy to do business with. Make what you provide more valuable to customers. Focus on improving processes. Where you have no processes, make some. Put in processes for all of your innovation. Use measurements to improve processes in ways that help customers. Tear down functional and business unit walls. Look beyond immediate customers to the ultimate end user, and partner with distributors to be more effective. Lower barriers between your company, customers, and suppliers. Do less, and electronically connect yourself with outsourced partners. Think of all this as the left-brained approach to whole brain problems.

Then in two final chapters, you are given tools for implementing this agenda. These include watching out for new trends and making your organization more nimble in adapting to new conditions. You are also encouraged to focus your leadership on taking a series of coordinated steps forward in putting these many new processes in place. He predicts it will be "a trying experience." Since this agenda is much more extensive than reeengineering was, that may be an understatement. Most people found reengineering to be pretty trying.

Is there a single new idea in the book? I'm not sure I found one. Is any idea explained better than in some other book? I don't think so. As a result, the mini-essays become very short statements of what are book-length problems. As a result, these sections are not enough to guide you. You will need to seek out other books that have more specialized material. For example, you should read the books about the balanced scorecard to really understand the point about measurements.

Essentially, what is happening here is that Dr. Hammer first saw that fixing broken processes needed to be done (Reengineering the Corporation). Then, he saw that corporations needed to become process centered to fix lots of processes. So he shifted to talking about organizational development. But if you fixed unimportant processes, you still had a problem. So The Agenda shifts to the idea of picking important processes to build or rebuild.

On the other hand, the book's key strength is found a number of detailed examples that I have not read about before in the business press about establishing or improving business processes. As a source of interesting case histories is the only purpose this book serves.

Basically, this book calls for becoming the most efficient version of what you are today that you can be.

I think that's totally backward based on my research with the most successful CEOs in growing their companies. In the beginning, Dr. Hammer says that success "is not about having the right business model." I parted company with him there, and the gap just kept widening. If Sears had made its business model more and more efficient, would it have outperformed Wal-Mart's business model? Would the most efficient version of American Airlines outperform Southwest Airlines?

The other problem with this book is that Dr. Hammer has a very large sense of self importance. Many will find it grating to read his description of his historical importance to world business, and how Professor Drucker's ideas no longer apply.

I'm not sure I will read his next book. Inevitably, it will be on how to create processes to tie all individuals, businesses, and governments together to make us all one big enterprise.

Why do these books sell so well? I don't know. My guess is that they appeal to all of the engineers out there because the books rely on metaphors that make sense to engineers. I know they appeal to consultants because they create billions of dollars in annual consulting revenues. For companies, these books have over promised what can be accomplished. That makes it possible for the ideas to take hold temporarily until someone catches on. For the financial people, there's always the little wink in the material that says "this is another way to get costs down."

To whom can Dr. Hammer point as a sterling example of all the items on the agenda. It looked like no one. So perhaps this is really The Dream.

How can you create improved business models that leap past those who need so many new processes to make their obsolete business models work a little better?

The agenda is the latest book from process guru Michael Hammer. Hammer's others works include Reengineering The Corporation. The Agenda covers a wide range of topics, but has three main focuses:

Become customer focused and know your customer
Define, measure, and improve your processes
Processes must extend beyond corporate boundaries to encompass your complete value chain

These three main focuses are expanded and covered in the following nine points

1. Make yourself easy to do business with
2. Add more value for your customers
3. Obsess about your process
4. Turn creative work into process work
5. Use measurement for improving not accounting
6. Loosen your organizational structure
7. Sell through, not to, your distribution channels
8. Push past your boundaries in the pursuit of efficiency
9. Lose your identity in a extended enterprise

The Agenda is filled with great examples for all for each of the nine points. The Agenda offers a no nonsense view as to what businesses must do to thrive in this decade. The Agenda has a chapter that covers how to begin the extensive changes required to execute on Hammer's agenda and make it your own. The Agenda also addresses the type of organization change core competency that needs to be woven into the thread of Agenda companies.

A highly enjoyable and though provoking read. The Agenda is great material for both middle and senior management.

In the Preface, Hammer makes a remarkable observation about the impact of a previous book, Reengineering the Corporation: Since its publication, "businesspeople have been deluged with books promising simple recipes for eternal victory. Perhaps part of my atonement for this unintentional transgression has been to write The Agenda." In his newest book, Hammer identifies and illuminates "a set of nine emerging business concepts that underlie how the best companies around are mastering today's turbulent environment." He devotes a separate chapter to each of the nine "Agenda Items." They are:

1. Make yourself easy to do business with you (ETDBW)

2. Add more value for your customers (deliver MVA)

3. Create a process enterprise (make high performance possible)

4. Tame the beast of chaos with the power of process (systematize creativity)

5. Base managing on measuring (make managing part of management, not accounting)

Hammer: "The purpose of measuring is not to know how the business is performing but to enable it to perform better....A good measure must be accurate, actually capturing the condition it is supposed to describe. It must be objective, not subject to debate and dispute. It must be comprehensible, easily communicated and understood. It must be inexpensive and convenient to compute. It must be timely -- that is, not requiring a long delay between the occurrence of the condition and the availability of the data."

6. Loosen up your organizational structure (profit from the power of ambiguity)

7. Sell through, not to, your distribution channels (turn distribution chains into distribution communities)

8. Push past your boundaries in pursuit of efficiency (collaborate whenever and wherever you can)

9. Lose your identity in an extended enterprise (integrate virtually, not vertically)

At the end of each chapter, Hammer provides a brief but precise summary of recommended guidelines and action steps based on key points. Hammer proposes a full "agenda" of items and relevant issues which, obviously, decision-makers in each organization must modify to accommodate their own organization's specific needs, interests, issues, problems, resources, and opportunities.

How to plan and then implement a program once an agenda has been formulated? Hammer responds to this question in Chapter 11. He suggests several strategies for integrating efforts with sharp focus. He explains why it is so important to devote much more attention to "people issues." He offers what he calls a "20/60/20" formula for managing different constituencies differently. He explains why committed executive leadership must constantly be evident. He also shares some ideas about effective communication. And finally, he emphasizes the importance of achieving verifiable improvement throughout each phase of the implementation process. I have learned from my own experience that it is highly desirable to pick the "low hanging fruit" as quickly as possible.

In the 12th and final chapter, Hammer shifts his attention to helping the reader to prepare for an uncertain future. In no particular order, he cites seven causes of severe "headaches" which many companies experienced in 1999: The Euro, the Asian economic crisis, major mergers and acquisitions, deregulation, ERP implementation, supply chain integration, and the Internet. He then offers three specific suggestions (create an early warning system, become proficient at responding to change, and create a supportive organizational structure), concluding his book with an especially relevant quotation from the Talmud: "You are not called upon to complete the work, nor are you free to evade it."

It is important, indeed imperative to point out (on Hammer's behalf) that none of his "Agenda Items", observations, and suggestions should be considered a "silver bullet" because there is no one grand design, no one technique or single idea (e.g. reengineering) that -- all by itself -- can bring salvation and success. This is an important and especially timely book as organizations throughout the world (regardless of their size or nature) struggle to formulate an "agenda" which is appropriate to their current and imminent circumstances while being able to accommodate whatever may (and may not) happen later. Any such agenda is (literally) a work in progress. Michael Hammer is correct when asserting that no single source can fully assist that difficult process of planning and implementation. My own opinion is that this book should be included among any sources consulted. Indeed, Hammer's guidance is essential.

As a consultant, I often remind my clients that "Methods are method, principles are few. Methods frequently change, principles rarely do." Mr. Hammer's 9-point agenda is composed of basic principles (talk to the customer, make it easy for customers to buy, focus on processes, etc.). His 9-points have have been taught and recommended by many for years and years. What's new? Mr. Hammer now calls them The Agenda.

There is little to argue about in this book other than it's too long on principles, about right on examples and too short on "how to implement them".

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]

This book reads like a bombastic sermon from Mr. Hammer. There are very few new ideas in this book. Unless someone was living in a cave in Afganistan in the last decade, the so-called ideas in this book have been reported at length in the Wall Street Journal, Fortune or BusinessWeek. Also, I was totally turned off by the condescending writing ...

A high level review of the combination of recent management theories and then not that convincingly done. Best chapter was on process management. Rest on customers etc. I can read elsewhere from other authors who know more about the subject.
2 Stars.

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

Business has changed. Suppliers have lost their dominating position to their customers, who refused to accept inconsistent quality, high margins and non-existent service.

Information technology, the mid-wife of the new economy, has equipped customers with the tools to comparison shop and shortened product life cycles. Customers now rule the marketplace.

"Suddenly," writes Michael Hammer in the opening to his fourth book, "business is not so easy anymore." He then presents an ambitious nine-point plan to right what many businesses are doing wrong, much as he did a decade ago in his bestselling book, Reengineering the Corporation.

Although there is little new in his plan, it is comprehensive and revolutionary for business owners and managers:

1. Run your business for your customers.
2. Add value for your customers by solving problems, not just selling products.
3. Ensure your processes create value for your customers.
4. Creativity thrives in disciplined, coordinated environments.
5. Use data collection to improve, not for accounting.
6. Loosen organizational structures.
7. Remember your distribution channels are not your customer; the end user is.
8. Press your boundaries in pursuit of efficiency.
9. Lose your identity to the extended enterprise.

These may not be new ideas. However, the author's detailed case studies provide a reasonable justification for purchasing and reading this book. They are pointed and unique, a road map to improving any business organization.

As one who has taught business management and been a counsultant and counsellor for over thirty years, I was disappointed with this book. It was the author's "I-know-it-all" attitude more than anything that irked me. There are dozens upon dozens of books in the marketplace on what businesses should do and what they should not do to maximize profits. Some books are excellent, others are not worth the money. While there are some basic management principles that should always be adhered to particularly when it comes to financial and quality control, motivating employees and customer service, each business also has some unique aspects. Business is not a "one shoe fits all" game.

Over the years, I have come across far too authors and business owners/executives of companies, both large and small, who feel that just because they know what works for THEIR COMPANY, they ASSUME they know enough to run any business and make it successful. This could not be further from the truth. An owner or C.E.O of a successful hotel chain, for example, will not have sufficient knowledge of the industry to run a transport company. He will have no idea of federal transport law, logistics, dispatch, hub readings, log miles, calculation of drivers' pays, or even what makes the industry tick. The successful hotel chain CEO, without question, knows his business, but it is a myth to think that just because he (or she) knows his own business, he automatically becomes an expert on everyone's business.

There are some excellent books in the marketplace on general business principles that are worth their weight in gold, unfortunately, this is not one of them. "The Agenda" contained a lot of mumbo-jumbo and irrelevant chatter that could have been summed up in a lot fewer chapters. Some truly good and highly recommended books are "the Myth of Excellence" by Fred Crawford and Ryan Mathews, "21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader" by John C. Maxwell, and "Think Like an Entrepreneur" by Peter Hupalo.