My Budget is Gone... My Consultant is Gone... What the HELL Happened?!?! A Practical Guide to Organizational Development and Operational Effectiveness ... on avoiding the New Jersey Devil Consultant [Paperback]

Robert L. Flores (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2003

There is no magic in the simple strategies and approaches that hi-paid Management, Leadership and Systems consultants use to improve business performance. They simply have something that you don't - an Operational Management Strategy! This book will teach you the "secrets" to creating positive change in your organization.

This simple guide is loaded with examples, templates, and "real world" applications that will teach you:

- The keys to reducing operating costs and increasing profit margins - even in a bad economy.
- How to avoid consultants who will raid your budget and leave your business in chaos.
- The TRUTH behind Six Sigma consultants and their methodology.
- How to ensure that the money you spend on your Business Enterprise REALLY pays off.
- How to overcome operational obstacles in your business that prevent growth and opportunity.
- How to increase your customer satisfaction.
- How to develop and combine: People, Processes, Systems, Data, Infrastructure Measurements and Knowledge Management to produce a Quality-Based organization moving full-throttle towards reaching its goals!

Robert has worked for some of the largest consulting firms in the country and has combined their strategies, methodologies, templates and management models into a simple, easy to understand guide to improving your business.

These are not concepts that only apply to large businesses. They apply equally as well to companies from 5 to 50,000 employees.

If you are looking for templates and examples of how to "analyze GAPS", develop Operational Processes and Systems Requirements, Measure Performance & Quality, or institute a Knowledge Management plan within your corporation, you will find it all here.

The "New Jersey Devil Consultant" is something you’ll want to avoid. They will raid your budget and leave your business no better off than you were before you hired them. Find out how to spot, and avoid them. These include "Six Sigma" consultants, those that use the "80/20" rule, and a myriad of others.

You may even find out that you don’t need a consultant and can do the work yourself.

What are you waiting for?

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book is a refreshing departure from the management books that leave the reader without practical and applicable knowledge." -- Doug Krug, CEO Enlightened Leadership Institute - author of "Getting to the Heart of Change"

"What makes the book have such broad appeal is the folksy and direct way that Bob talks about his subject." -- Michael Mckee, Univ Of Minn, Assoc Provost and Program Director

A refreshing departure from the management books that take an ‘academic approach’, and leave the reader without practical knowledge. -- Doug Krug - CEO – Enlightened Leadership Institute - Author of “Enlightened Leadership: Getting to the Heart of Change”

Having been in operations for 25 years, I can attest to how these techniques are "success enablers." -- Mike Ross - VP Enterprise Operations Systems, Comcast Cable

The concepts and tools Robert presents in this book are invaluable for those in management. -- Mike Ross - VP - Enterprise Operations Systems
Comcast Cable Communications, Inc.

What makes the book have such broad appeal is the folksy and direct way that Bob talks about his subject. -- Michael McKee - University of Minnesota

From the Author

This book is the culmination of many years of working as a Strategic Management Consultant with some of the top firms in the country. Over the years, I've had the unique opportunity to see the strategies that work well in improving business, those that aren't worth the paper their printed on, and the consultants who sell them.

This is "not your father's management book." It’s not PhD thesis material, theory, or hypothesis that you'll never use. My goal in writing this book was that you could read it one day, and use it in your business the next day to create real, positive change in your business and gain a greater understanding of how to serve your customer, and your corporation better.

I’ve loaded the book with examples, templates and models that you can easily adapt to your business, so that you can see this work in action. Included is: how to develop your Business Enterprise and KNOW it will help your business. How to develop Operational Processes and use them to improve your organization. How to use Measurements and Knowledge Management to create customer loyalty, improve quality and performance, and engage your employees into a culture that promotes an agile and creative business, ready to overcome any obstacle in your path.

Then there’s the "New Jersey Devil Consultant". I used to work for one, and now I’m teaching you how to spot and avoid them. They’ll raid your budget and leave your business in chaos.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 241 pages
• Publisher: Greyhound Publishing (June 2003)
• ISBN-10: 0974323705
• ISBN-13: 978-0974323701
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #425,129 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thorough, honest, and well executed..., September 7, 2003

By 

Douglas Karr "The Marketing Technology Blog" (Greenwood, IN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: My Budget is Gone... My Consultant is Gone... What the HELL Happened?!?! A Practical Guide to Organizational Development and Operational Effectiveness ... on avoiding the New Jersey Devil Consultant (Paperback)

If you are at the top and are having troubles, this book is for you. If you are on your way to the top, keep this by your bedside. Or, if you find yourself one of the lost... avoid the New Jersey Devil Consultant and purchase a copy for each of your staff.

Bob has a great talent for simplifying the complex, a hard-to-find talent amongst consultants. His proven record and examples are a rare find among business books. Take a look around the business topics here on Amazon.com and you'll find many books written by leaders who eventually stomped their companies and/or their employees into the ground. OR - you'll find books written in theory, but never delivered on in an actual business.

Bob's refreshing book shows his experience, knowledge of the complex balance of employee leadership, intellectual talent, knowledge management, systems, and process management. Being good at any ONE thing may get you to the top... but you need to know how to balance all to keep there. Bob understands this.

This book will save you time and expense. For once, a book with a Return on Investment!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must Read for Anyone in Business, August 26, 2003

By 

shaerae "shaneys6" (Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Budget is Gone... My Consultant is Gone... What the HELL Happened?!?! A Practical Guide to Organizational Development and Operational Effectiveness ... on avoiding the New Jersey Devil Consultant (Paperback)

This book is a must read for anyone in business. Flores' approach to management and writing is straightforward and succinct. His explanations and examples are engaging and applicable across organizational departments. He is arming people with the knowledge they need to `see through' so much of the unnecessary politics and inefficiencies in corporations. He accomplishes this through his story-telling as well as giving the reader tools to use to achieve efficiency and sanity.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Made MY Customer's happy!, July 28, 2003

By 

Andrew T. Stapelkamp (Denver, Colorado United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Budget is Gone... My Consultant is Gone... What the HELL Happened?!?! A Practical Guide to Organizational Development and Operational Effectiveness ... on avoiding the New Jersey Devil Consultant (Paperback)

I was looking for a book that would help me to serve my customers better in addition to saving money in my business.

This book is it!

This book should be called "How to please your customer and save money while doing it."

After reading the first three chapters, I decided to put the material to the test and begin some of the work suggested in the book. The results were nothing short of amazing. Using the pre-made templates, and what I learned on building an effective organization, I was quickly able to make small changes within my organization that had HUGE impacts.

Our customer satisfaction ratings went up by over 25% in a MONTH, and we've saved enough money to hire new people. Not bad for an economy that is suffering so badly, I'd say.

I also like Robert's writing style. It's easy to read, and it is assuring to know that there is a "real person" behind this work, whose faced similar business problems and found a way to overcome them.

I'll also mention that we considering hiring a Six Sigma consultant and narrowly averted the disaster that surely would have followed. Six Sigma sounds like a good way for improving a business UNTIL you read this book. Now that I understand what Six Sigma REALLY is, I won't even consider them in the future or other consultants that can't explain to me what it is that they are going to deliver for my business.

This is my kind of book. Easy to understand, practical to use, and results right away. I highly recommend it.