Customer Reviews

Freedom from Command and Control: Rethinking Management for Lean Service

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have just finished reading this book, and I have to say it could have been one of the most important books on service management and improvement I read in a long time. Sadly, John Seddon seems to have missed the opportunity to make this book a seminal text in the services business, for the following reasons:

1. Mr. Seddon has very strong, almost religious, beliefs in his methodology and the Vanguard system he promotes. So much so that he has to identify enemies and burn them at the stake, repeatedly. His enemies range from supporters of competing methodologies, solution vendors, consultants, and worst of all 'managers', who he has to discredit and put down every other paragraph. John, they are your potential audience, I'd think you want them to read your book and adapt your system, no?
2. Despite his strong belief in his system, Mr. Seddon does not disclose many details on how to actually make it work. The book is more a series of anecdotes with several nuggets of knowledge here and there, rather than a foundation for implementing a services improvement project based on its teachings
3. Mr. Seddon and his publishers have not invested in editing, therefore the book does not read well, the paragraphs are frequently a non-flowing collection of sentences, words and phrases are put between quotes unnecessarily and many sections read like a collection of presentation bullets rather than a well thought of and assembled story
4. The book is produced cheaply, using rough, thin paper and too narrow margins, leaving too little room for writing comments. For a book that costs as much as this one does this is inexcusable.

I believe Mr. Seddon should have asked himself the same questions he promotes in this book: "what is the purpose of this book?" and "how would my customers want to see it delivered?", and while the answers would not have changed the excellent message they would have definitely made his book much more usable and influential.

Despite this, I give the book four stars, due to the important message it carries.

This brief book offers a lot in a small package. Although the customer-driven systems management strategy that John Seddon outlines is hardly new, he offers a fresh discussion about applying it to service organizations. Although this management tactic has proven itself indisputably, many managers and most organizations will find it radical. The author clearly, concisely illustrates its merits with numerous examples from a range of industries, with particular reference to the successful Toyota Production System. However, Seddon is frank about the kind and degree of opposition that reform will encounter. He also debunks other management systems in light of this approach. We highly recommend this book to all managers with the note that you can only implement its findings if you enjoy the full support of top management.

A fairly short (200 page) text that interprets and presents Lean techniques developed for manufacturing into specifics that can be immediately applied to service businesses. I have hightlighted and dog-eared almost every page in this book and refer to it often to help direct the focus of my work. I highly recommend it and have purchased copies for the other managers in my group.

If you are working in the service area and wonder why the service you provide is so bad despite all efforts, read this book.
You will learn how to get reconnected with your customers, create value for them and improve your staff morale and profits.