Improving Performance: How to Manage the White Space on the Organization Chart

Which is more important— your people, or your processes? Over the long haul, even strong people can't compensate for a weak process. Sure, some occasional success may come from team or individual heroics. But if you pit a good performer against a bad process, the process will win almost every time. The expanded and revised third edition of Improving Performance provides step-by-step detailed instruction on how to apply the Rummler-Brache methodology to reconstruct processes so they boost rather than impede productivity. Praise for Improving Performance "Tower's ability to grow from a startup in 1990 to one of the fifty largest property/casualty insurance writers in the United States was the result of combining clear, strategic goals and effective process design and execution. Rummler and Brache's Improving Performance , specifically the Nine Performance Variables, provided a comprehensive framework to help Tower deliver on the commitment to growth and allow us to serve the needs of agents, insureds, and employees." —Michael H. Lee, president and chief executive officer, Tower Group Companies "Times change. People conceive new products and services. Organizations shift to dramatically different business models. But what doesn't change is that managers and executives still rely on processes to conduct their business . . . . Improving Performance remains the sacred text on process design, and this new edition offers state-of-the-art insights to make sure your processes are sleek and strong." —Price Pritchett, Ph.D., chairman and chief executive officer, PRITCHETT, LP

List of Figures and Tables v Foreword ix Preface xi The Authors xvii PART ONE: A FRAMEWORK FOR IMPROVING PERFORMANCE 1 1 Viewing Organizations as Systems 3 2 Three Levels of Performance: Organization, Process, and Job/Performer 12 PART TWO: EXPLORING THE THREE LEVELS OF PERFORMANCE 27 3 The Organization Level of Performance 29 4 The Process Level of Performance 42 5 The Job/Performer Level of Performance 62 PART THREE: APPLYING THE THREE LEVELS OF PERFORMANCE 75 6 Linking Performance to Strategy 77 7 Moving from Annual Programs to Sustained Performance Improvement 86 8 Diagnosing and Improving Performance: A Case Study 97 9 Project Definition: The Ten Essential Steps 110 10 Process Analysis and Design: The Ten Essential Steps 140 11 Overcoming the Seven Deadly Sins of Process Improvement 174 12 Measuring Performance and Designing a Performance Management System 182 13 Managing Processes and Organizations as Systems 211 14 Designing an Organization Structure That Works 226 15 Creating a Performance–Based Human Resource Development Function 244 16 Developing an Action Plan for Performance Improvement 259 Index 264 Instructor’s Guide 270

Geary Rummler , a pioneer in the application of instructional and performance technologies to organizations, cofounded the Rummler-Brache Group, a global leader in process management consulting and training. Alan Brache , cofounder of the Rummler-Brache Group, focuses his consulting and writing on a methodology for resolving critical issues through the identification, documentation, analysis, design, measurement, and continuous improvement of business processes. The Rummler-Brache Group , exclusive owner of the trademarked Rummler-Brache methodology, is a consulting and training firm specializing in process improvement and management. Rummler-Brache employs a wide range of interventions that span the delivery spectrum—from "do it for you" hands-on consulting, all the way to "do it with you" coaching and facilitation. A key differentiator is our core competency: we transfer the knowledge and technology you need to become self-sufficient at delivering business results through performance improvement projects. For more information, please visit www.RummlerBrache.com or call 800-992-8849.