RIP: Dr. Michael Hammer

I have been remiss to not blog about the passing of "Mr. Reengineering" two weeks ago.

My vivid memory is him presenting in a large auditorium and his booming voice reminded me of Neil Diamond's Brother Love "And when he lets go half the valley shakes".

The next time I saw him was in a much smaller room, he was much more subdued and seemed very aware that many mass layoffs in the 90s had been justified using his book. As he told the WSJ, "I was reflecting my engineering background and was insufficiently appreciative of the human dimension"

There is one nugget I picked up from his writings and speeches. Look at any business process from a customer POV. If the customer does not see value in a process step, obliterate the step. Screw what the accountants or attorneys or engineers say about the step being critical. Look at the process coldly from the customer's eyes. That nugget inspired me to have a category on this blog "Business Process Angioplasty" .

I rededicate that portion of the blog, to you, Dr. Hammer.