Benchmarking for Best Practices: Winning Through Innovative Adaptation [Hardcover]

Benchmark expert Christopher E. Bogan and corporate quality director Michael J. English walk management through their 9-step benchmarking model - from improving baseline trends to achieving world-class quality leadership. Recognizing that successful benchmarking often, demands dramatic changes in corporate attitudes - and an end to the "not invented here" mentality that stifles innovation - they arm readers with the weapons to: forge a learning organization ready to borrow successful ideas wherever they occur - inside or outside the firm; tailor benchmarking to a firm's unique identity - acknowledging that one company's "best practices" aren't always another's; sell benchmarking to even the most skeptical senior executives or "turf conscious" factory and line managers; and manage the total project - including determining what, and against whom, to benchmark.

Why senior executives love this book.
A client CEO recently told me that "Benchmarking for Best Practices" is the best book -- among more than 50 now on the market -- written on the subject of benchmarking! "Thanks?" I said to this CEO. And then I asked him why he thought it was the best book on the subject. "It has valuable information from real companies," he said. "Other books are more theoretical or mask information through disguised case studies." His response is quite typical of why so many people really like our book. Indeed, it has received an enthusiastic reception from a broad range of senior executives, managers and front-line employees who tell me that it's enjoyable reading -- filled with great stories, valuable information and operating insights from some of the world's best companies. It contains factual information and insight from nearly 100 leading corporations across a wide-range of industries. Hailed as "the new benchmark" for all those interested in benchmarking and best practice performance improvement, the book highlights the work of my firm, Best Practices Benchmarking & Consulting, LLC and many of the successes of the companies with which we’ve had the good fortune to work. But, like any good benchmarker, don’t take my word alone. Consider the assessments of other executives in other companies who have read "Benchmarking for Best Practices." From the Frontline to the Boardroom, Praise for Benchmarking For Best Practices 1. "Great ideas are everywhere. Understanding best practices can be a cornerstone of how every company competes. If you want to supercharge performance improvement in your organization, read this book! It will show you how." ---Sam Foti, President, The Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York 2. "As a senior Baldrige examiner and a champion for TQM at Marriott, I've seen the power of benchmarking to drive performance improvements. This book is an essential primer on how to use best practice strategies for your organization's success. Keep it close at hand and use it! " --Greg Behm, Vice President of TQM, Marriott Hotels & Resorts 3. "Choose the masters as your mentors. That's the essence of best practice benchmarking. Bogan and English approach this important business subject with extraordinary grace, insight and intelligence." -- J. Kent Murray, President, Chevron Research & Technology Company 4. "Benchmarking For Best Practices demonstrates the power of innovative adaptation. This book should be on the short list of every executive who hopes to leverage the creativity, learning and best practices that distinguish the world's greatest companies. Bogan and English are helping to put an end to "not invented here" thinking. --Andrew A. Gerigk, Benchmarking Group Director, AT&T Bell Laboratories 5. "Benchmarking For Best Practices is a totally inclusive book about benchmarking and the value of changing by learning from others. This book was exciting for me to read, with example after example of best practice learnings from major corporations. Any manager can 'borrow' ideas from this book and become an innovator in their own practices or processes. Benchmarking is the tool that aids reengineering and cycle-time improvements." --Laura Longmire, Benchmarking Champion of World-wide Operations Texas Instruments, Winner of the 1992 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award 6. "Every manager will find this book valuable. It provides useful information, great stories and insightful best practice experiences. It belong's on every business person's book shelf." -- David B. Luther, Senior Vice President-Quality, Corning, Inc. 7. "Here's how to create an All-Star organization: read "Benchmarking For Best Practices." This cutting-edge book is indispensable reading for every manager who wants to take his or her team to the championships" --Truman L. Koehler, Chief Executive Officer, Master Builders, Inc. 8. "In a world where increasingly everybody has to compete with everybody else, achieving globally the highest standards in all key company activities is a must. Bogan and English provide clear directions, inspiring stories and an actionable strategy for seeking out and creatively adapting the best of the best in your company." --Daniel Wagnière, Chief Operating Officer, Sandoz Ltd., Basle Switzerland 9. "When GTE instituted its Vision and Values in 1985, benchmarking became one of our seven key values. Now nine years later, benchmarking has proven to be critical to our success in the marketplace. This book reveals the phenomenal power of adopting the best practices which will lead to superior market performance for any company." --Kent B. Foster, Vice Chairman, GTE Corporation 10. "For any company dedicated to innovation and performance excellence, best practice benchmarking is a tool and source of inspiration. This book, rooted in the powerful concept of innovative adaptation through benchmarking, is a catalyst for fresh thinking." --Ron Kubinski, Manager of Corporate Quality Services, 3M 11. "This book will benefit any organization intent on breaking cycles of mediocre performance whether it is by process reengineering or continuous improvement. Better than any other book I've seen on the subject, useful examples, great stories and best practice experiences are provided so we gain a much better understanding how we can leverage benchmarking to create learning breakthroughs that pave the road to market leadership." --Dan Hickey, Vice President For Reengineering, Aetna Life and Casualty 12. "This book is a grand slam for any business reader: important subjects, ideas and examples fielded from a hall of fame of outstanding companies. It is a must read if your organization cares about change and excellence." --John M. Lavine, Professor and Director Northwestern University's Newspaper Management Center 13. "Benchmarking For Best Practices masters an important management subject that should be on the short list of every executive who seeks to lead his organization towards world class performance excellence." --Eric Kennedy, Benchmarking Program Manager, IBM 14. "Bogan and English have produced an executive handbook for managing change and continuous improvement. This book provides a handsome return on investment for any manager who wants to accelerate performance improvement in his company." --John Robbins, CEO, American Residential Mortgage Corporation 15. "Bogan and English provide a blueprint for how to create a we-can-learn-from- anyone culture. Read Benchmarking For Best Practices before your competitors do." --Mike Mulligan, Vice President - Sales, SUPERVALU Inc. 16. "Benchmarking has become one of the key managerial tools for total quality management in the 1990s. The benchmarking process often provides the necessary insights for the radical breakthroughs in performance these organizations are so desperately seeking. This book also provides a new benchmark for all those interested in benchmarking. It supplies a wealth of examples and specific suggestions for how to select benchmarking targets, how to organize for rapid learning, and most importantly, how to implement these findings." --A. Blanton Godfrey, Chief Executive Officer, Juran Institute, Inc. 17. "At Federal Express, the intellectural capital of all our people is our most valued resource. That's why fast learning is so important to Federal Express and other organizations that must manage rapid change. Studying and learning from best practices are of critical importance for every manager who wishes to lead his or her culture into the winner's circle." --Michael E. Reed, Managing Director of Operations Audit & Qualit, Federal Express 18.