There is a maxim in the business process world that says:
“If it ain’t broke, improve it”.
Frequently there are processes that are “broke”, and depending on what they are, they probably should get some attention. If a process was designed and put in place, it wasn’t designed to work at it’s best in a broken state. It probably should be fixed.
But this is just one type of issue, it may be the most obvious, but it may not be the most important. What about the paradox of excellence? Where you risk being damaged by the very approach, or product, or service that has served you well in the past.
Excellence can lead to complacency. To being over confident and not noticing new entrants or new and potentially disruptive technologies.
Being prepared to change, not just to solve a problem, but because you simply want to get better, is a challenge that goes to the heart of a lot of the case studies that are detailed in this section.
The specifics of the cases aren’t as important as the principles that they illuminate.
Being efficient = being smart with resources, saving money, or doing more for the same. Being good at the things that you know you have to do.
Being effective = delivering value from the customers perspective, doing well what matters to them. Customers are always the judge of your effectiveness. Always.
