This past year, I had the privilege to travel to the Kingdom of Cambodia to visit the great temple complex of Angkor Wat. For those not familiar with Angkor Wat, it was built in the first half of the 12th century and is still today the largest religious structure in the world. However, Angkor Wat is but one of hundreds of temple complexes many crumbling ruins spread about the countryside around the present-day city of Siem Reap. For those fortunate to visit the area, the best means to travel about the temples is via a rather primitive means of transportation – the Tuk Tuk. The best way to describe a Tuk Tuk is to think of a rickshaw pulled by a moped. Most Tuk Tuk’s have a roof spanning two facing seats. Depending on the size, two to four individuals may ride comfortably. But there are variances to Tuk Tuk’s. At the high end of the market are elaborately hand carved and highly lacquered versions – a work of art unto themselves.

While controversy may continue to exist on whether size matters in areas as diverse as sex, bacteria and even blue whales – there is little doubt that size matters enormously when it comes to Business Process Management (BPM).

Tackling larger, cross functional processes is at the heart of success with BPM.  This applies to both process improvement and process management.  The potential size of the prize increases proportionally with improvement efforts targeted at larger, cross functional processes such as inquiry to order, order to delivery, request to receipt and idea to launch as these initiatives target critical non-value added activities across department boundaries. 

For Six Sigma, Lean, Reengineering and other process practitioners, it is in our nature to adopt what I label a process perspective. Whether consciously or subconsciously, we think in process terms. Every activity is a series of steps and we cannot help but introduce improvements with the passage of time. This pattern of behavior often transcends our work life… and enters into our personal life – sometimes to the chagrin of our family members.

Corinne was at first very pleased to have been asked to implement a process change. She was the one who first identified a problem in operations and who suggested a few modifications to the procedure. After raising the matter several times over many months with senior executives, she finally received the go-ahead to make the necessary changes.

As Corrinne approached her colleagues with the idea of changing the process, she was at first greeted with support. Her work environment was generally professional and courteous. But the more Corrinne engaged her coworkers about the idea of changing a process, the more subtle the pushback she received. Confused, Corrinne pressed on with figuring out a way to bring the different departments together to have a conversation about changing the process.