Six Disciplines for Excellence: Building Small Businesses That Learn, Lead and Last

By Gary Harpst

Six Disciplines Corporation is dedicated to helping small businesses achieve and sustain success. Six Disciplines for Excellence provides six fundamental business principles that are specifically... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1933538813
• ISBN13: 9781933538815
• Release Date: April 2007
• Publisher: Synergy Books
• Length: 277 Pages
• Weight: 1.14 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.8" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Excellent Business Process/Methodology

From the back of the book: "This book is NOT for those who are looking for a quick fix. Six Disciplines is a "long-term fitness program, not a fad diet". I think that's an excellent description. I'm "into" ITIL, and process methodology as a whole, with a technical focus. Six Disciplines has made a very nice addition to my process skills arsenal with its focus on the business side of the house. The Six Disciplines break down as follows: * Decide What's Important * Set Goals That Lead * Align Systems * Work The Plan * Innovate Purposefully * Step Back and each of those major headings above breaks down into additional sections, which are then explained fully in the book. This is a circular, continuous improvement methodology, with outputs from one section readily feeding into another, and that there are linkages throughout the methodology. Frankly, I wish I'd had this book a few years ago, when I was part of a project that DID create a global IS department, from several smaller departments, and set visions, mission statements, processes, and so forth in place, many of which are still in operation today. We got it done, but at times it seemed like we were winging it, as there was no central reference like this to go to, other than process steps we defined for ourselves. If I was in that situation again, this would be a process guide that I turned to. I'm honest enough to admit that I might not follow it to the letter - the curse of man is that he likes to change things to his own preferences - but it would definitely be a good starting point. In reading the book, I'm struck that the author spends time focusing on HOW to achieve maximum benefit from each of the six interdependent Disciplines, and not just providing a laundry list without explanation. There are plenty of "lists" and "summaries" out there, but getting a strong sense of the reasoning behind a recommendation adds to the value. The book is subtitled "Building Small Businesses That Learn, Lead and Last", and that's a great focus; while it may not scale to a larger company in its entirety, there's no reason individual departments within such couldn't benefit as well. Along with my ITIL maps, project management maps and so forth, the Six Disciplines will form a permanent part of my reference set that I use when I work as a manager.

A Review of Six Disciplines

I just finished reading Gary Harpst's book - Six Disciplines For Excellence and I strongly recommend it. As part of my quest for value add, I've read and participated in many "best practice" methodologies over the years. Unfortnuately most are skewed towards theory, with minimal attention to practice and implementation. Sometimes you feel that the authors are locked into outmoded business practices with approaches and examples that are past their due date. Gary Harpst is the direct opposite. His Six Disciplines For Excellence delivers an effective way to build and grow a business. The approach is current and I love that it ties technology and systems with strategy. Most importantly this book is about execution. It provides the reader with processes, examples, worksheets that last in the real world. Even though the book is designed for small business I believe it could funcion well within a mid sized company as well. I'm adding Six Disciplines to the reading materials I provide to each of my clients.

Essential Disciplines for Excellence

This book is an absolutely essential primer for anyone currently in - or considering getting into - a small business. Read this book with a highlighter and/or a legal pad and pen nearby. You'll need them. Think of this more as a field guide or a handbook. You'll want to keep this book nearby with your other critical business reference materials. This is the type of book that each time you read it, you'll find new pearls of wisdom and - better yet - practical advice. In addition to many years working in and around small businesses, I also teach college business courses. In my experience, it is very rare to find a book that is both geared to small business and offers pragmatic and actionable advice.

It takes discipline to benefit from these "Six Disciplines"

First, I want to share remarks by Jack Welch when explaining why he admires small businesses: "For one, they communicate better. Without the din and prattle of bureaucracy, people listen as well as talk; and since there are fewer of them they generally know and understand each other. Second, small companies move faster. They know the penalties for hesitation in the marketplace. Third, in small companies, with fewer layers and less camouflage, the leaders show up very clearly on the screen. Their performance and its impact are clear to everyone. And, finally, smaller companies waste less. They spend less time in endless reviews and approvals and politics and paper drills. They have fewer people; therefore they can only do the important things. Their people are free to direct their energy and attention toward the marketplace rather than fighting bureaucracy." Next, some observations by Michael Gerber: "Of the 1 million U.S. small businesses started this year [2005], more than 80% of them will be out of business within 5 years and 96% will have closed their doors before their 10th birthday." Everything Welch says is true in terms of the potential advantages which small businesses have and the statistics which Gerber cites suggest that very few of them know how to achieve and then sustain those advantages. As Harpst explains, this book was written for decision-makers in established small businesses which, typically, employ 10 to 100 people. How does his book differ from others which also discuss business improvement? "First, [unlike most other books] which focus 80% on principles and 20% on implementation, this book's content [begin italics] is focused 20% on principles and 80% on implementation [end italics]....Second, the [Six Disciplines] Methodology is [begin italics] designed specifically for small businesses [end italics]....Third, the Six Disciplines Methodology is the first methodology to [begin italics] distill and integrate what were designed as separate best practices into one cohesive whole [end italics]." Harpst devotes a separate chapter to each of the six Disciplines: Decide What's Important, Set Goals That Lead, Align Systems, Work the Plan, Innovate Purposefully, and Step Back. True to his word, Harpst focuses most of his attention on HOW to derive maximum benefit from each of the six separate but interdependent Disciplines. In my opinion, he has positioned them in the most appropriate sequence, helping his reader to understand that business improvement must be viewed and initiated as a cohesive and comprehensive process. He correctly emphasizes the importance of definition, clarification, identification, measurement, evaluation, and when appropriate, modification and adjustment. Each small business really is a "work in process" which, hopefully, involves progress or improvement rather than deterioration. Over the years, I have worked closely with hundreds of small companies and agree with the owner/CEO of one of them who confid

Comprehensive, Practical Guide To Business Excellence

Of the many books written by people who have built significant businesses, Gary Harpst's offering, Six Disciplines for Excellence, is truly different and refreshing. Too often, many such books are long on theory and short on practicality. In addition to presenting the combined thinking of some of today's best business minds, Mr. Harpst's book also details step-by-step the unique business methodology that he developed and successfully used to build an award-winning international software business. Along the way, he stresses the human factors of business building, including empowering and involving people, building lasting relationships, and communicating effectively. Six Disciplines for Excellence is a valuable addition to the library of anyone who wants to achieve business excellence - and do it with integrity.