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A Guide to the Revolution

When Reengineering the Corporation was published in 1993, no one suspected how prophetic its subtitle would turn out to be. But by mid-1994, reengineering was in full cry around the world, and it seemed fair to say that the book was indeed A Manifesto for Business Revolution . In the year and a half after publication, more than 1.7 million copies were sold worldwide, including some three-quarters of a million in the United States and a quarter-million in Japan. The book has been translated into nineteen languages, including Finnish, Hebrew, and Thai.

But people have not just been reading about reengineering-they have also been doing it. Two of the "Big Six"-the major accounting and consultancy firms-conducted separate studies in 1994 and reached virtually identical conclusions: that between 75 and 80 percent of America's largest companies had already begun reengineering and would be increasing their commitment to it over the next few years. A leading market research firm has estimated that U.S. corporations would spend more than $7 billion on reengineering in 1994. This figure includes only expenditures for personnel and consulting services; if required technology investments are included, the figure balloons to over $30 billion. These figures are expected to grow by 20 percent per annum for the next three years.

These extraordinary numbers are mirrored in our own business, that of preparing people for the revolution through education and training. Over the last three years, we have trained more than 10,000 people from more than a thousand of the world's leading corporations in the techniques of reengineering.

Whether they are just reading about it or actually doing it, everyone seems to be talking about it. "Reengineering" has gone from being a neologism to a standard entry in the business lexicon. The term has become so prevalent that it's no longer enclosed in quotes; it is so established in our daily vocabulary that few authors who use it feel a need to define it. And use it they do.

It's nearly impossible to pick up a business publication without encountering an article on the subject. The number of articles with "reengineering" in the title increased from 10 in 1990 to well over 800 in 1994. The Lexis/Nexis electronic database of the daily press contains over 5,000 references to "reengineering" during a six-month period in 1994. Perhaps the most authoritative certification that a new phenomenon has become part of the culture is its appearance in comic strips. For this, the ultimate accolade, please see below.

DILBERT reprinted by permission of UFS, INC.

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Excerpted from The Reengineering Revolution by Michael Hammer Copyright © 2003 by Michael Hammer
Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.