High Performance Operations: Leverage Compliance to Lower Costs, Increase Profits, and Gain Competitive Advantage (FT Press Operations Management)

I must first say that I know Hillel Glazer and have for a number of years. He has a lot of background in working with matters of standards, models, compliance, etc. Since few books get written about compliance other than how-to guides for meeting a specific standard, I was glad to see what Hillel does in this book. Specifically, he contrasts a constructive approach to compliance to a more common reactive and dysfunctional one organizations often take by keeping compliance activity at arms-length from “real” work.

The key to the book’s advice is how compliance requirements are basically about two things: avoiding risks and creating opportunities. Hillel says organizations should look at a compliance requirement statements and ask “How do we avoid this risk or create this opportunity?” If an organization has no answer, they need to implement a process improvement that leads to having an answer. It’s that simple and ensures compliance activity results in better risk management/avoidance and greater opportunity achievement, producing a “High Performance Organization” rather than one with high “drag.” (Read the book to see Hillel’s analogy related to flying. It’s an interesting way to think of operational behavior in a company.)

And, while I do think the book could have been shorter, especially in the first 6-7 chapters, I can recommend it as a positive way to address what is often viewed as a negative subject: compliance.

Having read other text on similar topic, I found this one to be concise, and simple to understand. It will provide you a well written mix on operational excellence, process improvement, and systems thinking all together at one place. These concepts go hand-in-hand while improving organizational processes and business performance. What is most useful about this book is the tight integration of compliance, value, and quality all along.
Business leaders and operations professionals will find this a very interesting read.

High Performance Operations: Leverage Compliance to Lower Costs, Increase Profits, and Gain Competitive Advantage (FT Press Operations Management) by Hillel Glazer
Many companies today form a standalone organization for compliance to requirements such as ISO 9000, CMMI or Nadcap and do not integrate it into the processes of the company. This standalone unit takes on a life of its own and takes money and time away from true mission of the company. Hillel Glazer takes the knowledge and training of an Aerospace engineer and uses it to apply the effects of this bureaucracy on the company with the analogy of an aircraft. Although this analogy is very effective I think I would have started the book using chapter 18 as the opening and then expanded on how applying compliance to leverage lower cost and increase profits improved the company and removed the cost of the bureaucracy. Eventhough this book was written for the C suite I think it should be required reading for anyone in a compliance required company at the supervisor level and above. The book is not (or was it meant to be) a step-by-step guide. It uses awareness of the present system and system thinking and provides guidance on how to modify the organization’s behavior surrounding compliance.

In full disclosure; more years than Hillel or I would like to admit we worked together. I think at one time on the organization chart I was Hillel’s supervisor. But, supervising Hillel is akin to heading cats. He is a forward thinker and this book is a must read in the present economy.
I recommend this book not only to industry but to government especially any agency responsible for compliance such as the SEC.

Hillel Glazer has written an in depth study of how to achieve organizational compliance and high performance. As he so thoroughly states, these goals can, and should, be compatible. His statements about understanding the underlying value proposition of compliance and the principles behind that value proposition are very enlightening. As Hillel states, too many organizations concentrate on compliance practices without really understanding what they are trying to ultimately achieve.

As other reviewers have stated, I recommend reading chapter 18 first. This is an inspirational scenario that will motivate the reader to delve into the book to learn how to achieve high performance. While all concepts are not easy to grasp and apply (if they were, everyone would be doing them), the benefits of doing so are well documented in this book. As a consultant who has worked with many organizations on compliance issues, I wish Hillel would have written this book much sooner than he did.

High Performance Operations review:

I received a pre-publication version of this book for review from the author. This is a good High Performance Operations introduction book. The book structure is very simple (18 chapters) yet it covers a lot in only 235 pages. It starts with an analogy of flying an airplane compared to organizations.
As well as others, I also recommend to read chapter 18 “Back to the Future: A Retrospective” first… this chapter will give you a flavor of what the rest of the book is.
This book talks about real life and common situations. It provides simple but real examples and it also new terms were introduced to me, such as the “Process Solutioneering ®”. I highly recommend this book to executives and to whoever would like to learn more about High Performance Operations.

I was fortunate enough to receive a free advanced copy of this book, and after the first several pages, I had a feeling I would enjoy this one. The unique perspective that Hillel has on process to achieve PERFORMANCE is worth the read already, but Hillel’s personality shines through in this book. The humor that he injects from the beginning hooks you in because you feel like this is not like any other dry book on process improvement. I enjoyed this book like I’ve enjoyed hearing Hillel speak. He has a way of relating process concepts in ways people can understand. Not to spoil the fun, but if you like aviation, you will like the analogies in this book; if you don’t, you’ll learn something like I did. This is a keeper in my reference collection!

Having just finished reading this very refreshing perspective on compliance and operational excellence, I would like to recommend the book to everyone working with process improvement. In my professional life I am confronted daily by people who believe that blind faith in compliance will lead to excellence. The result is often the opposite, which unfortunately leads to the conclusion that it is not possible to be both excellent and compliant with relevant standards and models. As the author very eloquently points out compliance to standards/models must be integrated with a thorough understanding of internal operations and how these contribute to value for the customer.

There is, for sure, many people who understanding how compliance and operation excellence can and should work together, but I have not come across literature that discusses the issues so well. The author uses the metaphor of flying an airplane – drag vs. lift, compliance vs. performance, using both to achieve operational excellence.

I did find that the book had somewhat of a `preachy tone’ in place, but that does not detract from the value of the discussion and insight provided. In the interest of full disclosure, I received a free advanced copy of the book. For those wishing to learn more or discuss the issues, the author has a blog[...] and tweet [...]

Note: I received a pre-publication review copy of the book from the author. As a pilot, the airplane analogy used resonated with me. The author goes to great lengths to lay a solid foundation before providing specifics on how one goes about acheiving ‘high performance’ at their organization. Some may not have the patience to wade through the first seven chapters. If so, that’s their loss. Like many realize, if operational excellence were easily implemented, the lucrative consultant market for this type of expertise would not exist. Glazer’s book provides the reader willing to invest a few hours of reading time with the equivalent of 10+ hours with a $400/hr consultant.