Successful companies know the competitive issues in their business sector, and develop specific competencies that at least make them contenders if not leaders. All industry sectors have multiple competitive issues requiring competency at many business practices. It is unlikely that any one company, even the best company in an industry, will have the superior competency in all of the critical practices. We define critical practices as those which differentiate successful competition in an industry - thus, practices that may be necessary for survival but have become a common focus within an industry are no longer on our critical list. Change proficiency is a broad frontier today - one that is little understood, has few role models, and is not easily accommodated by most of today's companies and today's managers.
Soft issues are the major stumbling block.
Reengineering is about change, and people are the agents and implementers of change. The touchy-feely camp think that they have the answers. At best they provide a counter balance to the equally polarized dehumanized approach. Both of these directed approaches require energy and enforcement because they are unnatural. Unfortunately both approaches find strong appreciation and resonance among small groups of influential management, and the rest of us deal with their unnatural act or find employment elsewhere.