Rethink: A Business Manifesto for Cutting Costs and Boosting Innovation: An Interview with Author Ric Merrifield

Within the world of process improvement, it is easy to fixate on improving a process without considering whether that process will actually benefit a company’s bottom line. In this Profit through Process podcast, Genna Weiss of Six Sigma IQ speaks with Ric Merrifield, author of Rethink: A Business Manifesto for Cutting Costs and Boosting Innovation. Merrifield discusses how his Rethink approach can help your company get out of a "how" trap—the focus on the process—and begin to identify the "what," or desired outcome, that will redirect its process improvement efforts to the areas that truly matter to the organization’s success.

Merrifield, a business architect for Microsoft, explains how his approach of identifying the "whats" can help your company identify its target customer and become realigned with what your customers value. Using examples of companies that have followed the Rethink strategy, such as ING Direct and Tata Motors, the company that produced the $2,000 car, the Nano, Merrifield tells how the Rethink approach can help your organization spot untapped opportunities, leverage technology to create new business models and avoid downsizing its innovation efforts during this economic recession.

With the Rethink method, you’ll learn the steps your organization can take to get out of the "how" trap and shift to a "what" approach that will not require extensive restructuring or heavy costs within your company.