"The Change and Continuous Improvement Management (CCIM) Three-Leg Stool is a conceptual tool to be used by middle and senior management."

The "three-leg stool" model is utilized by author Farrier, illustrating the central impetus for business managers: moving one's company ahead in an era of rapid technological change and diverse and highly mobile employee populations. To save and expand a business, one must begin with the first leg—employees. Sharing the company's vision in a meaningful way and promoting or transferring rather than downsizing are stressed. Equipment and technology constitute the second leg, and both may change rapidly based on innovation and computerization. Convenience and efficiency are crucial, but older strategies of personal communication (phone rather than email) also have value. Policies, processes, and procedures are third, stressing the continuing need to review all aspects objectively. Not doing so can result in the loss of valued resources. Farrier also names and describes the three connecting rungs of the stool (marketing, readiness, and communication) and the seat (profits, efficiency, effectiveness). All these parts of the stool and the atmosphere that hovers around it can be understood and improved using CCIM, a system of perpetual re-examination, re-visioning, and willingness to change.

Farrier is a highly educated business consultant and an active operant in the U.S. military. The latter affords enhanced focus on dealing and cooperating with military organizations on a mutual contractual level. He has worked in Europe and Korea, bringing cultural considerations into his broader picture of CCIM. He employs useful quotes from numerous sources, citing statistics, business analysis, demographics, and lively projections for the future of industry. He provides a thorough list of references for readers, along with some helpful charts and illustrations scattered through his sensible narrative. His book would allow for well-focused study groups among management teams, providing materials to guide those new to the corporate world as well as those experienced in it onto an enlightened pathway to achievement.

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