Not too long ago I was looking into the “management consulting” position, mostly out of curiosity.  I find it fascinating what that role is.  You go into a failing business and take a deep look into the inner workings of a company and decide “what is the best move forward?”  With that, I wanted to learn from those who do it best.  So I picked up the book “A New Way to Think” by Roger Martin.  In it are many valuable nuggets, but one really stood out to me:  It was this idea of the “Front Lines” in a business.  Many people think the front lines are the trenches we go into battle with with competing businesses and brands in the same industry.  Your front lines are actually between your field level workers and your customers.  

What Roger Martin argues is that the value of departments and levels above the field level (front lines) are measured by how easy they make what it is the field level employees do and if they’re equipped to help the customer make an informed decision.  If they provide value and make their job easier, keep them.  If not, rework what it is they provide or time to lose that level.