Process Improvement without BPM

A lot of process improvement projects I have come across go something like this:

A Senior Executive (let's call him Gordon) is not hitting his performance (i.e. bonus) target. He naturally blames his lazy workers and tells his managers to fix it.
The Managers call in the Consultants who advise them to 'optimize their performance by automating their workforce', or some US-derived jargon-filled sound bite.
The Consultants recommend implementing a Business Process Management (BPM) solution, as this has been 'proven to increase productivity by 50%'.
IT are roped in to buy and implement the software, while the Consultants carry out a 'process review' (time and motion study to you) and pronounce what changes should be made to optimise the offending process.
The new system is duly rolled out and the Workers are retrained to press different buttons to carry their re-imagined task.
The Result?

Productivity drops so more workers are needed to achieve the same output. Project costs balloon.
The Managers blame the Consultants for bad advice. The Consultants blame IT for bad implementation. IT blame the BPM vendor for rubbish software. The BPM vendor blames the Workers for being stupid.
The Senior Executive blames everyone but himself (a true Gordon) and moves on to head a new division.
The Workers are left with a less efficient process that they don't fully comprehend, let alone own, a vague feeling of guilt and a strong feeling of unfairness that they are carrying the can for something that was done to them.
I'm sure you recognise the situation. How could this have gone better? Here's one we did earlier ...

A Senior Executive (let's call her Joan) is not hitting her performance target. She naturally wants to find out how to help her Workers improve their own performance and tells her Managers to provide the necessary support.
The Managers use the Consultants to hold independent facilitated process workshops with the Workers to understand the challenges of the current situation, and to encourage ideas and discussion of ways to remove blockages, duplication and gaps.
The Workers produce a set of recommendations that cover better training, clearer procedures, reduced unnecessary documentation and streamlined systems to reduce double entry of information.
The Managers authorise the recommendations and use the Consultants to fill any skill gaps by providing education, training and mentoring of the Workers. IT are given specific (minor) changes to existing systems along with clear SLAs for delivery.
The Result this time?

Productivity improves so more output is achieved with the same Workers.
The Workers thank the Managers for their support. The Managers thank the Consultants for their facilitation and knowledge transfer.
The Senior Executive thanks everyone but herself (a true Saint Joan) and moves on to run the company.
The Workers feel confident because they now understand the context of what they have to deliver, and own the ways of working to deliver them.
IT are disappointed because they don’t have much to do or new toys to play with.
This feels better, doesn't it? Unless you're a BPM vendor, a big Consultancy, or an IT empire builder ...

John Moe