3. Get more disciplined about allowing new projects. Is that new idea really as valuable as it sounds? Make sure there's a clear business case before adding another initiative to the list, and make sure there's a "sponsor" to manage progress. Anything that's not really important should fade from view.

4. Flatten the decision-making process. By cutting out unnecessary or duplicated hand-offs, your company could save time and money. The HBR authors figure that adding one manager to an organization creates "about 1.5 full-time employees' worth of new work—that is, his own plus 50 percent of another employee's." Is that something you can afford?

5. Make decisions easier. Establish a clear set of principles that set accountability and authority, so that employees can execute without having to involve a countless string of other people that may or may not need to be involved.

6. Restrict who can organize meetings. This task is usually left up to low-level employees. The article cites the example of a company that estimated the cost of just one ongoing 90-minute meeting of midlevel managers at $15 million annually. (Yes, this was a big company.) The authors note: "In effect, a junior VP's administrative assistant was permitted to invest $15 million without supervisor approval. No such thing would ever happen with the company's financial capital."

7. Run meetings better. That means having a clear and manageable agenda, starting on time, preparing ahead of time, and ending sessions that aren't productive early if necessary.

8. Track the load. Take time to establish benchmark measures of where people spend their time, and keep tabs on productivity. Make individual managers aware of how much time their peers are spending on common tasks – like answering email or holding conference calls – so that they can adjust their own schedules accordingly.