World Class Performance 

The philosophy of World Class performance has suffused and enveloped the business community for almost a de­cade. Why then have we seen so little impact from World Class on the real success of our businesses? Why are so few companies able to extend their commitment to continuous improvement beyond the first year? Why have past Malcolm Baldrige Award winners turned out to be average compa­nies at best, and floundering enterprises at worst? Why are there only a relatively small number of companies that have acquired a reputation for complete and consistent customer satisfaction? Let's face the facts: The principles of World Class manufacturing have made only a very small ripple on the big pond of American business.

The concepts promoted by World Class philosophy are not at fault. The ideas of customer satisfaction, a formalized and disciplined process from customer order to cash, em­ployee empowerment, value added activities, and continu­ous improvement are based on solid principles that, if properly applied, can improve the current and future success of any business operation.

As a matter of fact, the average person not involved in manufacturing operations believes these concepts are com -mon sense and is surprised that they have not been properly implemented.

The consequence is that often times a project fails or flounders and never reaches its full potential.

In this presentation I will identify a foolproof step-by-step process to energize a proposed or existing project. The presentation will discuss the factors impeding progress to this goal, the background of these impediments, and how to smash through these objectives using logical actions.

It is mandatory for companies to achieve World Class levels of performance. There is an ever increasing customer demand for higher quality, lower prices, smaller order quantities, and more frequent deliveries. It is obvious that companies can't keep on doing the same things and expect the same results. Companies must change to survive.

Although the need is evident, the elements of a good solution is not. There is a lack of understanding of how to sell the project to management. Companies try to buy excellence, fall into a technology trap, or advocate solutions that do not have a track record of success.

Once approved the project is not structured to ensure results and consequently "dead on arrival" or out of control. Unfortunately, this process often is repeated by the same company with the new miracle solution replacing this year's solution, rationalizing why this is so.

This presentation will get to the root of these problems, the who, what, when, where and why of these difficulties. We will begin with the process—deciding how to proceed—and

structure this initiative into a project proposal. We then will outline a methodology to sell the project to senior manage­ment that ensures they stay committed to providing the focus, leadership, and total resources to be successful.

Time will be spent describing senior management's cul­ture, objectives and background, and how to manage those factors to achieve desired objectives. How successful companies change management techniques and the ten­dency to rationalize results or blame, as positives versus negatives, will be identified. We also will discuss how to structure a project to take advantage of these and other people-related factors to ensure success. The issues that leaders must recognize that can bury a project immediately and how to turn these negatives into positives also will be covered.

The end result will be an interactive learning experience that will produce a confidence level within the audience that they, too, can manage a project effectively from incep­tion to approval to successful completion.