C-Level Executives Deploy Continuous Improvement as a Growth Strategy

March 10, 2012

Long thought to be the province of the plant floor, lean and Six Sigma have moved to the executive suite.

If you're a CEO who thinks lean and Six Sigma can be left to the plant manager or a CI specialist simply to improve factory operations, think again. Evidence is piling up for the enterprise benefits of CI, from formal research and, more vividly, from the financial results of companies where the CEO "gets" the importance of these critical continuous-improvement strategies.

The most recent research, conducted at the close of 2011 exclusively for IndustryWeek and TBM Consulting, connects some of the dots for us. Results show that companies with mature CI programs outperform companies without CI programs on three financial metrics: anticipated revenue growth and operating-income growth and cash flow over the past year.

Hearing the story of a specific CEO of a company that's achieved verifiable results is even more eye-opening. If you haven't read senior editor Jill Jusko's interview with General Cable CEO Greg Kenny, you'll want to look it up. Among other results, Kenny credits the company's lean/Six Sigma efforts with powering the company's global growth from 18 factories in three countries to 47 factories in 25 countries.

Companies with mature CI programs outperform companies without CI programs on three financial metrics.

If you're like me, this information whets your appetite to learn more. That's why we've invited Kenny and another long-time lean practitioner, Mary Andringa, CEO of Vermeer Corp., to keynote our upcoming IndustryWeek Best Plants Conference, April 23 to 25, in Indianapolis. There you can hear first-hand and get details about how CEOs drive growth by aligning CI strategies with corporate goals.

Also at the conference, we're hosting, in partnership with TBM Consulting, a special roundtable at which Andringa will provide greater detail about how lean practices have powered Vermeer's growth and global expansion. She'll be joined by Greg Neothlich, Pactiv Corp.'s vice president of operations, who will demonstrate how to align improvement activities with strategy deployment to deliver measurable, sustainable results. In just one year, the company leveraged CI strategies to integrate acquisitions, growing revenue by 17% and increasing EBITDA by 38%.

Too many C-level executives still misunderstand how continuous-improvement strategies can drive growth. Make sure you're not one of them.

See also
Continuous Improvement: It Separates the Winners from the Losers
Focus. Discipline. Results.

About the Author

Patricia Panchak | Patricia Panchak, Former Editor-in-Chief

Focus: Competitiveness & Public Policy

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In her commentary and reporting for IndustryWeek, Editor-in-Chief Patricia Panchak covers world-class manufacturing industry strategies, best practices and public policy issues that affect manufacturers’ competitiveness. She delivers news and analysis—and reports the trends--in tax, trade and labor policy; federal, state and local government agencies and programs; and judicial, executive and legislative actions. As well, she shares case studies about how manufacturing executives can capitalize on the latest best practices to cut costs, boost productivity and increase profits.

As editor, she directs the strategic development of all IW editorial products, including the magazine, IndustryWeek.com, research and information products, and executive conferences.

An award-winning editor, Panchak received the 2004 Jesse H. Neal Business Journalism Award for Signed Commentary and helped her staff earn the 2004 Neal Award for Subject-Related Series. She also has earned the American Business Media’s Midwest Award for Editorial Courage and Integrity.

Patricia holds bachelor’s degrees in Journalism and English from Bowling Green State University and a master’s degree in Journalism from Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism. She lives in Cleveland Hts., Ohio, with her family.