article thumbnail

Balancing Push and Pull Approaches to Improvement

Harvard Business Review

These mandated-from-above programs include Lean Six Sigma initiatives with experts (" Belts ") in command, big IT implementations, and reengineering of major end-to-end processes. An executive in the company's finance operations adopted a Six Sigma belt-driven approach to reduce costs in the company's global shared service centers.

article thumbnail

Avoiding Catastrophic Failures in Process Improvement

Harvard Business Review

The management team was running short of patience for results and wanted me to help them bring changes to fruition. We quickly initiated a program to reduce the number of legal entities, saving tens of thousands in each country, while longer-term process improvements progressed in parallel. Engage the finance organization.

Process 15
article thumbnail

Stop Focusing on Profitability and Go for Growth

Harvard Business Review

So, in real terms, debt financing is essentially free. See More Videos > See More Videos > To elaborate, a company’s intrinsic equity value reflects the long-term cash flows that shareholders expect to receive over time, discounted at the appropriate risk-adjusted cost of equity capital.

ROE 14