Remove Finance Remove Innovation Remove Operations Remove Six Sigma
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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.

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How GE Stays Young

Harvard Business Review

Under CEO Jack Welch in the 1980s and 1990s, they adopted operational efficiency approaches (“ Workout ,” “Six Sigma,” and “Lean”) that reinforced their success and that many companies emulated. But, as befits a company that has been around for 130 years, GE is moving on. They have branded it “FastWorks.”

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Avoiding Catastrophic Failures in Process Improvement

Harvard Business Review

Engage the finance organization. Finance was on board at the company in our story. As I noted in a previous post "Keep Your Operations in Shape by Focusing on Management Processes," performance measurement (which is usually managed by finance) is one of four critical management processes for improvement program success.

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What Social Entrepreneurs Can Teach Your Company's Future Leaders

Harvard Business Review

The question is how to equip employees with the skills to handle complexities such as creating innovative solutions to emergent problems, understanding new markets, and pushing back on the "status quo." They too have struggled to operate in complex environments, and have developed the skills and expertise to overcome these challenges.

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What Cincinnati Could Teach New York about Hurricane Readiness

Harvard Business Review

But increasingly, at the local level, innovative approaches involving unlikely partners playing unlikely roles are disrupting the status quo and addressing seemingly unsolvable challenges like those posed by Sandy. Government must adopt innovation practices that mirror those used by leading entrepreneurial companies around the world.

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Diet and Exercise Tips from Process Fitness Fanatics

Harvard Business Review

But that hasn't been the case at Danaher, DuPont, and Staples, which have continually improved their operations over many years, to the delight of their customers. In 1999, CEO Chad Holliday talked with Larry Bossidy and Jack Welch at GE, and decided to launch a Six Sigma program. How did they stay process fit?

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Stop Focusing on Profitability and Go for Growth

Harvard Business Review

So, in real terms, debt financing is essentially free. Accordingly, business leaders sought to improve efficiency by employing Six Sigma, process reengineering, spans and layers, and other tools. Others reward easy-to-measure improvements in existing processes over less-easily-quantified innovations.

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