ABSTRACT

The authors, process improvement experts, spent much of their careers at 3M, a large multi‐national corporation based in the U.S. In this entry, they describe the importance of operational excellence and continuous improvement in implementing strategy. They outline seven factors needed to achieve excellence:Top company leadershipImprovement methodologyContinuous improvement strategyThe cause and the visionThe sustainable improvement roadmapEnablement of sustainabilityConstancy of purposeThe book is based on the authors' experience in dealing with company‐threatening changes in the market.