ABSTRACT
The traditional strategic planning process will usually help sort this out for large ideas, but even after the priorities are decided there is still the question of how to carry out a specific improvement. Since most major improvements require a capital investment of some sort, the capital budget is often the focal point of internal discussion. The key words here are “continuous,” “quality,” and “productivity.” Continuous means that improvement never stops. One improvement, large or small, can lead directly to the next one. Employees should always be on the lookout for the next improvement. Quality means that the customer should always be getting what is expected; exceptions are systematically prevented. Everyone has suppliers and customers, and they are usually just called partners. Serious partnering means that an organization makes systematic attempts to solve its internal problems by involving appropriate suppliers, customers, regulators, and/or community members.
