32 | Regulars / Continuous improvementworkers succeed. Another survey of business leaders identifed over “Many company leaders today 70 percent report a positive culture is essential to a company’s success. More than half of these business leaders surveyed (private have not led an organization equity and private-owned) indicate they do not evaluate or don’t through a recession or a time know how to evaluate culture, plus they do not have a plan to infuence culture. Whether you have cultural improvement plans with rising interest rates”or not, the leaders’ actions will impact the culture regardless. All companies operate with a system of values and procedures that drive culture. Values are guided by the experiences of the leaders, interested in investing in LCC (low-cost country) sourcing. Investing good and bad. Every company leader is thinking: in North American companies was seen as time-consuming and • Is the ownership in it for the long haul of the short fip? laborious work. Answering the challenge to increase productivity • Are you thinking regional growth or national growth? and enhance quality became a central mission, and learning a • Are your sales processes transactional or relationship? process approach that eliminated company silos became a focus. • Is your company focused on cost-cutting or minimizing Yes, this commitment to continuous improvement does take time cost increases? and is hard work. An organization that takes a holistic approach • Are you investing in employees for the long term, or are you can turn the pledge into a fun, rewarding experience. During good under performance-intolerant? economic times, the catalyst of change requires a frm, patient Company culture is based on the paradigms of the people who approach. During tough economic times, the catalyst for change lead, and the culture must evolve. Leaders must cause a change is survival when there is no time for patience. The continuous in the paradigm and fuel action that catalyzes change. Sustaining improvement process has helped organizations I worked with the cultural shift requires commitment, discipline and a measured in good economic times, but became indispensable when times visual approach. were tough. My roots are in manufacturing, and as an industrial engineer, Looking to the future, many market indicators highlight growth I was fortunate to have worked with great leaders who helped for the converters but at a slightly lower annual rate. We know make sure the development of business solutions was holistic, by consumer confdence drives this growth. However, consumers can providing me opportunities to drive improvement through every shift focus quickly, and while still needing many consumables, department in a company. Often described as a change agent, my during economic turbulence there is sure to be reduced demand approach can seem intimidating to the uncommitted leader. My for durables. Revenue growth for converters does not translate experiences began when American manufacturing performance was equally to market segment growth for everyone, and recent eclipsed by overseas competition, and many companies were more pricing increases will mask real productive change. As the economy labelsandlabeling.com