There are many characteristics that can show whether or not your company is a continuous improvement company or not. This article discusses them in detail.

1. You
know
you
are
a
continuous
improvement
company
IF!
I
was
thinking
about
the
concept
of
continuous
improvement
and
lean
six
sigma
principles
and
how
many
companies
that
are
well
know
even
well
regarded
state
they
are
"continuous
improvement"
or
"lean
six
sigma"
companies.
I
got
to
thinking,
is
that
really
true
or
a
marketing
ploy
to
bring
in
top
athlete
talent
and
market
the
company
to
wall
street
as
a
choice
investment.
As
Jeff
Foxworthy
would
say,
you
know
you
are
a
redneck
if....
I
put
together
a
few
IFs
for
continuous
improvement
companies.
You
know
you
are
a
"Continuous
Improvement"
Company
if:
1.
Not
continuously
restructuring
For
people
who
are
lean
six
sigma
experts..
this
one
probably
threw
you,
but
give
me
a
second
to
explain
why
this
is
number
1
on
the
list.
Many
companies
file
for
restructuring
costs
every
year
as
part
of
a
way
to
save
money,
take
out
head
costs
and
drive
operating
profit.
This
is
typically
done
in
the
4th
quarter
of
every
year.
If
you
are
a
company
that
continually
and
every
year
restructures
under
this
model
especially
at
the
end
of
the
year
YOU
ARE
NOT
a
continuous
improvement
company.
Why?
Companies
that
need
to
do
last
second
restructuring
every
year
clearly
do
not
have
the
processes,
metrics
and
long
term
strategy
to
stabilize
through
a
focused
execution
of
their
original
plan.
True
continuous
improvement
companies
are
dynamic,
and
use
proactive
metrics
and
processes
to
drive
growth,
cut
costs,
acquire
and
out
maneuver
the
competition.
If
a
company
has
to
rely
on
cutting
head
counts
or
costs
using
restructuring,
this
is
not
sustainable
and
is
cause
for
concern.
Even
worse,
stability
is
a
major
factor
in
productivity
and
continuous
restructuring
is
a
sign
of
instability
and
not
being
proactive
in
managing
the
business.
2.
Business
System:
Now
you
lean
six
sigma
people
are
on
board....
Companies
that
have
a
standard
business
system,
that
is
documented,
followed
and
improved
upon
are
continuous
improvement
companies.
A
business
system
is
the
core
processes
that
takes
long
term
strategy
to
short
term
execution
and
deploy
priorities
in
a
systematic
approach.
Key
performance
indicators
(proactive
and
reactive)
are
also
part
of
the
business
systems
that
trickle
down
to
the
teams
that
are
closest
to
where
work
happens.
Also
measurement
allows
teams
to
understand
problems
before
they
hit
the
fan.
Last
in
the
business
system
is
a
way
to
hold
teams
accountable,
this
can
be
done
many
ways
but
typically
this
is
done
through
a
goals
and
action
plan
system
that
is
plugged
back
into
and
aligned
with
the
long
to
medium
term
strategy
of
the
business.
So...
a.
Strategy
and
Operating
agenda
process
b.
Policy
deployment
(focus)
,
KPIs
(measurement)
and
model
to
hold
people
accountable
(action
plans)

2. c.
Results
oriented
3.
Process
Orientation
Of
course
now
we
are
getting
into
the
crux
of
what
continuous
improvement
is
all
about.
Now
most
of
you
are
going
to
think
I
am
going
to
talk
about
manufacturing
here,
and
this
may
surprise
you.
THE
BEST
continuous
improvement
companies
have
strong
process
orientation
in
their
commercial
environments
and
back
office
areas.
I
believe
that
you
can
drive
more
growth
and
results
with
the
right
process
orientation
in
core
levers
of
the
business
way
beyond
manufacturing.
Some
Examples
where
I
have
personally
executed
and
been
involved
with
seeing
significant
growth
and
performance
improvement
by
applying
processes
and
metrics
to
these
front
end
levers.
A.
Sales
-­‐
Prospecting
-­‐
Deal
Management
-­‐
Funnel
management
-­‐
Time
and
territory
management
B.
Marketing
-­‐
Demand
Generation
and
ROI
-­‐
Pricing
-­‐
Market
Strategy
(Segmentation,
Competitive
analysis,
offer
development)
-­‐
Online
Marketing
C.
New
product
development
-­‐
Product
roadmapping
-­‐
Blue
Ocean
Strategy
-­‐
Design
(Design
for
six
sigma
and
ROI)
-­‐
Beta
Testing
-­‐
Commercialization
These
are
just
a
few
examples
of
front
end
core
processes
that
dramatically
changed
the
face
of
how
a
company
did
business
and
literally
had
an
effect
that
so
positive
most
are
still
in
use
today.
4.
Financial
model
This
might
be
an
overlap
of
#2,
but
I
wanted
to
clear
something
up
that
very
few
people
may
think
of.
The
financial
model
for
a
company
is
an
equation,
and
that
equation
MUST
always
balance
to
the
profit
side,
ie:
budget
or
"market
expectations".
Don't
let
any
of
the
above
fool
you
into
thinking
because
I
do
number
2
I
don't
have
to
worry
about
EBITA
or
OP.
Any
great
company
must
have
a
financial
model
that
is
plugged
into
daily,
weekly
and

3. monthly
management
of
the
business
and
the
managers
of
the
business
must
be
held
to
balance
that
model
each
and
every
day.
The
financial
model
must
have
non
dilutive
growth
as
a
key
priority
in
the
model
and
should
always
position
itself
to
outgrow
inflation
and
the
market
COMBINED.
5.
Right
sense
of
urgency
This
is
the
last
one
I
am
going
to
mention,
I
wanted
to
see
what
others
thought
of
it.
The
right
sense
of
urgency
is
something
that
I
learned
from
a
professor
at
Harvard
(Prof.
Kotter)
that
is
fantastic.
This
is
a
cultural
mindset
that
is
not
measured,
it
is
set
by
the
leaders
of
the
organization.
Be
careful
here,
because
there
is
such
a
thing
as
false
sense
of
urgency,
where
everything
is
important
all
the
time..
that
leads
to
fatigue
and
then
nothing
is
important.
The
right
sense
of
urgency
is
an
alignment,
gut
feel
of
what
needs
to
get
done
today,
now,
that
will
move
the
ball
forward
to
WIN
for
the
team
(not
you,
not
the
department,
but
the
company).
The
right
sense
of
urgency
should
be
an
alarm
bell
that
goes
off
in
your
mind
when
you
see
it,
hear
it
or
witness
it...
and
it
should
spring
you
into
action
either
because
you
are
seeing
the
train
come
off
the
tracks
or
because
you
see
an
opportunity
that
would
be
a
game
changer.
I
will
also
lead
you
with
this
last
thought..
the
right
sense
of
urgency
also
should
prioritize
your
day,
week
and
month..
think
about
it..
when
in
the
ER
and
a
crash
victim
in
wheeled
in,
the
bloody
toes
of
the
victim
may
need
attention
but
they
always
start
with
airway,
heart
and
severe
bleeding
with
a
high
sense
of
urgency.