What is Enterprise Excellence?
Enterprise Excellence is an approach to business operations that requires a singularity of customer focus and a never ending passion for optimization (better, faster, cheaper).
Singularity of customer focus is driven by four complementary, integrated components: Visionary Planning, planning focused on satisfying the needs of the customer. You can only satisfy the needs of the customer if you have the right people, with the right skills, right information, right authority and responsibility – i.e. the right culture. You satisfy the needs of the customer by executing the right processes – doing the right work, the right way. Finally, you satisfy the needs of the customer and achieve the plan by applying appropriate technology. Identifying technology that is appropriate for the circumstance is essential. When technology is applied to solve specific problems, create opportunities and fits within the context of the culture of the organization then it can be deemed “appropriate”.
No matter how good the organization becomes, it cannot become complacent or accept that it is good enough. It must be driven by a never ending passion for optimizing the customer experience. A passion not just for improvement, but for an understanding of the drivers behind business cost and customer satisfaction and a constant focus on improving those metrics.
The Enterprise Excellence Methodology was developed by students at The University of Texas at Arlington. They began working under an Advanced Technology Program grant in 1990 to develop ways to make American manufacturers more productive. This research led to the Enterprise Excellence Methodology. The research continues to this date as various aspects of the methodology are enriched and further developed. Numerous PhD dissertations have contributed to this lengthy body of knowledge and have spawned many notable and illustrious careers. There were also many more masters and undergraduate level students that worked on this endeavor during the research phase and during implementation. Many thanks are given to all of you. (I will save myself the embarrassment of leaving off someone’s name by simply saying thank-you to all, you know who you are.) But I will also encourage those who are still in contact with those alumni to post comments here and let us see just how far the tentacles do reach.
I was fortunate enough to have worked on the original research and to have been in a position to take over management when the program went from research to implementation. As you can easily see, we still utilize Enterprise Excellence Methodology: Planning, People, Process and Technology.
