Purpose: This book explains a practical plan to implement and utilize an improvement program.  If you're interested in improvement at any level, this book is going to help you organize your thoughts, your work and your strategy.   

Are you trying to learn more about improvement and efficiency?  This book can help you regardless of the business role you play or your level of understanding.  In fact, this book is really about running a better business and working more efficiently.  Improvement is about segmenting your opportunities and then giving the best opportunities your most attention – learning how to fish and then fishing where the fish are.   

Contents: This book is going to build an improvement program in three phases.  As you move from one phase to the next, your level of maturity increases.   

Phase 1 – Quick Wins 

• Creating a list of cost-saving ideas from all areas/divisions/functions of your organization 
• Ranking the list by cost and benefit 
• Implementing the projects with the best benefit/cost ratios 
• Documenting the list of cost-saving ideas and sharing that list with the respective areas/divisions/functions for future use/addition/expansion 

Phase 2 – Organization and Culture 

• Senior leadership expectations 
• Accountability and incentives 
• Organizational alignment 
• Key partnerships 
• Tracking system 
• Stage-gate process 
• Win pipeline 
• Training 
• Pareto power 

Phase 3 – Strategic Segmentation 

• Segment customers and products 
• Sort by profitability and growth 
• Understand the value equation and tailor the solution 
• Apply segmentation to daily operations