Senior leaders set company objectives and guide cross-functional teams to review and develop individual plans.

Senior leaders participate in quarterly communication meetings with all employees to discuss company issues and answer questions. Senior leaders teach courses in TecSmart University; meet with customers, suppliers, and benchmarking partners; and are actively engaged in professional and community organizations. The company collects operational data in every department and evaluates its information. TecSmart has set Six Sigma goals for most of its processes. All employees are trained in a 5-step problem solving process.

Inputs to the strategic planning process include customer feedback, market research, and benchmarking information from customers, suppliers, competitors, and industry leaders, etc. The CEO reviews progress every month. TecSmart uses over a dozen different processes to gather customer information, and validates the information. All employees receive customer relationship training. All complaints are handled by the Vice President of Sales and resolved within 2 days. Customer satisfaction data is acquired from sales representatives, etc. and these data are reviewed and compared by the executive team during the strategic planning process. TecSmart uses self-managed work groups where employees make most day-to-day decisions while managers focus on coaching and process improvement. The average employee receives 72 hours of internal quality/service-related training.

Employees have been surveyed each year to gauge how effectively the company has implemented Demings 14 Points. Cross-functional teams guide product development, which includes four interim reviews by executive management. New product introduction teams work with design engineers and customers to ensure that design requirements are met and SPC is used to monitor variation, provide a basis for corrective action, and optimize processes. Quality is assessed through internal audits, employee opinion surveys, and customer feedback. Suppliers are involved in early stages of a product development program and quality requirements for suppliers have been identified.

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Create a Statement of Purpose Learn the New Philosophy Understand Inspection End Price Tag Decisions Improve Constantly Institute Training Teach and Institute Leadership

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Drive Out Fear and Innovate Optimize the Efforts of Teams and Staff Eliminate Exhortations Eliminate Quotas and MBO; Institute Improvement; and Understand Processes Remove Barriers Encourage Education Take Action

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Leadership Strategic Planning Customer and Market Focus Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management Human Resource Focus Process Management Business Results