Acknowledgments vii Introduction ix Join the Operational Empowerment Community! xiii Part 1: The Infliction of Poor Operational Performance Chapter 1: The Power Is in the People: MisconceptionsThat Reduce Operational Performance 3 Chapter 2: Operational Building Blocks: A Foundation for Growth and Profitability 17 Chapter 3: Leading with Leverage: What the C-Suite Doesn't Know and How It Hurts Them 43 Part 2: Focus and Momentum Equate to Operational Power Chapter 4: Strategic Strings: Helping Employees Connect with Your Vision 63 Chapter 5: Engage the Masses: Building a Continuous Improvement Community 87 Chapter 6: Hit the Ground Running: How to Increase Velocity for Rapid Results 107Part 3: Collaborative Power Chapter 7: The Value Connection: What Your Customers and Employees Really Want 127 Chapter 8: One Big Happy Family: Suppliers, Your Untapped Resource 151 Chapter 9: Working Toward a Common Goal: Nurturing Internal Collaboration 171 Part 4: Capturing and Capitalizing on Innovation Chapter 10: Innovation Where You Least Expect It:Tapping into Unexpected Sources and Strategies 193 Chapter 11: The Innovation Approach: From Conception to Outcome 215 Chapter 12: Empowerment Imperative: Transitioning from Thinking to Doing 231 Notes 249 Index 251