Editor’s note:This short story is part of a three-volume series—Integrated Enterprise Excellence: Going Beyond Lean Six Sigma and the Balanced Scorecard, by Forrest Breyfogle. Within the context of this fictional story the author discusses the attributes of an integrated training program that he has developed. This story is informational only and is not intended as an endorsement of this product.

Hank arrived early at the golf course and was hitting some balls to loosen up. The sky was crystal blue, the wind still—perfect weather for 18 holes of golf, but Hank couldn’t get his mind off work.

As vice president of operations at Hi-Tech Computers, his background in electrical engineering and an MBA had helped make him a fast tracker. Hi-Tech was an aggressive, successful computer-component manufacturer with plants in the southwest United States and Mexico, but had been facing new competition and pressures from its biggest customers to comply with growing regulations, improve delivery times, be more flexible, and offer lower prices.

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