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7
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
November 2, 1989
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AT PRESENTATION OF
MALCOLM BALDRIGE NATIONAL QUALITY AWARDS
Malcolm Baldrige Hall
Commerce Department
Washington, D.C.
10:34 A.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much. Thank you,
Secretary Mosbacher, for the warm welcome. It's great to be back
across the street, almost, at this wonderful Department. I first
want to salute the Baldrige family. A special hello to Midge. Of
course, I'm delighted to see the Secretary of the Treasury here and
Ambassador Hills. Able members of my Cabinet sitting next to them.
Dr. Bromley, our Science Advisor who has a keen interest in the
success of the work of this Department.
I want to salute Deputy Secretary Murrin and Under
Secretary Betti. And I think I spotted Strom -- I know I did -- over
here. And it's a little hard to see. But Jesse Helms was to be
here, Congressman Sherry Boehlert, Don Ritter. George Brown, I do
see. Howard Coble, Doug Walgren, Nancy Johnson. And if I missed a
few -- Alec McMillan, I think. And I can't see who else we've got
over there. But nevertheless, welcome to the members of Congress
whose support is absolutely essential for the workings of the
Commerce Department.
In just a few moments, it will be my pleasure to present
awards named after a great public servant and a close and dear friend
-- Malcolm Baldrige. So let me just say a few words about Mac. He
had a zest for life -- Nancy, I didn't see you -- had a zest for
live, love of family and a love of country that was uncommon. He was
an oustanding Secretary of Commerce for six and a half years. And he
was also an outstanding friend. Mac's word of honor -- as those of
you who worked with him -- was his bond, as good as a $20 gold piece.
And he never quite fit any mold. In this town, they
always try to make you fit into some mold. Baldrige never quite fit
the mold. He was the president of a successful company who spent a
lot of his time with volunteer firemen when his wife wasn't doing
that kind of work. He was the son of the East who rode horses and
loved his place in New Mexico. He felt at home with cowboys because
he roped with them all of his life. You'd never have known it from
his friendly, easy-going manner, but he was also a bit of a
perfectionist, in word and deed.
As a leader in business, Mac strived for quality in
products; as Commerce Secretary, for quality in public policies.
Even the language some of you may well remember, to your horror, the
language of his memos was lean and exact. In fact, he had a special
computer software program for Commerce Department documents; one that
automatically weeded out jargon like "impacted," "viable,"
"infrastructure." (Laughter.) Sort of Gramm-Rudman cut of the
English language, if you will. (Laughter.)
But like all perfectionists, he knew that perfection is
not reaching the attainable. Rather, it's a never-ending quest for
the unattainable. His life was such a quest, a life whose legacy
MORE
- 2 -
leaves us with a profound insight -- a truly successful man or woman
is someone who has, indeed, served others.
Companies, like people, are successful only to the extent
to which they provide service. This is true for all business, from
the humblest mom-and-pop operation to the largest corporation.
The improvement of quality in products and the
improvement of quality in service -- these are national priorities as
never before. In recent years, Americans have felt the sting of
fierce competition on a global scale. And we've learned to see
foreign competition not as an excuse to close doors and raise
barriers -- but as an incentive to renew our own commitment to
excellence.
American managers have reconsidered every time-honored
belief, every traditional practice, every customary procedure. And
they've embraced what works and rejected the past. They've studied
examples of innovation from home and abroad, and adopted only the
best. And we now know the result of this historic reassessment:
When it comes to meeting the competition, America is back in
business.
We're here today to honor two companies that are leading
this resurgence -- they're leading the resurgence in Ameriacn
business leadership. Most companies catch hell from the competition.
But these two companies are in the lead because no competitior gave
them a tougher time than they gave themselves.
of course, in business, success is its own reward. And
yet all American firms benefit by having a standard of excellence to
match and perhaps, one day, to surpass. For 1989 there can be no
higher standard of quality management than those provided by the
winners of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award -- Milliken &
Company and the Xerox Corporation.
Both of these manufacturing firms were well-established
leaders in their markets. Yet both were being steadily squeezed out
by the intense foreign and domestic competition. In the midst of
this crisis, the men and women of these companies found within
themselves the will to make a painstaking reassessment and the drive
to win back that market share.
Both companies started down this path of reassessment
with a simple premise: in business, there is only one definition of
quality -- the customer's definition. And then they proceeded from
this one premise to restructure their production and marketing plan.
Sounds simple. But I know, as a former tiny businessman myself, how
difficult it is to restructure a firm from top-to-bottom.
And today's winners know what is possible when a firm
restructures itself from the bottom up. They know that a company can
no longer afford to regard employees as automatons in a production
line. They know that a company must rely on the intelligence,
judgment and good character of the people it employs.
And there are as many successful forms of management as
there are successful companies. But for these two companies, success
came when they developed their human, as well as their technological,
potential.
Milliken, for example -- a 125-year-old textile
manufacturer in South Carolina. But its management style is sheer
21st century. Milliken scrapped the old management hierarchy in
favor of what they call a "flat management structure." Good thing
they're not a tire company. (Laughter.) Flat management structure.
Milliken even gave a new title to its employees, calling them
"associates." And this is no hollow accolade for public relations.
Every Milliken employee, I'm told, truly is an associate. In fact,
any Milliken worker has the power to halt that production line if he
MORE
- 3 -
or she detects a problem in quality or safety.
Our other winner takes a similar approach with its Team
Xerox philosophy. Xerox employees are given the authority that they
have to have, that they need to make day-to-day decisions. And they
are, the company says, expected to take the initiative in finding and
fixing problems. And they do. While every manager works, every
worker is managing.
One of the best things about this award is that it allows
successful companies to share what they have learned to set an
example. Perhaps these two companies ought to merge -- and be
careful of the antitrust. (Laughter.) Can you imagine it? Your
wardrobes wouldn't just be coordinated; it would be collated.
(Laughter and applause.)
Many firms will learn a great deal from their example.
Others will need to follow their own path. But to those who say that
we have lost our edge, that the days are past when "made in America"
meant "the best" -- I say, tell that to the people of the Milliken
plant in Spartansburg, South Carolina. Tell that to the Xerox teams
in upstate, up in Monroe County, New York.
Quality products and service is no accident. It's the
result of a certain can-do, no-excuses attitude -- an aggressive
impatience with the status quo -- even in the best of times. And
it's this attitude, more than anything else, that is responsible for
the creation of wealth and jobs that we have seen over the last seven
years.
In these years, our total national wealth has grown by
almost a third, and more than 20 million new jobs created. And we
are still enjoying the rewards of what has proven to be the longest
peacetime expansion in American history.
So given the right policies -- and a reduced capital
gains tax would be one -- Congress, I hope you're listening --
(applause) -- this expansion will continue. And given the right
tools, the American people can reach even greater heights. The
potential of this nation is as boundless as the imagination and drive
of the American people. All we have to do for our citizens is what
these two companies have done for their employees -- give them the
freedom to do what they do best. Freedom to imagine, freedom to
create, and freedom to excel. Our winners had such freedom and they
certainly made the most of it.
I give my heartiest congratulations to Roger Milliken,
who is here, and to David Kearns. And I give my heartiest
congratulations to your employees, your associates. And thank you
all for being here to honor these two successful stories.
Thank you very, very much. (Applause.)
END
10:45 A.M. EST
MALCOLM BALDRIGE AWARD / COMMERCE DEPARTMENT
10:30 A.M., THURSDAY, Nov. 2, 1989
THANK YOU SECRETARY MOSBACHER FOR THAT WARM
WELCOME. I WANT TO SAY A SPECIAL HELLO TO MIDGE
BALDRIDGE, AND OF COURSE, SECRETARY BRADY AND
AMBASSADOR HILLS. IT'S ALWAYS A PLEASURE TO SEE
UNDERSECRETARY BETTI AND DR. BROMLEY.
I'M PLEASED WE ALSO HAVE WITH US SENATORS STROM
THURMOND AND JESSE HELMS, CONGRESSMEN SHERRY BOEHLERT,
DON RITTER, GEORGE BROWN, HOWARD COBLE, DOUG WALGREN,
AND CONGRESSWOMAN NANCY JOHNSON.
- 2 -
IN JUST A FEW MOMENTS, IT WILL BE MY PLEASURE TO
PRESENT AWARDS NAMED AFTER A GREAT PUBLIC SERVANT AND A
VERY CLOSE AND DEAR FRIEND -- THE LATE MALCOLM
BALDRIGE.
So LET ME BEGIN THAN WITH A FEW WORDS ABOUT MAC.
HE HAD A ZEST FOR LIFE, A LOVE OF FAMILY AND A LOVE OF
COUNTRY THAT WAS UNCOMMON.
- 3 -
HE WAS AN OUTSTANDING SECRETARY OF COMMERCE FOR SIX AND
A HALF YEARS. AND HE WAS ALSO AN OUTSTANDING FRIEND:
MAC'S WORD OF HONOR WAS AS GOOD AS A TWENTY-DOLLAR GOLD
PIECE.
BUT HE NEVER QUITE FIT ANY MOLD. THIS WAS THE
PRESIDENT OF A SUCCESSFUL COMPANY WHO SPENT A LOT OF
HIS TIME WITH VOLUNTEER FIREMEN. THIS WAS A SON OF THE
EAST WHO RODE HORSES AND LOVED HIS PLACE IN NEW MEXICO.
IT
- 4 -
HE FELT AT HOME WITH COWBOYS, BECAUSE HE ROPED WITH
THEM ALL HIS LIFE.
You WOULD NEVER HAVE KNOWN IT FROM HIS FRIENDLY,
EASY-GOING MANNER, BUT MAC WAS ALSO A PERFECTIONIST, IN
WORD AND DEED. As A LEADER IN BUSINESS, MAC STRIVED
FOR QUALITY IN PRODUCTS; AS COMMERCE SECRETARY, FOR
QUALITY IN PUBLIC POLICIES. EVEN THE LANGUAGE OF HIS
MEMOS WAS LEAN AND EXACT.
- 5 -
((IN FACT, MAC HAD A SPECIAL COMPUTER SOFTWARE PROGRAM
FOR COMMERCE DEPARTMENT DOCUMENTS; ONE THAT
AUTOMATICALLY WEEDED OUT JARGON WORDS LIKE "IMPACTED,"
"VIABLE" AND "INFRASTRUCTURE". IT WAS A SORT OF GRAMM-
RUDMAN CUT OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.))
YET, LIKE ALL PERFECTIONISTS, MAC BALDRIGE KNEW
THAT PERFECTION IS NOT REACHING THE ATTAINABLE.
RATHER, IT IS A NEVER-ENDING QUEST FOR THE
UNATTAINABLE.
-IN
- 6 -
HIS LIFE WAS SUCH A QUEST, A LIFE WHOSE LEGACY LEAVES
US WITH A PROFOUND INSIGHT: A TRULY SUCCESSFUL MAN OR
WOMAN IS SOMEONE WHO HAS SERVED OTHERS.
COMPANIES, LIKE PEOPLE, ARE SUCCESSFUL ONLY TO
THE EXTENT TO WHICH THEY PROVIDE SERVICE. THIS IS TRUE
FOR ALL BUSINESS, FROM THE HUMBLEST MOM-AND-POP
OPERATION TO THE LARGEST CORPORATION.
THE IMPROVEMENT OF QUALITY IN PRODUCTS AND SERVICE
IS A NATIONAL PRIORITY AS NEVER BEFORE.
- 7 -
IN RECENT YEARS, AMERICANS HAVE FELT THE STING OF
FIERCE NEW COMPETITION ON A GLOBAL SCALE. AND WE HAVE
LEARNED TO SEE FOREIGN COMPETITION -- NOT AS AN EXCUSE
TO CLOSE DOORS AND RAISE PROTECTIVE BARRIERS -- BUT AS
AN INCENTIVE TO RENEW OUR COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE.
AMERICAN MANAGERS HAVE RECONSIDERED EVERY TIME-
HONORED BELIEF, EVERY TRADITIONAL PRACTICE, EVERY
CUSTOMARY PROCEDURE. THEY HAVE EMBRACED WHAT WORKS,
AND REJECTED THE REST.
- 8 -
THEY HAVE STUDIED EXAMPLES OF INNOVATION FROM HOME AND
ABROAD, AND ADOPTED ONLY THE BEST. AND WE NOW KNOW THE
RESULT OF THIS HISTORIC REASSESSMENT: WHEN IT COMES TO
MEETING THE COMPETITION, AMERICA IS BACK IN BUSINESS. 11
WE ARE HERE TODAY To HONOR TWO COMPANIES THAT ARE
LEADING THIS RESURGENCE IN AMERICAN BUSINESS
LEADERSHIP. MOST COMPANIES CATCH HELL FROM THE
COMPETITION.
- 9 -
BUT THESE TWO COMPANIES ARE IN THE LEAD BECAUSE NO
COMPETITOR GAVE THEM A TOUGHER TIME THAN THEY GAVE
THEMSELVES.
OF COURSE, IN BUSINESS, SUCCESS IS ITS OWN REWARD.
YET ALL AMERICAN FIRMS BENEFIT BY HAVING A STANDARD OF
EXCELLENCE TO MATCH AND PERHAPS, ONE DAY, TO SURPASS.
THI
- 10 -
FOR IN 1989, THERE CAN BE NO HIGHER STANDARD OF QUALITY
MANAGEMENT THAN THOSE PROVIDED BY THE WINNERS OF THE
MALCOLM BALDRIGE NATIONAL QUALITY AWARD -- MILLIKEN &
COMPANY AND THE XEROX CORPORATION.
BOTH OF THESE MANUFACTURING FIRMS WERE WELL-
ESTABLISHED LEADERS IN THEIR MARKETS. YET BOTH WERE
BEING STEADILY SQUEEZED OUT BY INTENSE FOREIGN AND
DOMESTIC COMPETITION.
- 11 -
IN THE MIDST OF THIS CRISIS, THE MEN AND WOMEN OF THESE
COMPANIES FOUND WITHIN THEMSELVES THE WILL To MAKE A
PAINSTAKING REASSESSMENT AND THE DRIVE To WIN BACK
THEIR SHARE OF THE MARKET.
BOTH COMPANIES STARTED DOWN THIS PATH OF
REASSESSMENT WITH A SIMPLE PREMISE: IN BUSINESS, THERE
IS ONLY ONE DEFINITION OF QUALITY -- THE CUSTOMER'S
DEFINITION.
- 12 -
AND THEN THEY PROCEEDED FROM THIS ONE PREMISE TO
RESTRUCTURE THEIR PRODUCTION AND MARKETING PLANS.
SOUNDS SIMPLE. BUT I KNOW, AS A FORMER BUSINESSMAN
MYSELF, HOW DIFFICULT IT IS TO RESTRUCTURE A FIRM, TOP-
To-BoTToM.
TODAY'S WINNERS KNOW WHAT IS POSSIBLE WHEN A FIRM
RESTRUCTURES ITSELF FROM THE BOTTOM UP. THEY KNOW THAT
A COMPANY CAN NO LONGER AFFORD To REGARD EMPLOYEES AS
AUTOMATONS IN A PRODUCTION LINE.
- 15 -
OUR OTHER WINNER TAKES A SIMILAR APPROACH WITH ITS
TEAM XEROX PHILOSOPHY. XEROX EMPLOYEES ARE GIVEN THE
AUTHORITY THEY NEED TO MAKE DAY-TO-DAY DECISIONS. THEY
ARE, THE COMPANY SAYS, EXPECTED TO TAKE THE INITIATIVE
IN FINDING AND FIXING PROBLEMS. AND THEY DO. WHILE
EVERY MANAGER WORKS, EVERY WORKER IS MANAGING.
ONE OF THE BEST THINGS ABOUT THIS AWARD IS THAT IT
ALLOWS SUCCESSFUL COMPANIES TO SHARE WHAT THEY HAVE
LEARNED TO SET AN EXAMPLE.
- 16 -
((PERHAPS THESE TWO COMPANIES SHOULD MERGE. CAN YOU
IMAGINE IT?\\ YOUR WARDROBE WOULDN'T JUST BE
COORDINATED; IT WOULD BE COLLATED.))
MANY FIRMS WILL LEARN A GREAT DEAL FROM THEIR
EXAMPLE. OTHERS WILL NEED TO FOLLOW THEIR OWN PATH.
BUT TO THOSE WHO SAY THAT WE HAVE LOST OUR EDGE, THAT
THE DAYS ARE PAST WHEN "MADE IN AMERICA" MEANT "THE
BEST" -- I SAY: TELL THAT TO THE PEOPLE OF THE MILLIKEN
PLANT IN SPARTANSBURG. TELL THAT TO THE XEROX TEAMS IN
MONROE COUNTY, NEW YORK.
- 17 -
QUALITY PRODUCTS AND SERVICE IS NO ACCIDENT. IT IS
THE RESULT OF A CERTAIN CAN-DO, NO-EXCUSES ATTITUDE --
AN AGGRESSIVE IMPATIENCE WITH THE STATUS QUO -- EVEN IN
THE BEST OF TIMES. IT IS THIS ATTITUDE, MORE THAN
ANYTHING ELSE, THAT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CREATION OF
WEALTH AND JOBS WE HAVE SEEN IN THE LAST SEVEN YEARS.
IN THESE YEARS, OUR TOTAL NATIONAL WEALTH HAS GROWN
BY ALMOST A THIRD.
- 18 -
WE HAVE CREATED MORE THAN TWENTY MILLION NEW JOBS. AND
WE ARE STILL ENJOYING THE REWARDS OF WHAT HAS PROVEN TO
BE THE LONGEST PEACETIME ECONOMIC EXPANSION IN AMERICAN
HISTORY.
GIVEN THE RIGHT POLICIES -- AND A REDUCED CAPITAL
GAINS TAX WOULD CERTAINLY BE ONE -- THIS EXPANSION WILL
CONTINUE. AND GIVEN THE RIGHT TOOLS, THE AMERICAN
PEOPLE CAN REACH EVEN GREATER HEIGHTS.
- 19 -
THE POTENTIAL OF THIS NATION IS AS BOUNDLESS AS THE
IMAGINATION AND DRIVE OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. ALL WE
HAVE TO DO FOR OUR CITIZENS IS WHAT THESE TWO COMPANIES
HAVE DONE FOR THEIR EMPLOYEES -- GIVE THEM THE FREEDOM
TO DO WHAT THEY DO BEST. FREEDOM TO IMAGINE. FREEDOM
TO CREATE. FREEDOM TO EXCEL.
- 20 -
OUR WINNERS HAD SUCH FREEDOM, AND THEY MADE THE
MOST OF IT. I GIVE MY HEARTIEST CONGRATULATIONS TO
THEM. THANK YOU, GOD BLESS YOU AND GOD BLESS AMERICA.
# # #
085697SS
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
10/31/89
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: MALCOLM BALDRIDGE QUALITY AWARDS
SUBJECT:
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
ROGICH
BATES
UNTERMEYER
ROGERS
CARD
CICCONI
WINSTON
DEMAREST
PINKERTON
FITZWATER
GRAY
HAGIN
REMARKS:
The attached has been forwarded to the President.
RESPONSE:
12:9d 1613068
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
6S :S Wd 06 100 6061
Oct. 30, 1989
INFORMATION
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
Through:
CHRISS WINSTON
From:
MARK DAVIS MD
Subject:
Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award
SUMMARY:
You will present this award for quality management to
representatives of the Xerox Corporation and Milliken & Company
(a South Carolina textile firm) on Thursday, 10:30 a.m., at the
Malcolm Baldrige Hall of the Commerce Department. Your remarks
run about ten minutes and will be on cards.
DISCUSSION: The speech begins with a personal remembrance of
Malcolm Baldrige, based on your eulogy. The award which bears
the late Secretary's name is patterned after the Deming prize in
Japan: It honors companies that have achieved near-perfect
results through smarter management.
To win the quality award, a company must survive a fiercely
competitive process of tough queries and hundreds of hours of
investigation by a panel of judges.
Both 1989 winners tell the same tale. They reversed their
declining fortunes when they looked to their employees,
encouraging them to take responsibility and to make decisions.
So those who say that America has lost its competitive edge
should first tell that to the people of Milliken and Team Xerox.
Davis/Martin
Oct. 30, 1989
Title: Award
Draft: Three
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: MALCOLM BALDRIGE NATL. QUALITY AWARD
MALCOLM BALDRIGE HALL, COMMERCE DEPARTMENT
10:30 a.m., Thursday, Nov. 2, 1989
((Acknowledgements to come.))
In just a few moments, it will be my pleasure to present
awards named after a great public servant and a very close and
dear friend -- the late Malcolm Baldrige.
So let me begin than with a few words about Mac. He had a
zest for life, a love of family and a love of country that was
uncommon. He was an outstanding Secretary of Commerce for six
and a half years. And he was also an outstanding friend: Mac's
word of honor was as good as a twenty-dollar gold piece.
But he never quite fit any mold. This was the President of
a successful company who spent a lot of his time with volunteer
firemen. This was a son of the East who rode horses and loved
his place in New Mexico. He felt at home with cowboys, because
he roped with them all his life.
You would never have known it from his friendly, easy-going
manner, but Mac was also a perfectionist, in word and deed. As a
leader in business, Mac strived for quality in products; as
Commerce Secretary, for quality in public policies. Even the
language of his memos was lean and exact. ( (In fact, Mac had a
special computer software program for Commerce Department
documents; one that automatically weeded out jargon words like
2
"impacted," "viable" and "infrastructure". It was a sort of
Gramm-Rudman cut of the English language.) )
Yet, like all perfectionists, Mac Baldrige knew that
perfection is not reaching the attainable. Rather, it is a
never-ending quest for the unattainable. His life was such a
quest, a life whose legacy leaves us with a profound insight: A
truly successful man or woman is someone who has served others.
Companies, like people, are successful only to the extent
to which they provide service. This is true for all business,
from the humblest mom-and-pop operation to the largest
corporation.
The improvement of quality in products and service is a
national priority as never before. In recent years, Americans
have felt the sting of fierce new competition on a global scale.
And we have learned to see foreign competition -- not as an
excuse to close doors and raise protective barriers -- but as an
incentive to renew our commitment to excellence.
American managers have reconsidered every time-honored
belief, every traditional practice, every customary procedure.
They have embraced what works, and rejected the rest. They have
studied examples of innovation from home and abroad, and adopted
only the best. And we now know the result of this historic
reassessment: When it comes to meeting the competition, America
is back in business.
We are here today to honor two companies that are leading
this resurgence in American business leadership. Most companies
3
catch hell from the competition. But these two companies are in
the lead because no competitor gave them a tougher time than they
gave themselves.
of course, in business, success is its own reward. Yet all
American firms benefit by having a standard of excellence to
match and perhaps, one day, to surpass. For in 1989, there can
be no higher standard of quality management than those provided
by the winners of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award --
Milliken & Company and the Xerox Corporation.
Both of these manufacturing firms were well-established
leaders in their markets. Yet both were being steadily squeezed
out by intense foreign and domestic competition. In the midst of
this crisis, the men and women of these companies found within
themselves the will to make a painstaking reassessment and the
drive to win back their share of the market.
Both companies started down this path of reassessment with a
simple premise: in business, there is only one definition of
quality -- the customer's definition. And then they proceeded
from this one premise to restructure their production and
marketing plans. Sounds simple. But I know, as a former
businessman myself, how difficult it is to restructure a firm,
top-to-bottom.
Today's winners know what is possible when a firm
restructures itself from the bottom up. They know that a company
can no longer afford to regard employees as automatons in a
production line. They know that a company must rely on the
4
intelligence, judgment and good character of the people it
employs.
There are as many successful forms of management as there
are successful companies. But for these two companies, success
came when they developed their human, as well as their
technological, potential.
Milliken, for example, is a 124-year-old textile
manufacturer in South Carolina. But it's management style is
sheer 21st Century. Milliken scrapped the old management
hierarchy in favor of what they call a "flat management
structure." ( (Good thing they're not a tire company. ))
Milliken even gave a new title to its employees, calling them
"associates." This is no hollow accolade from public relations.
Every Milliken employee truly is an associate. In fact, any
Milliken worker has the power to halt the production line if he
or she detects a problem in quality or safety.
Our other winner takes a similar approach with its Team
Xerox philosophy. Xerox employees are given the authority they
need to make day-to-day decisions. They are, the company says,
expected to take the initiative in finding and fixing problems.
And they do. While every manager works, every worker is
managing.
One of the best things about this award is that it allows
successful companies to share what they have learned to set an
example. ((Perhaps these two companies should merge. Can you
5
imagine it?\\ Your wardrobe wouldn't just be coordinated;\ it
would be collated. ))
Many firms will learn a great deal from their example.
Others will need to follow their own path. But to those who say
that we have lost our edge, that the days are past when "Made in
America" meant "the best" -- I say: Tell that to the people of
the Milliken plant in Spartansburg. Tell that to the Xerox teams
in Monroe County, New York.
Quality products and service is no accident. It is the
result of a certain can-do, no-excuses attitude -- an aggressive
impatience with the status quo -- even in the best of times. It
is this attitude, more than anything else, that is responsible
for the creation of wealth and jobs we have seen in the last
seven years.
In these years, our total national wealth has grown by
almost a third. We have created more than twenty million new
jobs. And we are still enjoying the rewards of what has proven
to be the longest peacetime economic expansion in American
history.
Given the right policies -- and a reduced capital gains tax
would certainly be one -- this expansion will continue. And
given the right tools, the American people can reach even greater
heights. The potential of this nation is as boundless as the
imagination and drive of the American people. All we have to do
for our citizens is what these two companies have done for their
6
employees -- give them the freedom to do what they do best.
Freedom to imagine. Freedom to create. Freedom to excel.
Our winners had such freedom, and they made the most of it.
I give my heartiest congratulations to them. Thank you, God
bless you and God bless America.
###
Acknowledgements:
MALOCLAN
BALDRID-
Sec. Mosbacher
GE
midge Baldridge
QUALITY
Sec. Brady
AWARDS
Sec. Hills
Undersec. Betti
(stand-in for Cherey)
Dr. Broomley
Sen. Strom Thurmond
Rep. Boehlert
New, not Well know, but Quality
Rep. Don Ritter -
is his cause /sponsor of
Rep. Nancy Johnson
National Quality WK
11/1 3:56 pm
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
Oct. 30, 1989
INFORMATION
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
Through:
CHRISS WINSTON
From:
MARK DAVIS MD
Subject:
Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award
SUMMARY:
You will present this award for quality management to
representatives of the Xerox Corporation and Milliken & Company
(a South Carolina textile firm) on Thursday, 10:30 a.m., at the
Malcolm Baldrige Hall of the Commerce Department. Your remarks
run about ten minutes and will be on cards.
DISCUSSION: The speech begins with a personal remembrance of
Malcolm Baldrige, based on your eulogy. The award which bears
the late Secretary's name is patterned after the Deming prize in
Japan: It honors companies that have achieved near-perfect
results through smarter management.
To win the quality award, a company must survive a fiercely
competitive process of tough queries and hundreds of hours of
investigation by a panel of judges.
Both 1989 winners tell the same tale. They reversed their
declining fortunes when they looked to their employees,
encouraging them to take responsibility and to make decisions.
So those who say that America has lost its competitive edge
should first tell that to the people of Milliken and Team Xerox.
Davis/Martin
Oct. 30, 1989
Title: Award
Draft: Three
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: MALCOLM BALDRIGE NATL. QUALITY AWARD
MALCOLM BALDRIGE HALL, COMMERCE DEPARTMENT
10:30 a.m., Thursday, Nov. 2, 1989
Great - from Kim Kimball
( (Acknowledgements to come.) )
630 10/31/89
In just a few moments, it will be my pleasure to present
awards named after a great public servant and a very close and
dear friend -- the late Malcolm Baldrige.
So let me begin than with a few words about Mac. He had a
zest for life, a love of family and a love of country that was
uncommon. He was an outstanding Secretary of Commerce for six
and a half years. And he was also an outstanding friend: Mac's
word of honor was as good as a twenty-dollar gold piece.
But he never quite fit any mold. This was the President of
a successful company who spent a lot of his time with volunteer
firemen. This was a son of the East who rode horses and loved
his place in New Mexico. He felt at home with cowboys, because
he roped with them all his life.
You would never have known it from his friendly, easy-going
manner, but Mac was also a perfectionist, in word and deed. As a
leader in business, Mac strived for quality in products; as
Commerce Secretary, for quality in public policies. Even the
language of his memos was lean and exact. ((In fact, Mac had a
special computer software program for Commerce Department
documents; one that automatically weeded out jargon words like
2
"impacted," "viable" and "infrastructure". It was a sort of
Gramm-Rudman cut of the English language. ) )
Yet, like all perfectionists, Mac Baldrige knew that
perfection is not reaching the attainable. Rather, it is a
never-ending quest for the unattainable. His life was such a
quest, a life whose legacy leaves us with a profound insight: A
truly successful man or woman is someone who has served others.
Companies, like people, are successful only to the extent
to which they provide service. This is true for all business,
from the humblest mom-and-pop operation to the largest
corporation.
The improvement of quality in products and service is a
national priority as never before. In recent years, Americans
have felt the sting of fierce new competition on a global scale.
And we have learned to see foreign competition -- not as an
excuse to close doors and raise protective barriers -- but as an
incentive to renew our commitment to excellence.
American managers have reconsidered every time-honored
belief, every traditional practice, every customary procedure.
They have embraced what works, and rejected the rest. They have
studied examples of innovation from home and abroad, and adopted
only the best. And we now know the result of this historic
reassessment: When it comes to meeting the competition, America
is back in business.
We are here today to honor two companies that are leading
this resurgence in American business leadership. Most companies
3
catch hell from the competition. But these two companies are in
the lead because no competitor gave them a tougher time than they
gave themselves.
of course, in business, success is its own reward. Yet all
American firms benefit by having a standard of excellence to
match and perhaps, one day, to surpass. For in 1989, there can
be no higher standard of quality management than those provided
by the winners of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award --
Milliken & Company and the Xerox Corporation.
Both of these manufacturing firms were well-established
leaders in their markets. Yet both were being steadily squeezed
out by intense foreign and domestic competition. In the midst of
this crisis, the men and women of these companies found within
themselves the will to make a painstaking reassessment and the
drive to win back their share of the market.
Both companies started down this path of reassessment with a
simple premise: in business, there is only one definition of
quality -- the customer's definition. And then they proceeded
from this one premise to restructure their production and
marketing plans. Sounds simple. But I know, as a former
businessman myself, how difficult it is to restructure a firm,
top-to-bottom.
Today's winners know what is possible when a firm
restructures itself from the bottom up. They know that a company
can no longer afford to regard employees as automatons in a
production line. They know that a company must rely on the
4
intelligence, judgment and good character of the people it
employs.
There are as many successful forms of management as there
are successful companies. But for these two companies, success
came when they developed their human, as well as their
technological, potential.
Milliken, for example, is a 124-year-old textile
manufacturer in South Carolina. But it's management style is
sheer 21st Century. Milliken scrapped the old management
hierarchy in favor of what they call a "flat management
structure." (Good thing they're not a tire company. ))
Milliken even gave a new title to its employees, calling them
"associates." This is no hollow accolade from public relations.
Every Milliken employee truly is an associate. In fact, any
Milliken worker has the power to halt the production line if he
or she detects a problem in quality or safety.
Our other winner takes a similar approach with its Team
Xerox philosophy. Xerox employees are given the authority they
need to make day-to-day decisions. They are, the company says,
expected to take the initiative in finding and fixing problems.
And they do. While every manager works, every worker is
managing.
One of the best things about this award is that it allows
successful companies to share what they have learned to set an
example. ((Perhaps these two companies should merge. Can you
5
imagine it?\\ Your wardrobe wouldn't just be coordinated;\ it
would be collated.) )
Many firms will learn a great deal from their example.
Others will need to follow their own path. But to those who say
that we have lost our edge, that the days are past when "Made in
America" meant "the best" -- I say: Tell that to the people of
the Milliken plant in Spartansburg. Tell that to the Xerox teams
in Monroe County, New York.
Quality products and service is no accident. It is the
result of a certain can-do, no-excuses attitude -- an aggressive
impatience with the status quo -- even in the best of times. It
is this attitude, more than anything else, that is responsible
for the creation of wealth and jobs we have seen in the last
seven years.
In these years, our total national wealth has grown by
almost a third. We have created more than twenty million new
jobs. And we are still enjoying the rewards of what has proven
to be the longest peacetime economic expansion in American
history.
Given the right policies -- and a reduced capital gains tax
would certainly be one -- this expansion will continue. And
given the right tools, the American people can reach even greater
heights. The potential of this nation is as boundless as the
imagination and drive of the American people. All we have to do
for our citizens is what these two companies have done for their
6
employees -- give them the freedom to do what they do best.
Freedom to imagine. Freedom to create. Freedom to excel.
Our winners had such freedom, and they made the most of it.
I give my heartiest congratulations to them. Thank you, God
bless you and God bless America.
###
085697SS
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
10/27/89
10/30/89 4:00 PM
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: MALCOLM BALDRIDGE NATIONAL QUALITY AWARD
SUBJECT:
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
ROGICH
BATES
N/C
UNTERMEYER
ROGERS
CARD
WINSTON
CICCONI
DEMAREST
PINKERTON
FITZWATER
GRAY
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please forward any comments directly to Chriss Winston, Rm. 122,
x2930, no later than 4:00 PM, Monday, October 30, with a copy to
my office. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
Davis/Martin
Oct. 30, 1989
Title: Award
Draft: Two
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: MALCOLM BALDRIGE NATL. QUALITY AWARD
MALCOLM BALDRIGE HALL, COMMERCE DEPARTMENT
10:30 a.m., Thursday, Nov. 2, 1989
( (Midge Baldrige -- other acknowledgements to come. ) )
In just a few moments, it will be my pleasure to present
awards named after a great public servant and a very close and
dear friend -- the late Malcolm Baldrige.
So let me begin than with a few words about Mac. He had a
zest for life, a love of family and a love of country that was
uncommon. He was an outstanding Secretary of Commerce for six
and a half years. And he was also an outstanding friend: Mac's
word of honor was as good as a twenty-dollar gold piece.
But he never quite fit any mold. This was the President of
a successful company who spent a lot of his time with volunteer
firemen. This was a son of the East who rode horses and loved
his place in New Mexico. He felt at home with cowboys, because
he roped with them all his life.
You would never have known it from his friendly, easy-going
manner, but Mac was also a perfectionist, in word and deed. As a
in
leader in business, Mac strived for quality products; as Commerce
Secretary, for quality in public policies. Even the language of
his memos was lean and exact. ( (In fact, Mac had a special
computer software program for Commerce Department documents; one
that automatically weeded out jargon words like "impacted,"
2
"viable" and "infrastructure" It was a sort of Gramm-Rudman cut
of the English language. ))
MAC
Yet, like all perfectionists, Malcolm Baldrige knew that
reaching the
perfection is not attainable. Rather, it is a never ending quest
a
life whose legacy
for the unattainable. His life was such a quest, one that leaves
us with a profound insight: A truly successful man or woman is
someone who has served others.
are success ful only
Companies, like people, also succeed or fail to the extent
yall from
to which they provide service. This is true for the humblest mom -
to
and-pop operation and the largest corporation. alike.
The improvement of quality in products and service is a
national priority as never before. In recent years, Americans
have felt the sting of fierce new competition on a global scale.
see
And after the initial shock we have learned to take foreign
competition -- not as an excuse to close doors and raise
protective barriers -- but as an incentive to renew our
commitment to excellence.
American managers have reconsidered every time-honored
belief, every traditional practice, every customary procedure.
They have embraced what works, and rejected the rest. They have
studied examples of innovation from home and abroad, and adopted
only the best. And we now know the result of this historic
reassessment: When it comes to meeting the competition, America
is back in business.
We are here today to honor two companies that are leading
this resurgence in American business leadership. Most companies
R
3
catch unmitigated hell from the competition. But these two
companies are in the lead because no competitor gave them a
tougher time than they gave themselves.
Of course, in business, success is its own reward. Yet all
American firms benefit by having a standard of excellence to
imitate, match and perhaps one day to surpass. For in 1989,
there can be no higher standard of quality management than those
provided by the winners of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality
Award -- Milliken & Company and the Xerox Corporation.
Both of these manufacturing firms were well-established
leaders in their markets. Yet both were being steadily squeezed
out by intense foreign and domestic competition. In the midst of
this crisis, the men and women of these companies found within
themselves the will to make a painstaking reassessment, and the
drive to win back their share of the market.
Both companies started down this path of reassessment with a
in business,
simple premise: there is only one definition of quality -- the
customer's definition. And then they proceeded from this one
premise to restructure their production and marketing plans.
Sounds simple. But I know, as a former businessman myself, how
difficult it is to restructure a firm, top-to-bottom. In fact,
to tell you the truth, it's impossible.
know what
when
Today's winners learned that it is possible for a firm to
restructureSitsel only from the bottom up. They know that a
company can no longer afford to regard employees as automatons in
a production line. They know that a company must rely on the
4
intelligence, judgment and good character of the people it
employs.
There are as many successful forms of management as there
are successful companies. But for these two companies, success
came when they developed their human, as well as their
technological, potential.
Milliken, for example, is a 124-year-old textile
manufacturer in South Carolina. But it's management style is
sheer 21st Century. Milliken scrapped the old management
hierarchy in favor of what they call a "flat management
structure." \\ ( (Good thing they're not a tire company. ))
Milliken even gave a new title to its employees, calling them
"associates." This is no hollow accolade from public relations.
Every Milliken employee truly is an associate. In fact, any
Milliken worker has the power to halt the production line if he
or she detects a problem in quality or safety.
Our other winner takes a similar approach with its Team
Xerox philosophy. Xerox employees are given the authority they
need to make day-to-day decisions. They are, the company says,
expected to take the initiative in finding and fixing problems.
And they do. While every manager works, every worker is
managing.
One of the best things about this award/ is that it allows
successful companies to share what they have learned; to set an
example. ((Perhaps these two companies should merge. Can you
5
imagine it?\\ Your wardrobe wouldn't just be coordinated; it
would be collated. ))
Many firms will learn a great deal from their example.
Others will need to follow their own path. But one lesson is
applicable to all: quality products and service is no accident.
It is the result of a certain can-do, no-excuses attitude -- an
aggressive impatience with the status quo -- even in the best of
times. It is this attitude, more than anything else, that is
responsible for the creation of wealth and jobs we have seen in
the last seven years.
In these years, our total national wealth has grown by
almost a third. We have created more than twenty million new
jobs. And we are still enjoying (economic) the rewards of what has proven
to be the longest peacetime expansion in American history.
Given the right policies -- and a reduced capital gains tax
would certainly be one -- this expansion will continue. And
given the right tools, the American people can reach even greater
heights. The potential of this nation is as boundless as the
imagination and drive of the American people. All we have to do
for our citizens is what these two companies have done for their
employees -- give them the freedom to do what they do best.
Freedom to imagine. Freedom to create. Freedom to excel.
Our winners had such freedom, and they made the most of it.
I give my heartiest congratulations to them. Thank you, God
bless you and God bless America.
3
catch hell from the competition. But these two companies are in
the lead because no competitor gave them a tougher time than they
gave themselves.
Of course, in business, success is its own reward. Yet all
American firms benefit by having a standard of excellence to
match and perhaps one day to surpass. For in 1989, there can be
no higher standard of quality management than those provided by
the winners of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award --
Milliken & Company and the Xerox Corporation.
Both of these manufacturing firms were well-established
leaders in their markets. Yet both were being steadily squeezed
out by intense foreign and domestic competition. In the midst of
this crisis, the men and women of these companies found within
themselves the will to make a painstaking reassessment and the
drive to win back their share of the market.
Both companies started down this path of reassessment with a
simple premise: in business, there is only one definition of
quality -- the customer's definition. And then they proceeded
from this one premise to restructure their production and
marketing plans. Sounds simple. But I know, as a former
businessman myself, how difficult it is to restructure a firm,
top-to-bottom. In fact, to tell you the truth, it's impossible. Porter
PORTER
Today's winners learned what that it is possible for a firm to
restructure itself only from the bottom, up. They know that a
company can no longer afford to regard employees as automatons in
a production line. They know that a company must rely on the
Davis/Martin
Oct. 30, 1989
Title: Award
Draft: Two
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: MALCOLM BALDRIGE NATL. QUALITY AWARD
MALCOLM BALDRIGE HALL, COMMERCE DEPARTMENT
10:30 a.m., Thursday, Nov. 2, 1989
Per christina
((Midge Baldrige other acknowledgements to come. ))
In just a few moments, it will be my pleasure to present
awards named after a great public servant and a very close and
dear friend -- the late Malcolm Baldrige.
So let me begin than with a few words about Mac. He had a
zest for life, a love of family and a love of country that was
uncommon. He was an outstanding Secretary of Commerce for six
and a half years. And he was also an outstanding friend: Mac's
word of honor was as good as a twenty-dollar gold piece.
But he never quite fit any mold. This was the President of
a successful company who spent a lot of his time with volunteer
firemen. This was a son of the East who rode horses and loved
his place in New Mexico. He felt at home with cowboys, because
he roped with them all his life.
You would never have known it from his friendly, easy-going
manner, but Mac was also a perfectionist, in word and deed. As a
leader in business, Mac strived for quality in products; as
Commerce Secretary, for quality in public policies. Even the
language of his memos was lean and exact. ( (In fact, Mac had a
special computer software program for Commerce Department
documents; one that automatically weeded out jargon words like
2
"impacted," "viable" and "infrastructure". It was a sort of
Gramm-Rudman cut of the English language.) )
Yet, like all perfectionists, Mac Baldrige knew that
perfection is not reaching the attainable. Rather, it is a
never-ending quest for the unattainable. His life was such a
quest, a life whose legacy leaves us with a profound insight: A
truly successful man or woman is someone who has served others.
Companies, like people, are successful only to the extent
to which they provide service. This is true for all business,
from the humblest mom-and-pop operation to the largest
corporation.
The improvement of quality in products and service is a
national priority as never before. In recent years, Americans
have felt the sting of fierce new competition on a global scale.
And we have learned to see foreign competition -- not as an
excuse to close doors and raise protective barriers -- but as an
incentive to renew our commitment to excellence.
American managers have reconsidered every time-honored
belief, every traditional practice, every customary procedure.
They have embraced what works, and rejected the rest. They have
studied examples of innovation from home and abroad, and adopted
only the best. And we now know the result of this historic
reassessment: When it comes to meeting the competition, America
is back in business.\
We are here today to honor two companies that are leading
this resurgence in American business leadership. Most companies
3
catch hell from the competition. But these two companies are in
the lead because no competitor gave them a tougher time than they
gave themselves.
of course, in business, success is its own reward. Yet all
American firms benefit by having a standard of excellence to
match and perhaps one day to surpass. For in 1989, there can be
no higher standard of quality management than those provided by
the winners of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award --
Milliken & Company and the Xerox Corporation.
Both of these manufacturing firms were well-established
leaders in their markets. Yet both were being steadily squeezed
out by intense foreign and domestic competition. In the midst of
this crisis, the men and women of these companies found within
themselves the will to make a painstaking reassessment and the
drive to win back their share of the market.
Both companies started down this path of reassessment with a
simple premise: in business, there is only one definition of
quality -- the customer's definition. And then they proceeded
from this one premise to restructure their production and
marketing plans. Sounds simple. But I know, as a former
businessman myself, how difficult it is to restructure a firm,
top-to-bottom. In fact, to tell you the truth, it's impossible.
Today's winners learned that it is possible for a firm to
restructure itself only from the bottom, up. They know that a
company can no longer afford to regard employees as automatons in
a production line. They know that a company must rely on the
4
intelligence, judgment and good character of the people it
employs.
There are as many successful forms of management as there
are successful companies. But for these two companies, success
came when they developed their human, as well as their
technological, potential.
Milliken, for example, is a 124-year-old textile
manufacturer in South Carolina. But it's management style is
sheer 21st Century. Milliken scrapped the old management
hierarchy in favor of what they call a "flat management
structure." (Good thing they're not a tire company. ))
Milliken even gave a new title to its employees, calling them
"associates." This is no hollow accolade from public relations.
Every Milliken employee truly is an associate. In fact, any
Milliken worker has the power to halt the production line if he
or she detects a problem in quality or safety.
Our other winner takes a similar approach with its Team
Xerox philosophy. Xerox employees are given the authority they
need to make day-to-day decisions. They are, the company says,
expected to take the initiative in finding and fixing problems.
And they do. While every manager works, every worker is
managing.
One of the best things about this award is that it allows
successful companies to share what they have learned to set an
example. ((Perhaps these two companies should merge. Can you
5
imagine it?\\ Your wardrobe wouldn't just be coordinated;\\ it
would be collated.)
Many firms will learn a great deal from their example.
Others will need to follow their own path. But one lesson is
applicable to all: quality products and service is no accident.
It is the result of a certain can-do, no-excuses attitude -- an
aggressive impatience with the status quo -- even in the best of
times. It is this attitude, more than anything else, that is
responsible for the creation of wealth and jobs we have seen in
the last seven years.
In these years, our total national wealth has grown by
almost a third. We have created more than twenty million new
jobs. And we are still enjoying the rewards of what has proven
to be the longest peacetime expansion in American history.
Given the right policies -- and a reduced capital gains tax
would certainly be one -- this expansion will continue. And
given the right tools, the American people can reach even greater
heights. The potential of this nation is as boundless as the
imagination and drive of the American people. All we have to do
for our citizens is what these two companies have done for their
employees -- give them the freedom to do what they do best.
Freedom to imagine. Freedom to create. Freedom to excel.
Our winners had such freedom, and they made the most of it.
I give my heartiest congratulations to them. Thank you, God
bless you and God bless America.
###
085697SS
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
10/27/89
10/30/89 4:00 PM
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUEBY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: MALCOLM BALDRIDGE NATIONAL QUALITY AWARD
SUBJECT:
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
ROGICH
BATES
UNTERMEYER
ROGERS
CARD
WINSTON
CICCONI
DEMAREST
PINKERTON
FITZWATER
GRAY
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please forward any comments directly to Chriss Winston, Rm. 122,
x2930, no later than 4:00 PM, Monday, October 30, with a copy to
my office. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
Please see comments.
10/30/89
heqin. Affaira. 86 : Sd 0€ 100 68
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
Davis/Martin
Oct. 25, 1989
Title: Award
1989 OCT 27 PM 2: 48
Draft: One
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: MALCOLM BALDRIGE NATL. QUALITY AWARD
COMMERCE DEPARTMENT
( (10 a.m.)) Thursday, Nov. 2, 1989
((Acknowledgements) )
In just a few moments, it will be my pleasure to bestow an
award named after a great public servant and a very close and
dear friend -- the late Malcolm Baldrige.
You would never have known it from his friendly, easy-going
manner, but Malcolm was a perfectionist, in word and deed. As a
leader in business, Malcolm strived for quality products; as
Commerce Secretary, for quality in public policies. Even the
language of his memos was lean and exact.
Like all perfectionists, Malcolm Baldrige knew that
perfection is not attainable. Rather, it is a never ending quest
for the unattainable. His life was such a quest, one that leaves
person
?
us with a profound insight: A truly successful man or woman is
constantly shives suchs to improve himself
someone who has served others
the world around him.
and
( (Baldrige quotes to come).
themocherstheir their products, ) and
and surrice.
Companies, like people, also succeed or fail to the extent
seek to improve awls the Id TO they openate
to which they provide service This is true for the humblest mom
and pop operation and the largest corporation alike.
The improvement of quality in products and service is a
national priority as never before. In recent years, Americans
2
have felt the sting of fierce new competition on a global scale.
And after the initial shock, we have learned to take foreign
competition -- not as an excuse to close doors and raise
protective barriers -- but as an incentive to renew our
commitment to excellence.
American managers have reconsidered every time-honored
belief, every traditional practice, every customary procedure.
They have embraced what works, and rejected the rest. They have
studied examples of innovation from home and abroad, and adopted
only the best. And we now know the result of this historic
reassessment: When it comes to meeting the competition, America
is back in business.
We are here today to honor two companies that are leading
this resurgence in American business leadership. Most companies
catch unmitigated hell from the competition. But these two
companies are in the lead because no competitor gave them a
tougher time than they gave themselves.
Of course, in business, success is its own reward. Yet all
American firms benefit by having a standard of excellence to
imitate, match and perhaps one day to surpass. For in 1989,
there can be no higher standard of quality management than those
provided by the winners of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality
Award -- the Smith and the Jones Companies.
Both of these manufacturing firms were well-established
leaders in their markets. Yet both were being steadily squeezed
out by intense foreign and domestic competition. In the midst of
3
this crisis, the men and women of these companies found within
themselves the will to make a painstaking reassessment; and the
drive to win back their share of the market.
Both companies started down this path of reassessment with a
simple premise: there is only one definition of quality -- the
customer's definition. And then they proceeded from this one
premise to restructure their production and marketing plans.
Sounds simple. But I know, as a former businessman myself, how
difficult it is to restructure a firm, top-to-bottom. In fact,
to tell you the truth, it's impossible.
Today's winners learned that it is possible for a firm to
restructure itself only from the bottom, up. They know that a
company can no longer afford to regard employees as automatons in
a production line. They know that a company must rely on the
intelligence, judgment and good character of the people it
employs.
Kidding asido, there are as many successful forms of
management as there are successful companies. But for these two
companies, success came when they developed their human, as well
as their technological, potential.
Smith, for example, is a long-time manufacturer. But it's
management style is sheer 21st Century. Smith scrapped the old
management hierarchy, in favor of what they call a "flat
management structure." ( (Good thing they're not a tire
company. )) \\ Smith even gave a new title to its employees,
calling them "associates." This is no hollow accolade from
4
public relations. Every Smith employee truly is an associate.
In fact, any Smith worker has the power to halt the production
line if he or she detects a problem in quality or safety.
Our other winner takes a similar approach with its ( (company
logo to come) ) philosophy. Jones employees are given the
authority they need to make day-to-day decisions. They are, the
company says, expected to take the initiative in finding and
fixing problems. And they do. While every manager works, every
worker is managing.
One of the best things about this award, is that it allows
successful companies to share what they have learned; to set an
example. Many firms will learn a great deal from their example.
Others will need to follow their own path. But one lesson is
applicable to all: quality products and service is no accident.
It is the result of a certain can-do, no-excuses attitude -- an
aggressive impatience with the status quo -- even in the best of
times. It is this attitude, more than anything else, that is
responsible for the creation of wealth and jobs we have seen in
the last seven years.
In these years, our total national wealth has grown by
almost a third. We have created more than twenty million new
jobs. And we are still enjoying the rewards of what has proven
to be the longest peacetime expansion in American history.
Given the right policies -- and a reduced capital gains tax
would certainly be one -- this expansion will continue. And
given the right tools, the American people can reach even greater
5
heights. The potential of this nation is as boundless as the
imagination and drive of the American people. All we have to do
for our citizens is what these two companies have done for their
employees -- give them the freedom to do what they do best.
Freedom to imagine. Freedom to create. Freedom to excel.
Our winners had such freedom, and they made the most of it.
I give my heartiest congratulations to them. Thank you, God
bless you and God bless America.
#
#
#
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
October 30, 1989
MEMORANDUM FOR CHRISS WINSTON
DEPUTY ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR
COMMUNICATIONS
FROM:
ASSOCIATE COUNSEL MS TO THE PRESIDENT
NELSON LUND
SUBJECT:
Presidential Remarks: Malcolm Baldrige National
Quality Award
At the request of James W. Cicconi, Counsel's office has reviewed
the captioned draft remarks. Based on the information available
to us at this time, we have no legal objections. In particular,
we are unaware of any information about the two award winning
companies (the names of which were provided to this office by
John Gardner) that would require the President to avoid
associating himself with them in the manner implied by these
draft remarks. We note, however, that we are checking additional
sources of information. We expect to be able to complete this
process by mid-day tomorrow, at which time we should be able to
provide clearance for the remarks.
We have two minor editorial suggestions:
(1) Page 3, third full paragraph, first line. The phrase
"Kidding aside" seems out of place in this context.
(2) Page 4, third full paragraph, last line. For the sake of
clarity, you may wish to consider inserting the word "economic"
between "peacetime" and "expansion."
Counsel's office appreciates having had the opportunity to review
these draft remarks.
CC: James W. Cicconi
10 9d 06 100 68
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
October 30, 1989
Memorandum to Chriss Winston
From:
Jim Pinkerton
Subject:
Malcolm Baldrige Quality Awards Draft Speech
This speech does a serviceable job, but it lacks a certain
amount of punch. We should treat these awards ceremonies as
opportunities to send a message in addition to creating good
will. It is possible for a President to make news by honoring a
business (e.g., Reagan's honoring of Harley-Davidson).
For example, rather than saying that the potential of
America is limited only by our imagination (see pg. 5, para. 1)
-- a cliche; why not put it more incisively? E.g., "Some say
that we have lost our edge; that the days when "Made in America"
meant "The Best" are over. I say let them come to [locale of
Smith and Jones company plants]. "
2,3,3
"Most companies catch unmitigated hell from the
competition."
The phrase "unmitigated hell" is a bit hackneyed and chest-
beating; no longer profane, but in bad taste and certainly
unnecessary.
3,2,2
"There is only one definition of quality -- the
customer's definition."
We suggest adding "In business since quality depends on
other judgements in other fields (art, for instance).
3,4,1
"Kidding aside "
This leads the listener to think that the President has
just told a joke, although he hasn Any other transition
phrase will do, said that
"
(more)
2-2-2
3,5,1
"Smith even gave a new title to its employees, calling
them 'associates.' This is no hollow accolade from public
relations. "
Chances are pretty good that "associates" is precisely an
accolade done more for reasons of p.r. than to suggest that the
Smith employees are no longer actual employees. The substance of
Smith's innovation is the fact that the workers can stop the
production line. Therefore, it is the latter which the
President should emphasize. We suggest mentioning the
"associates" title only incidentally in the course of explaining
the production line innovation.
4,3,5
"
quality products and service is no accident."
This is a paraphrase of Ruskin's famous line that "There is
nothing accidental about quality." Perhaps if the source is
cited it will lessen the slightly cliche flavor of the line.
###
085697SS
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
10/27/89
10/30/89 4:00 PM
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: MALCOLM BALDRIDGE NATIONAL QUALITY AWARD
SUBJECT:
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
ROGICH
BATES
UNTERMEYER
ROGERS
CARD
WINSTON
CICCONI
DEMAREST
PINKERTON
FITZWATER
GRAY
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please forward any comments directly to Chriss Winston, Rm. 122,
x2930, no later than 4:00 PM, Monday, October 30, with a copy to
my office. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
C. Martins
Copy
Enlogy 7-30-87
woodburg Com
SCOTTISH POET ROBERT BURNS WROTE
"PRINCES AND LORDS ARE
BUT THE BREATH OF KINGS
AND HONEST MAN IS THE NOBLEST
WORK OF GOD
MAC WAS AN HONEST MAN.
FIT
HE NEVER QUITE ANY MOLD
You'd HAVE THOUGHT THIS SON
of over his those slm hips
EASTERN ^SCHOOLS
OF HOTCHKISS AND YALE WOULD FIT INTO AN EASTERN MOLD. NOT
SO
WITH HIS BUSINESS SUIT HE WORE THAT HAND TOOLED
PANT'S
CEVEN THEY COULDN'T KEEP THOSE DRODPY
BELT AND MASSIVE BUCKLE. HE RODE HORSES AND HE LOVED HIS
up PROPERT)
PLACE IN NEW MEXICO. HE FELT AT HOME WITH THE COWBOYS HE
NOVER
1+m an
FORGET
ROPED WITH ALLHIS LIFE
THE BROTHERS OF THOSE WHO SALUTED
THG
HIM SATURDAY NIGHT AT CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
TENNS
Ladio darly bay awking
@_ -2-
BLACK
The RIDERLESS BALCK HORSE MADE ITS WAY AROUND THE ARENA
Busk SUCCESSFUL
AND GROWN MEN WEPT
YOU:D "VE THOUGHT THE PRESIDENT
A.
OF SCOVIL MIGHT HAVE BEEN TOO BUSY AND TOO SUCCESSFUL TO
GIVE TIME TO COMMUNITY AND COUNTRY. NOT SO. NE WASIN IT
AROUND HERE RIGHT up TO HIS EYEBALLS- HELPING OTHERS
ONE TIME MAC TOOK ME BY THE WOODBURY VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPT.
WHERE MIDGE WAS AN ACTIVE MEMBER. THERE WASN"T A FIREMAN
IN THE PLACE WHO MIDGE AND MAC DIDNT LOVE AND VICE VERSA.
ANOTHER TIME WHEN WE WERE WORKING THE POLITICAL TRENCHES
IN SOME SMALL TOWN, ONE OF ITALY'S SONS ,NOW A DEDICATED
PRECINCT WORKER IN THE U.S. OF A TOLD ME
"THAT MAC
-3-
IS ONE CLASS SON OF A
" (YOU KNOW WHAT HE SAID)
THEN
HE ADDED ROSE AND I LOVE THE GUY. "
MAC STAYED FIT. BUT HE DID IT HIS WAY. YES HE RODE, BUT
DID YOU EVER SEE HIM JOG? IT WAS LIKE WATCHING GRASS GROW
BUT HE FINISHED STRONG
ALL THROUGH HIS LIFE HE FINISHED
STRONG
NO THERE IS NO SINGLE REASON WHY MACS SHOULDERS
WERE TOO BROAD TO FIT ANY PARTICULAR MOLD
IT WAS HIS ZEST
FOR LIFE, HIS LOVE OF FAMILY AND ALL PEOPLE, HIS SERVICE
TO HIS COUNTRY IN COMBAT, HIS PRINCIPLED LEADERSHIP AS SEC.
OF COMMERCE FOR 61 DEDICATED YEARS. IT WAS HONOR AND INTEGRITY
=4=
Macs word OF HONORE WAS AS GOOD AS A $20 GOLD PIECE
A
AND HE WAS STRONG GUY, BUT HE DINT HAVE TO RAISE HIS VOICE
TO PROJECT HIS STRENGTH
ON MEMORIAL DAY LAST YEAR HE
COAST
SPOKE AT OUR LITTLE CHURCH NEAR MAINES ROCKBOUND CHURCH.
1st Hand
HE TOLD A MOVING 1 STORY OF CONFLICTS OF WAR
THE AGONY
OF TAKING A LIFE, THE POSSIBILITY OF RECONCILIATION AND
FORGIVENESS. AS ALWAYS MAC DIDNT USE MANY WORDS
BUT
HE SAID so MUCH
HIS DAUGTHERS REVER HIM
MIDGE ADORED HIM
...
AND I LOVED HIM LIKE A BROTHER
THIS HONEST MAN WAS INDEED THE NOBLEST WORK OF GOD.
Davis/Martin
Oct. 25, 1989
Title: Award
1989 OCT 27 PM 2: 48
Draft: One
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: MALCOLM BALDRIGE NATL. QUALITY AWARD
COMMERCE DEPARTMENT
( (10 a.m.) ) Thursday, Nov. 2, 1989
((Acknowledgements)
In just a few moments, it will be my pleasure to bestow an
award named after a great public servant and a very close and
dear friend -- the late Malcolm Baldrige.
You would never have known it from his friendly, easy-going
manner, but Malcolm was a perfectionist, in word and deed. As a
leader in business, Malcolm strived for quality products; as
Commerce Secretary, for quality in public policies. Even the
language of his memos was lean and exact.
Like all perfectionists, Malcolm Baldrige knew that
perfection is not attainable. Rather, it is a never ending quest
for the unattainable. His life was such a quest, one that leaves
us with a profound insight: A truly successful man or woman is
someone who has served others.
((Baldrige quotes to come) )
Companies, like people, also succeed or fail to the extent
to which they provide service. This is true for the humblest mom
and pop operation and the largest corporation alike.
The improvement of quality in products and service is a
national priority as never before. In recent years, Americans
2
have felt the sting of fierce new competition on a global scale.
And after the initial shock, we have learned to take foreign
competition -- not as an excuse to close doors and raise
protective barriers -- but as an incentive to renew our
commitment to excellence.
American managers have reconsidered every time-honored
belief, every traditional practice, every customary procedure.
They have embraced what works, and rejected the rest. They have
studied examples of innovation from home and abroad, and adopted
only the best. And we now know the result of this historic
reassessment: When it comes to meeting the competition, America
is back in business.
We are here today to honor two companies that are leading
this resurgence in American business leadership. Most companies
catch unmitigated hell from the competition. But these two
companies are in the lead because no competitor gave them a
tougher time than they gave themselves.
Of course, in business, success is its own reward. Yet all
American firms benefit by having a standard of excellence to
imitate, match and perhaps one day to surpass. For in 1989,
there can be no higher standard of quality management than those
provided by the winners of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality
Award -- the Smith and the Jones Companies.
Both of these manufacturing firms were well-established
leaders in their markets. Yet both were being steadily squeezed
out by intense foreign and domestic competition. In the midst of
3
this crisis, the men and women of these companies found within
themselves the will to make a painstaking reassessment; and the
drive to win back their share of the market.
Both companies started down this path of reassessment with a
simple premise: there is only one definition of quality -- the
customer's definition. And then they proceeded from this one
premise to restructure their production and marketing plans.
Sounds simple. But I know, as a former businessman myself, how
difficult it is to restructure a firm, top-to-bottom. In fact,
to tell you the truth, it's impossible.
Today's winners learned that it is possible for a firm to
restructure itself only from the bottom, up. They know that a
company can no longer afford to regard employees as automatons in
a production line. They know that a company must rely on the
intelligence, judgment and good character of the people it
employs.
Kidding aside, there are as many successful forms of
management as there are successful companies. But for these two
companies, success came when they developed their human, as well
as their technological, potential.
Smith, for example, is a long-time manufacturer. But it's
management style is sheer 21st Century. Smith scrapped the old
management hierarchy, in favor of what they call a "flat
management structure." ( (Good thing they're not a tire
company. )) Smith even gave a new title to its employees,
calling them "associates." This is no hollow accolade from
4
public relations. Every Smith employee truly is an associate.
In fact, any Smith worker has the power to halt the production
line if he or she detects a problem in quality or safety.
Our other winner takes a similar approach with its ((company
logo to come)) philosophy. Jones employees are given the
authority they need to make day-to-day decisions. They are, the
company says, expected to take the initiative in finding and
fixing problems. And they do. While every manager works, every
worker is managing.
One of the best things about this award, is that it allows
successful companies to share what they have learned; to set an
example. Many firms will learn a great deal from their example.
Others will need to follow their own path. But one lesson is
applicable to all: quality products and service is no accident.
It is the result of a certain can-do, no-excuses attitude -- an
aggressive impatience with the status quo -- even in the best of
times. It is this attitude, more than anything else, that is
responsible for the creation of wealth and jobs we have seen in
the last seven years.
In these years, our total national wealth has grown by
almost a third. We have created more than twenty million new
jobs. And we are still enjoying the rewards of what has proven
to be the longest peacetime expansion in American history.
Given the right policies -- and a reduced capital gains tax
would certainly be one -- this expansion will continue. And
given the right tools, the American people can reach even greater
5
heights. The potential of this nation is as boundless as the
imagination and drive of the American people. All we have to do
for our citizens is what these two companies have done for their
employees -- give them the freedom to do what they do best.
Freedom to imagine. Freedom to create. Freedom to excel.
Our winners had such freedom, and they made the most of it.
I give my heartiest congratulations to them. Thank you, God
bless you and God bless America.
#
#
#
085697SS
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
10/27/89
10/30/89 4:00 PM
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: MALCOLM BALDRIDGE NATIONAL QUALITY AWARD
SUBJECT:
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
ROGICH
BATES
UNTERMEYER
CARD
ROGERS
WINSTON
CICCONI
DEMAREST
PINKERTON
FITZWATER
GRAY
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please forward any comments directly to Chriss Winston, Rm. 122,
x2930, no later than 4:00 PM, Monday, October 30, with a copy to
my office. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
OK
89 OCT 30 89 OCT 30 P3:21
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
Davis/Martin
Oct. 25, 1989
Title: Award
1989 OCT 27 PM 2: 48
Draft: One
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: MALCOLM BALDRIGE NATL. QUALITY AWARD
COMMERCE DEPARTMENT
( (10 a.m.) ) Thursday, Nov. 2, 1989
((Acknowledgements) )
In just a few moments, it will be my pleasure to bestow an
award named after a great public servant and a very close and
dear friend -- the late Malcolm Baldrige.
You would never have known it from his friendly, easy-going
manner, but Malcolm was a perfectionist, in word and deed. As a
leader in business, Malcolm strived for quality products; as
Commerce Secretary, for quality in public policies. Even the
language of his memos was lean and exact.
Like all perfectionists, Malcolm Baldrige knew that
perfection is not attainable. Rather, it is a never ending quest
for the unattainable. His life was such a quest, one that leaves
us with a profound insight: A truly successful man or woman is
someone who has served others.
((Baldrige quotes to come) )
Companies, like people, also succeed or fail to the extent
to which they provide service. This is true for the humblest mom
and pop operation and the largest corporation alike.
The improvement of quality in products and service is a
national priority as never before. In recent years, Americans
2
have felt the sting of fierce new competition on a global scale.
And after the initial shock, we have learned to take foreign
competition -- not as an excuse to close doors and raise
protective barriers -- but as an incentive to renew our
commitment to excellence.
American managers have reconsidered every time-honored
belief, every traditional practice, every customary procedure.
They have embraced what works, and rejected the rest. They have
studied examples of innovation from home and abroad, and adopted
only the best. And we now know the result of this historic
reassessment: When it comes to meeting the competition, America
is back in business. \\
We are here today to honor two companies that are leading
this resurgence in American business leadership. Most companies
catch unmitigated hell from the competition. But these two
companies are in the lead because no competitor gave them a
tougher time than they gave themselves.
Of course, in business, success is its own reward. Yet all
American firms benefit by having a standard of excellence to
imitate, match and perhaps one day to surpass. For in 1989,
there can be no higher standard of quality management than those
provided by the winners of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality
Award -- the Smith and the Jones Companies.
Both of these manufacturing firms were well-established
leaders in their markets. Yet both were being steadily squeezed
out by intense foreign and domestic competition. In the midst of
3
this crisis, the men and women of these companies found within
themselves the will to make a painstaking reassessment; and the
drive to win back their share of the market.
Both companies started down this path of reassessment with a
simple premise: there is only one definition of quality -- the
customer's definition. And then they proceeded from this one
premise to restructure their production and marketing plans.
Sounds simple. But I know, as a former businessman myself, how
difficult it is to restructure a firm, top-to-bottom. In fact,
to tell you the truth, it's impossible.
Today's winners learned that it is possible for a firm to
restructure itself only from the bottom, up. They know that a
company can no longer afford to regard employees as automatons in
a production line. They know that a company must rely on the
intelligence, judgment and good character of the people it
employs.
Kidding aside, there are as many successful forms of
management as there are successful companies. But for these two
companies, success came when they developed their human, as well
as their technological, potential.
Smith, for example, is a long-time manufacturer. But it's
management style is sheer 21st Century. Smith scrapped the old
management hierarchy, in favor of what they call a "flat
management structure." ( (Good thing they're not a tire
company. ))\\ Smith even gave a new title to its employees,
calling them "associates." This is no hollow accolade from
4
public relations. Every Smith employee truly is an associate.
In fact, any Smith worker has the power to halt the production
line if he or she detects a problem in quality or safety.
Our other winner takes a similar approach with its ( (company
logo to come)) philosophy. Jones employees are given the
authority they need to make day-to-day decisions. They are, the
company says, expected to take the initiative in finding and
fixing problems. And they do. While every manager works, every
worker is managing.
One of the best things about this award, is that it allows
successful companies to share what they have learned; to set an
example. Many firms will learn a great deal from their example.
Others will need to follow their own path. But one lesson is
applicable to all: quality products and service is no accident.
It is the result of a certain can-do, no-excuses attitude -- an
aggressive impatience with the status quo -- even in the best of
times. It is this attitude, more than anything else, that is
responsible for the creation of wealth and jobs we have seen in
the last seven years.
In these years, our total national wealth has grown by
almost a third. We have created more than twenty million new
jobs. And we are still enjoying the rewards of what has proven
to be the longest peacetime expansion in American history.
Given the right policies -- and a reduced capital gains tax
would certainly be one -- this expansion will continue. And
given the right tools, the American people can reach even greater
5
heights. The potential of this nation is as boundless as the
imagination and drive of the American people. All we have to do
for our citizens is what these two companies have done for their
employees -- give them the freedom to do what they do best.
Freedom to imagine. Freedom to create. Freedom to excel.
Our winners had such freedom, and they made the most of it.
I give my heartiest congratulations to them. Thank you, God
bless you and God bless America.
#
#
#
SECURITY AND OFFICE OF THE
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20503
NOTICE:
Enclosed are comments from staff members of the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB). Such comments do not necessarily
represent the official position of the Director of OMB or of the
Office of Management and Budget. If you wish to have the
Director's personal comments, please let me know -- and contact
me if you have any questions.
David J. Haun
Executive Assistant
to the Director
085697SS
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
10/27/89
10/30/89 4:00 PM
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: MALCOLM BALDRIDGE NATIONAL QUALITY AWARD
SUBJECT:
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
ROGICH
BATES
UNTERMEYER
CARD
ROGERS
WINSTON
CICCONI
DEMAREST
PINKERTON
FITZWATER
GRAY
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please forward any comments directly to Chriss Winston, Rm. 122,
x2930, no later than 4:00 PM, Monday, October 30, with a copy to
my office. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
See comments
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
Davis/Martin
Oct. 25, 1989
Title: Award
1989 OCT 27 PM 2: 48
Draft: One
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: MALCOLM BALDRIGE NATL. QUALITY AWARD
COMMERCE DEPARTMENT
( (10 a.m.)) Thursday, Nov. 2, 1989
( (Acknowledgements ) )
In just a few moments, it will be my pleasure to bestow an
award named after a great public servant and a very close and
dear friend -- the late Malcolm Baldrige.
You would never have known it from his friendly, easy-going
Mac
Dale 3080
manner, but Malcolm was a perfectionist, in word and deed. As a
mac
in
maller X3060
leader in business, Malcolm strived for quality products; as
Commerce Secretary, for quality in public policies. Even the
language of his memos was lean and exact mac
But, ?
C
Like all perfectionists, Malcolm Baldrige knew that
molen
reaching
x3060
perfection is not attainable. Rather, it is a never-ending quest
just
And an an Examination of that life
for the unattainable. His life was such a quest one that leaves
us with a profound insight: A truly successful man or woman is
someone who has served others.
( (Baldrige quotes to come) )
are successful only
Companies, like people, also succeed or fail to the extent
more x3.60
all businesses, from
to which they provide service. This is true for ^ the humblest mom
and pop operation and the largest corporation alike.
Mollin
^
X3.00
The improvement of quality in products and service is a
national priority as never before. In recent years, Americans
2
have felt the sting of fierce new competition on a global scale.
See
molling
And fter the initial shock we have learned to take) foreign
X3060
competition -- not as an excuse to close doors and raise
protective barriers -- but as an incentive to renew our
commitment to excellence.
American managers have reconsidered every time-honored
belief, every traditional practice, every customary procedure.
They have embraced what works, and rejected the rest. They have
studied examples of innovation from home and abroad, and adopted
only the best. And we now know the result of this historic
reassessment: When it comes to meeting the competition, America
is back in business. \\
We are here today to honor two companies that are leading
this resurgence in American business leadership. Most companies
Malein
get a tough time
[catch unmitigated hell] from the competition. But these two
x3060
companies are in the lead because no competitor gave them a
tougher time than they gave themselves.
Of course, in business, success is its own reward. Yet all
American firms benefit by having a standard of excellence to
Mallin
imitate) match and perhaps one day to surpass. For in 1989,
X3060
there can be no higher standard of quality management than those
provided by the winners of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality
Award -- the Smith and the Jones Companies.
Both of these manufacturing firms were well-established
leaders in their markets. Yet both were being steadily squeezed
out by intense foreign and domestic competition. In the midst of
3
this crisis, the men and women of these companies found within
themselves the will to make a painstaking reassessment and the
mall
X3060
drive to win back their share of the market.
Both companies started down this path of reassessment with a
simple premise: there is only one definition of quality -- the
customer's definition. And then they proceeded from this one
premise to restructure their production and marketing plans.
Sounds simple. But I know, as a former businessman myself, how
difficult it is to restructure a firm, top-to-bottom. In fact,
to tell you the truth, it's impossible.
Today's winners learned that it is possible for a firm to
restructure itself only from the bottom, up. They know that a
company can no longer afford to regard employees as automatons in
a production line. They know that a company must rely on the
intelligence, judgment and good character of the people it
(Wherer
employs.
the Paragraph previous
?
Kidding aside there are as many successful forms of
management as there are successful companies. But for these two
companies, success came when they developed their human, as well
as their technological, potential.
Smith, for example is a long-time manufacturer. But it's
management style is sheer 21st Century. Smith scrapped the old
management hierarchy in favor of what they call a "flat
management structure." ( (Good thing they're not a tire
company. )) \\ Smith even gave a new title to its employees,
calling them "associates." This is no hollow accolade from
4
public relations. Every Smith employee truly is an associate.
In fact, any Smith worker has the power to halt the production
line if he or she detects a problem in quality or safety.
Our other winner takes a similar approach with its ((company
logo to come) ) philosophy. Jones employees are given the
authority they need to make day-to-day decisions. They are, the
company says, expected to take the initiative in finding and
fixing problems. And they do. While every manager works, every
worker is managing.
Molding
One of the best things about this award is that it allows
X3160
successful companies to share what they have learned; to set an
And,
example. Many firms will learn a great deal from their example.
Mollin60
Others will need to follow their own path. But one lesson is
in
applicable to all: quality products and service is no accident.
It is the result of a certain can-do, no-excuses attitude -- an
aggressive impatience with the status quo -- even in the best of
times. It is this attitude, more than anything else, that is
responsible for the creation of wealth and jobs we have seen in
the last seven years.
In these years, our total national wealth has grown by
almost a third. We have created more than twenty million new
jobs. And we are still enjoying the rewards of what has proven
to be the longest peacetime expansion in American history.
Given the right policies -- and a reduced capital gains tax
would certainly be one -- this expansion will continue. And
given the right tools, the American people can reach even greater
5
heights. The potential of this nation is as boundless as the
imagination and drive of the American people. All we have to do
for our citizens is what these two companies have done for their
employees -- give them the freedom to do what they do best.
Freedom to imagine. Freedom to create. Freedom to excel.
Our winners had such freedom, and they made the most of it.
I give my heartiest congratulations to them. Thank you, God
bless you and God bless America.
#
#
#
Davis/Martin
Oct. 25, 1989
Title: Award
Draft: One
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: MALCOLM BALDRIGE NATL. QUALITY AWARD
COMMERCE DEPARTMENT
((10 a.m.) ) Thursday, Nov. 2, 1989
((Acknowledgements) )
In just a few moments, it will be my pleasure to bestow an
award named after a great public servant and a very close and
dear friend -- the late Malcolm Baldrige.
You would never have known it from his friendly, easy-going
manner, but Malcolm was a perfectionist, in word and deed. As a
leader in business, Malcolm strived for quality products; as
Commerce Secretary, for quality in public policies. Even the
language of his memos was lean and exact.
Like all perfectionists, Malcolm Baldrige knew that
perfection is not attainable. Rather, it is a never ending quest
for the unattainable. His life was such a quest, one that leaves
us with a profound insight: A truly successful man or woman is
someone who has served others.
((Baldrige quotes to come))
Companies, like people, also succeed or fail to the extent
to which they provide service. This is true for the humblest mom
and pop operation and the largest corporation alike.
The improvement of quality in products and service is a
national priority as never before. In recent years, Americans
2
have felt the sting of fierce new competition on a global scale.
And after the initial shock, we have learned to take foreign
competition -- not as an excuse to close doors and raise
protective barriers -- but as an incentive to renew our
commitment to excellence.
American managers have reconsidered every time-honored
belief, every traditional practice, every customary procedure.
They have embraced what works, and rejected the rest. They have
studied examples of innovation from home and abroad, and adopted
only the best. And we now know the result of this historic
reassessment: When it comes to meeting the competition, America
is back in business.
We are here today to honor two companies that are leading
this resurgence in American business leadership. Most companies
catch unmitigated hell from the competition. But these two
companies are in the lead because no competitor gave them a
tougher time than they gave themselves.
Of course, in business, success is its own reward. Yet all
American firms benefit by having a standard of excellence to
imitate, match and perhaps one day to surpass. For in 1989,
there can be no higher standard of quality management than those
provided by the winners of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality
Award -- the Smith and the Jones Companies.
Both of these manufacturing firms were well-established
leaders in their markets. Yet both were being steadily squeezed
out by intense foreign and domestic competition. In the midst of
3
this crisis, the men and women of these companies found within
themselves the will to make a painstaking reassessment; and the
drive to win back their share of the market.
Both companies started down this path of reassessment with a
simple premise: there is only one definition of quality -- the
customer's definition. And then they proceeded from this one
premise to restructure their production and marketing plans.
Sounds simple. But I know, as a former businessman myself, how
difficult it is to restructure a firm, top-to-bottom. In fact,
to tell you the truth, it's impossible.
Today's winners learned that it is possible for a firm to
restructure itself only from the bottom, up. They know that a
company can no longer afford to regard employees as automatons in
a production line. They know that a company must rely on the
intelligence, judgment and good character of the people it
employs.
Kidding aside, there are as many successful forms of
management as there are successful companies. But for these two
companies, success came when they developed their human, as well
as their technological, potential.
Smith, for example, is a long-time manufacturer. But it's
management style is sheer 21st Century. Smith scrapped the old
management hierarchy, in favor of what they call a "flat
management structure." ( (Good thing they're not a tire
company. )) Smith even gave a new title to its employees,
calling them "associates." This is no hollow accolade from
4
public relations. Every Smith employee truly is an associate.
In fact, any Smith worker has the power to halt the production
line if he or she detects a problem in quality or safety.
Our other winner takes a similar approach with its ((company
logo to come)) philosophy. Jones employees are given the
authority they need to make day-to-day decisions. They are, the
company says, expected to take the initiative in finding and
fixing problems. And they do. While every manager works, every
worker is managing.
One of the best things about this award, is that it allows
successful companies to share what they have learned; to set an
example. Many firms will learn a great deal from their example.
Others will need to follow their own path. But one lesson is
applicable to all: quality products and service is no accident.
It is the result of a certain can-do, no-excuses attitude -- an
aggressive impatience with the status quo -- even in the best of
times. It is this attitude, more than anything else, that is
responsible for the creation of wealth and jobs we have seen in
the last seven years.
In these years, our total national wealth has grown by
almost a third. We have created more than twenty million new
jobs. And we are still enjoying the rewards of what has proven
to be the longest peacetime expansion in American history.
Given the right policies -- and a reduced capital gains tax
would certainly be one -- this expansion will continue. And
given the right tools, the American people can reach even greater
5
heights. The potential of this nation is as boundless as the
imagination and drive of the American people. All we have to do
for our citizens is what these two companies have done for their
employees -- give them the freedom to do what they do best.
Freedom to imagine. Freedom to create. Freedom to excel.
Our winners had such freedom, and they made the most of it.
I give my heartiest congratulations to them. Thank you, God
bless you and God bless America.
#
#
#
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
October 30, 1989
MEMORANDUM FOR CHRISS WINSTON
FROM:
ROGER B. PORTER
RBP
SUBJECT:
Presidential Remarks: Malcolm Baldridge
National Quality Award
The draft remarks look fine. We have two suggested changes
which we believe will improve the speech.
We recommend the last sentence of the first full paragraph
on page three be deleted. The sentence begins, "In fact, to
tell you Many companies are successfully restructured
from the "top to bottom". We also recommend the changes noted
on the attached draft in the first sentence of the second full
paragraph of page three be incorporated.
If you have any questions or we can help in any other way,
please let me know.
CC: James W. Cicconi
085697SS
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
10/27/89
10/30/89 4:00 PM
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: MALCOLM BALDRIDGE NATIONAL QUALITY AWARD
SUBJECT:
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
ROGICH
BATES
UNTERMEYER
ROGERS
CARD
WINSTON
CICCONI
DEMAREST
PINKERTON
FITZWATER
GRAY
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please forward any comments directly to Chriss Winston, Rm. 122,
x2930, no later than 4:00 PM, Monday, October 30, with a copy to
my office. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
and Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
Davis/Martin
Oct. 25, 1989
Title: Award
1989 OCT 27 PM 2: 48
Draft: One
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: MALCOLM BALDRIGE NATL. QUALITY AWARD
COMMERCE DEPARTMENT
( (10 a.m.)) Thursday, Nov. 2, 1989
((Acknowledgements))
In just a few moments, it will be my pleasure to bestow an
award named after a great public servant and a very close and
dear friend -- the late Malcolm Baldrige.
You would never have known it from his friendly, easy-going
manner, but Malcolm was a perfectionist, in word and deed. As a
leader in business, Malcolm strived for quality products; as
stet
Commerce Secretary, for quality in public policies. Even
the
language of his memos was lean and exact.
Like all perfectionists, Malcolm Baldrige knew that
perfection is not attainable. Rather, it is a never ending quest
for the unattainable. His life was such a quest, one that leaves
us with a profound insight: A truly successful man or woman is
someone who has served others.
((Baldrige quotes to come) )
Companies, like people, also succeed or fail to the extent
to which they provide service. This is true for the humblest mom
and pop operation and the largest corporation alike.
The improvement of quality in products and service is a
national priority as never before. In recent years, Americans
2
have felt the sting of fierce new competition on a global scale.
And after the initial shock, we have learned to take foreign
competition -- not as an excuse to close doors and raise
protective barriers -- but as an incentive to renew our
commitment to excellence.
American managers have reconsidered every time-honored
belief, every traditional practice, every customary procedure.
They have embraced what works, and rejected the rest. They have
studied examples of innovation from home and abroad, and adopted
only the best. And we now know the result of this historic
reassessment: When it comes to meeting the competition, America
is back in business.
We are here today to honor two companies that are leading
this resurgence in American business leadership. Most companies
catch unmitigated hell from the competition. But these two
companies are in the lead because no competitor gave them a
tougher time than they gave themselves.
Of course, in business, success is its own reward. Yet all
American firms benefit by having a standard of excellence to
imitate, match and perhaps one day to surpass. For in 1989,
there can be no higher standard of quality management than those
provided by the winners of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality
Award -- the Smith and the Jones Companies.
Both of these manufacturing firms were well-established
leaders in their markets. Yet both were being steadily squeezed
out by intense foreign and domestic competition. In the midst of
3
this crisis, the men and women of these companies found within
themselves the will to make a painstaking reassessment; and the
drive to win back their share of the market.
Both companies started down this path of reassessment with a
simple premise: there is only one definition of quality -- the
customer's definition. And then they proceeded from this one
premise to restructure their production and marketing plans.
Sounds simple. But I know, as a former businessman myself, how
difficult it is to restructure a firm, top-to-bottom. In fact,
to tell you the truth, it's impossible.
WHAT
WHEN
Today's winners learned that it is possible for a firm to
restructureSitself only from the bottom, up. They know that a
company can no longer afford to regard employees as automatons in
a production line. They know that a company must rely on the
intelligence, judgment and good character of the people it
employs.
Kidding aside, there are as many successful forms of
management as there are successful companies. But for these two
companies, success came when they developed their human, as well
as their technological, potential.
Smith, for example, is a long-time manufacturer. But it's
management style is sheer 21st Century. Smith scrapped the old
management hierarchy, in favor of what they call a "flat
management structure." ( (Good thing they're not a tire
company. )) Smith even gave a new title to its employees,
calling them "associates." This is no hollow accolade from
4
public relations. Every Smith employee truly is an associate.
In fact, any Smith worker has the power to halt the production
line if he or she detects a problem in quality or safety.
Our other winner takes a similar approach with its ((company
logo to come)) philosophy. Jones employees are given the
authority they need to make day-to-day decisions. They are, the
company says, expected to take the initiative in finding and
fixing problems. And they do. While every manager works, every
worker is managing.
One of the best things about this award, is that it allows
successful companies to share what they have learned; to set an
example. Many firms will learn a great deal from their example.
Others will need to follow their own path. But one lesson is
applicable to all: quality products and service is no accident.
It is the result of a certain can-do, no-excuses attitude -- an
aggressive impatience with the status quo -- even in the best of
times. It is this attitude, more than anything else, that is
responsible for the creation of wealth and jobs we have seen in
the last seven years.
In these years, our total national wealth has grown by
almost a third. We have created more than twenty million new
jobs. And we are still enjoying the rewards of what has proven
to be the longest peacetime expansion in American history.
Given the right policies -- and a reduced capital gains tax
would certainly be one -- this expansion will continue. And
given the right tools, the American people can reach even greater
5
heights. The potential of this nation is as boundless as the
imagination and drive of the American people. All we have to do
for our citizens is what these two companies have done for their
employees -- give them the freedom to do what they do best.
Freedom to imagine. Freedom to create. Freedom to excel.
Our winners had such freedom, and they made the most of it.
I give my heartiest congratulations to them. Thank you, God
bless you and God bless America.
#
#
#
Document NO.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
10/27/89
10/30/89 4:00 PM
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: MALCOLM BALDRIDGE NATIONAL QUALITY AWARD
SUBJECT:
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
MCCLURE
SUNUNU
NEWMAN
SCOWCROFT
PORTER
DARMAN
ROGICH
BATES
UNTERMEYER
CARD
ROGERS
WINSTON
CICCONI
DEMAREST
PINKERTON
FITZWATER
GRAY
HAGIN
REMARKS:
Please forward any comments directly to Chriss Winston, Rm. 122,
x2930, no later than 4:00 PM, Monday, October 30, with a copy to
my office. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
No
James W. Cicconi
Assistant to the President
6 € : Olv IE 100 68nd Deputy to the Chief of Staff
Ext. 2702
MALCOLM BALDRIGE AWARD / COMMERCE DEPARTMENT
10:30 A.M., THURSDAY, Nov. 2, 1989
THANK YOU SECRETARY MOSBACHER FOR THAT WARM
WELCOME. I WANT TO SAY A SPECIAL HELLO TO MIDGE
BALDRIDGE, AND OF COURSE, SECRETARY BRADY AND
AMBASSADOR HILLS. IT'S ALWAYS A PLEASURE To SEE
UNDERSECRETARY BETTI AND DR. BROMLEY. Dep Sec. Murn
I'M PLEASED WE ALSO HAVE WITH US SENATORS STROM
THURMOND AND JESSE HELMS, CONGRESSMEN SHERRY BOEHLERT,
DON RITTER, GEORGE BROWN, HOWARD COBLE, DOUG WALGREN,
AND CONGRESSWOMAN NANCY JOHNSON.
- 2 -
IN JUST A FEW MOMENTS, IT WILL BE MY PLEASURE TO
PRESENT AWARDS NAMED AFTER A GREAT PUBLIC SERVANT AND A
VERY CLOSE AND DEAR FRIEND -- THE LATE MALCOLM
BALDRIGE.
So LET ME BEGIN THAN WITH A FEW WORDS ABOUT MAC.
HE HAD A ZEST FOR LIFE, A LOVE OF FAMILY AND A LOVE OF
COUNTRY THAT WAS UNCOMMON.
- 3 -
HE WAS AN OUTSTANDING SECRETARY OF COMMERCE FOR SIX AND
A HALF YEARS. AND HE WAS ALSO AN OUTSTANDING FRIEND:
MAC'S WORD OF HONOR WAS AS GOOD AS A TWENTY-DOLLAR GOLD
PIECE.
BUT HE NEVER QUITE FIT ANY MOLD. THIS WAS THE
PRESIDENT OF A SUCCESSFUL COMPANY WHO SPENT A LOT OF
HIS TIME WITH VOLUNTEER FIREMEN. THIS WAS A SON OF THE
EAST WHO RODE HORSES AND LOVED HIS PLACE IN NEW MEXICO.
- 4 -
HE FELT AT HOME WITH COWBOYS, BECAUSE HE ROPED WITH
THEM ALL HIS LIFE.
You WOULD NEVER HAVE KNOWN IT FROM HIS FRIENDLY,
EASY-GOING MANNER, BUT MAC WAS ALSO A PERFECTIONIST, IN
WORD AND DEED. As A LEADER IN BUSINESS, MAC STRIVED
FOR QUALITY IN PRODUCTS; AS COMMERCE SECRETARY, FOR
QUALITY IN PUBLIC POLICIES. EVEN THE LANGUAGE OF HIS
MEMOS WAS LEAN AND EXACT.
- 5 -
((IN FACT, MAC HAD A SPECIAL COMPUTER SOFTWARE PROGRAM
FOR COMMERCE DEPARTMENT DOCUMENTS; ONE THAT
AUTOMATICALLY WEEDED OUT JARGON WORDS LIKE "IMPACTED,"
"VIABLE" AND "INFRASTRUCTURE". IT WAS A SORT OF GRAMM-
RUDMAN CUT OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.))
YET, LIKE ALL PERFECTIONISTS, MAC BALDRIGE KNEW
THAT PERFECTION IS NOT REACHING THE ATTAINABLE.
RATHER, IT IS A NEVER-ENDING QUEST FOR THE
UNATTAINABLE.
- 6 -
HIS LIFE WAS SUCH A QUEST, A LIFE WHOSE LEGACY LEAVES
US WITH A PROFOUND INSIGHT: A TRULY SUCCESSFUL MAN OR
WOMAN IS SOMEONE WHO HAS SERVED OTHERS.
COMPANIES, LIKE PEOPLE, ARE SUCCESSFUL ONLY TO
THE EXTENT TO WHICH THEY PROVIDE SERVICE. THIS IS TRUE
FOR ALL BUSINESS, FROM THE HUMBLEST MOM-AND-POP
OPERATION TO THE LARGEST CORPORATION.
THE IMPROVEMENT OF QUALITY IN PRODUCTS AND SERVICE
IS A NATIONAL PRIORITY AS NEVER BEFORE.
- 7 -
IN RECENT YEARS, AMERICANS HAVE FELT THE STING OF
FIERCE NEW COMPETITION ON A GLOBAL SCALE. AND WE HAVE
LEARNED TO SEE FOREIGN COMPETITION -- NOT AS AN EXCUSE
TO CLOSE DOORS AND RAISE PROTECTIVE BARRIERS -- BUT AS
AN INCENTIVE TO RENEW OUR COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE.
AMERICAN MANAGERS HAVE RECONSIDERED EVERY TIME-
HONORED BELIEF, EVERY TRADITIONAL PRACTICE, EVERY
CUSTOMARY PROCEDURE. THEY HAVE EMBRACED WHAT WORKS,
AND REJECTED THE REST.
- 8 -
THEY HAVE STUDIED EXAMPLES OF INNOVATION FROM HOME AND
ABROAD, AND ADOPTED ONLY THE BEST. AND WE NOW KNOW THE
RESULT OF THIS HISTORIC REASSESSMENT: WHEN IT COMES TO
MEETING THE COMPETITION, AMERICA IS BACK IN BUSINESS. 11
WE ARE HERE TODAY TO HONOR TWO COMPANIES THAT ARE
LEADING THIS RESURGENCE IN AMERICAN BUSINESS
LEADERSHIP. MOST COMPANIES CATCH HELL FROM THE
COMPETITION.
- 9 -
BUT THESE TWO COMPANIES ARE IN THE LEAD BECAUSE NO
COMPETITOR GAVE THEM A TOUGHER TIME THAN THEY GAVE
THEMSELVES.
OF COURSE, IN BUSINESS, SUCCESS IS ITS OWN REWARD.
YET ALL AMERICAN FIRMS BENEFIT BY HAVING A STANDARD OF
EXCELLENCE TO MATCH AND PERHAPS, ONE DAY, TO SURPASS.
- 10 -
FOR IN 1989, THERE CAN BE NO HIGHER STANDARD OF QUALITY
MANAGEMENT THAN THOSE PROVIDED BY THE WINNERS OF THE
MALCOLM BALDRIGE NATIONAL QUALITY AWARD -- MILLIKEN &
COMPANY AND THE XEROX CORPORATION.
BOTH OF THESE MANUFACTURING FIRMS WERE WELL-
ESTABLISHED LEADERS IN THEIR MARKETS. YET BOTH WERE
BEING STEADILY SQUEEZED OUT BY INTENSE FOREIGN AND
DOMESTIC COMPETITION.
- 11 -
IN THE MIDST OF THIS CRISIS, THE MEN AND WOMEN OF THESE
COMPANIES FOUND WITHIN THEMSELVES THE WILL TO MAKE A
PAINSTAKING REASSESSMENT AND THE DRIVE TO WIN BACK
THEIR SHARE OF THE MARKET.
BOTH COMPANIES STARTED DOWN THIS PATH OF
REASSESSMENT WITH A SIMPLE PREMISE: IN BUSINESS, THERE
IS ONLY ONE DEFINITION OF QUALITY -- THE CUSTOMER'S
DEFINITION.
- 12 -
AND THEN THEY PROCEEDED FROM THIS ONE PREMISE TO
RESTRUCTURE THEIR PRODUCTION AND MARKETING PLANS.
SOUNDS SIMPLE. BUT I KNOW, AS A FORMER BUSINESSMAN
MYSELF, HOW DIFFICULT IT IS TO RESTRUCTURE A FIRM, TOP-
To-BoTToM.
TODAY'S WINNERS KNOW WHAT IS POSSIBLE WHEN A FIRM
RESTRUCTURES ITSELF FROM THE BOTTOM UP. THEY KNOW THAT
A COMPANY CAN NO LONGER AFFORD TO REGARD EMPLOYEES AS
AUTOMATONS IN A PRODUCTION LINE.
- 13 -
THEY KNOW THAT A COMPANY MUST RELY ON THE INTELLIGENCE,
JUDGMENT AND GOOD CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE IT EMPLOYS.
THERE ARE AS MANY SUCCESSFUL FORMS OF MANAGEMENT AS
THERE ARE SUCCESSFUL COMPANIES. BUT FOR THESE TWO
COMPANIES, SUCCESS CAME WHEN THEY DEVELOPED THEIR
HUMAN, AS WELL AS THEIR TECHNOLOGICAL POTENTIAL.
MILLIKEN, FOR EXAMPLE, IS A 124-YEAR-OLD TEXTILE
MANUFACTURER IN SOUTH CAROLINA. BUT IT'S MANAGEMENT
STYLE IS SHEER 21st CENTURY.
- 14 -
MILLIKEN SCRAPPED THE OLD MANAGEMENT HIERARCHY IN FAVOR
OF WHAT THEY CALL A "FLAT MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE."
\\((GOOD THING THEY'RE NOT A TIRE COMPANY. ))\\
MILLIKEN EVEN GAVE A NEW TITLE TO ITS EMPLOYEES,
CALLING THEM "ASSOCIATES." THIS IS NO HOLLOW ACCOLADE
FROM PUBLIC RELATIONS. EVERY MILLIKEN EMPLOYEE TRULY
IS AN ASSOCIATE. IN FACT, ANY MILLIKEN WORKER HAS THE
POWER TO HALT THE PRODUCTION LINE IF HE OR SHE DETECTS
A PROBLEM IN QUALITY OR SAFETY.
- 15 -
OUR OTHER WINNER TAKES A SIMILAR APPROACH WITH ITS
TEAM XEROX PHILOSOPHY. XEROX EMPLOYEES ARE GIVEN THE
AUTHORITY THEY NEED TO MAKE DAY-TO-DAY DECISIONS. THEY
ARE, THE COMPANY SAYS, EXPECTED TO TAKE THE INITIATIVE
IN FINDING AND FIXING PROBLEMS. AND THEY DO. WHILE
EVERY MANAGER WORKS, EVERY WORKER IS MANAGING.
ONE OF THE BEST THINGS ABOUT THIS AWARD IS THAT IT
ALLOWS SUCCESSFUL COMPANIES TO SHARE WHAT THEY HAVE
LEARNED TO SET AN EXAMPLE.
- 16 -
((PERHAPS THESE TWO COMPANIES SHOULD MERGE. CAN YOU
IMAGINE It?\\ YOUR WARDROBE WOULDN'T JUST BE
COORDINATED;\\ IT WOULD BE COLLATED.))
MANY FIRMS WILL LEARN A GREAT DEAL FROM THEIR
EXAMPLE. OTHERS WILL NEED TO FOLLOW THEIR OWN PATH.
BUT TO THOSE WHO SAY THAT WE HAVE LOST OUR EDGE, THAT
THE DAYS ARE PAST WHEN "MADE IN AMERICA" MEANT "THE
BEST" -- I SAY: TELL THAT TO THE PEOPLE OF THE MILLIKEN
PLANT IN SPARTANSBURG. TELL THAT TO THE XEROX TEAMS IN
MONROE COUNTY, NEW YORK.
- 17 -
QUALITY PRODUCTS AND SERVICE IS NO ACCIDENT. IT IS
THE RESULT OF A CERTAIN CAN-DO, NO-EXCUSES ATTITUDE --
AN AGGRESSIVE IMPATIENCE WITH THE STATUS QUO -- EVEN IN
THE BEST OF TIMES. IT IS THIS ATTITUDE, MORE THAN
ANYTHING ELSE, THAT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CREATION OF
WEALTH AND JOBS WE HAVE SEEN IN THE LAST SEVEN YEARS.
IN THESE YEARS, OUR TOTAL NATIONAL WEALTH HAS GROWN
BY ALMOST A THIRD.
- 18 -
WE HAVE CREATED MORE THAN TWENTY MILLION NEW JOBS. AND
WE ARE STILL ENJOYING THE REWARDS OF WHAT HAS PROVEN TO
BE THE LONGEST PEACETIME ECONOMIC EXPANSION IN AMERICAN
HISTORY.
GIVEN THE RIGHT POLICIES -- AND A REDUCED CAPITAL
GAINS TAX WOULD CERTAINLY BE ONE -- THIS EXPANSION WILL
CONTINUE. AND GIVEN THE RIGHT TOOLS, THE AMERICAN
PEOPLE CAN REACH EVEN GREATER HEIGHTS.
- 19 - -
THE POTENTIAL OF THIS NATION IS AS BOUNDLESS AS THE
IMAGINATION AND DRIVE OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. ALL WE
HAVE TO DO FOR OUR CITIZENS IS WHAT THESE TWO COMPANIES
HAVE DONE FOR THEIR EMPLOYEES -- GIVE THEM THE FREEDOM
TO DO WHAT THEY DO BEST. FREEDOM TO IMAGINE. FREEDOM
TO CREATE. FREEDOM TO EXCEL.
- 20 - -
OUR WINNERS HAD SUCH FREEDOM, AND THEY MADE THE
MOST OF IT. I GIVE MY HEARTIEST CONGRATULATIONS TO
THEM. THANK YOU, GOD BLESS YOU AND GOD BLESS AMERICA.
###