When I took over as CEO of Microchip Technology in 1990, the Company was in dire straits. It was hemorrhaging money, its technology was outmoded, its factories were inefficient and the employees lacked morale. So many things were wrong with the company that I didn’t know where to start.
A parade of consultants marched through my office offering every kind of cure, from cycle-time reduction to process controls to outsourcing. All of the suggestions were valid, but there was no single cure for what ailed Microchip. I recognized that Microchip required an approach that would improve all aspects of the enterprise and involve every employee in the quest for improvement. But since no one could offer such an approach, it was up to us to develop our own model for reform.
I recruited the help of Michael Jones who was Microchip’s Organizational Development manager and later became VP of Human Resources. We designed, and with the help of Microchip’s outstanding management team, implemented the Aggregate System. The Aggregate System is designed to simultaneously improve all of a company’s business processes by aligning and uniting the processes and elements that lead to success. Rather than focusing solely on the manufacturing processes, business strategies or workforce, the Aggregate System is a big-picture approach that creates an exceptional business culture and a management model that institutionalizes and perpetuates improvement across the entire business.
Today, Microchip is a leader in the semiconductor industry. In the book Driving Excellence, Michael and I provide a practical and prescriptive guide to building a successful corporate culture that explains the origin and proper implementation of the Aggregate System. We relate the story of Microchip and its rebirth; how the Aggregate System works and the ten key elements of it; the foundations of a true values-based corporate culture; and, finally, how you can put it to work in your own organization.
Over the years, many people have asked me how we were able to turn Microchip from a failing spin-off of General Instrument into the success it is today. I am gratified to be able to share the methods we used, and am confident they will be effective for your company.