Here's What's Next: Textron Six Sigma In the preceding pages, we highlighted examples of how we are strengthening our business mix and more fully leveraging the power of our enterprise with an ultimate goal of better meeting the needs of our customers. The next step is Textron Six Sigma, a company-wide approach to improving our processes and delighting our customers through improved enterprise excellence. Textron's unique Six Sigma model is a comprehensive, common set of tools and techniques rigorously applied to all operating and functional areas to eliminate waste, reduce variability, and accelerate growth and innovation. While the concept of Six Sigma is not new, our unique combination of best practices and powerful methodologies into a single, holistic approach makes Textron Six Sigma the most important improvement process at Textron. Early business unit efforts provide a strong foundation from which Textron Six Sigma will be vigorously deployed. Textron Six Sigma begins with the understanding that while most companies measure their average performance, customer experiences are shaped not by the averages, but by variances - the occasions when a product or service doesn't meet quality expectations. Textron Six Sigma also applies Lean Manufacturing principles to help eliminate waste and it provides a framework to better understand and translate customer requirements into the design of innovative products and services. We are laying the groundwork for Textron Six Sigma by identifying many of our best and brightest leaders to spearhead our effort. Initially, 225 specially trained full-time "Black Belts" will implement Textron Six Sigma throughout our organization. They will be trained to use a complete set of tools and will focus on projects that move the needle on our most critical performance measures. Simply, we expect Textron Six Sigma to play a crucial role in making each of our businesses stronger, while creating a unifying culture of enterprise excellence.