3m
...of failure, Andy Wong will not be the only one held accountable. Also, it could be seen as a “well-intentioned failure.” 2. As Paul Guehler, would you approve the AFE if Wong sent it up to you? Guehler forced OS unit to go through a process based on established parameters to determine project viability and feasibility to ensure that the OS unit is developing profit generating opportunities. Once these requirements are satisfied, Guehler had an obligation to support the project, and provide the needed funding to relaunch the privacy screen. Therefore, if I was Paul Guehler I would approve the AFE if Wong sent it up to me. 3. How effective has Andy been as a front-line manager in the 3M context? How effective has Paul been as a 3M division president? As a front line manager in the 3M context, Andy Wong did well. In his management of the Optical Systems division he stayed true to the 3M philosophy. When he got to OS, he first identified the unit’s core technology and unique competencies and did his hiring around that. He used the network of specialists in the 3M network to research his options. Outside the 3M context just as a manager in any corporate structure, he was not too effective. He could not really make any decisive decision and actions. He made good operational plans but I doubt his ability to carry them out. The entrance of Noirjean is what in my view kept the unit alive for as long as it did. On the other hand, Paul as a manager in the 3M context did not adhere to the 3M philosophy. He did not give the OS team any flexibility in their operations. His approach to OS was very strict. In order for them to get anything from him they had to forfeit other things. However, judging his performance in a pure business environment he was doing a good job. This was a unit that had not showed any profit in years. They were a sinkhole in the 3M pocket. They had to prove to him why they should not be shut down. Therefore he had to make decisions as a businessman, not as a sentimental 3Mer. He made them focus on a particular technology and not go splashing all over the place. 4. What is it about 3M that makes it perhaps the most consistently entrepreneurial large company in the world? From its beginning in 1902 when miners invented waterproof sandpaper and adhesive tape to avoid going bankrupt, 3M has been a business developed on a strategy: to grow by inventing new products. The company innovates and moves quickly by aiming to do so. Its most important strategic goal each year is hitting the 30 percent new-product revenue target. New products means products introduced with in the past four years. The company funde...