In an earlier blog, I introduced you to Arnie Weimerskirch, a former vice president of corporate quality at Honeywell and the former chair of the Baldrige Judges Panel. I recently had lunch with him and learned how he got involved with the Baldrige Program and how it influenced his career. I think it’s a story worth sharing (with his permission).

The business environment in 1990

According to Weimerskirch, in 1989 and 1990 Honeywell Inc. was seen as a good company with a lot of potential, but it was consistently underperforming financially. Hence, it was always a takeover target for other companies. At that time, each business unit within the company was independent, with a very decentralized organizational operating system. Honeywell pursued various cost-cutting approaches, including “right-sizing.” As director of quality, Weimerskirch was part of the corporate staff and very vulnerable in the decentralized system.

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