Sustainability has become a major issue for organizations and leaders that want to sustain the positive changes they have made through programs such as Baldrige, lean, and Six Sigma, but the truth of the matter is that they can’t. Such programs often flounder as soon as new leadership takes over or priorities change or new ownership assumes control.

I’ve written about the impact of leadership changes in “Leadership Matters Most,” citing the example of AT&T Universal Card Services, which was launched using the Baldrige model, climbed to second in the U.S. credit card industry in just 30 months, and then changed leadership and dropped to eighth over the next 30 months.

In “Keep Your Eye on Process Improvement” (HBR, August 18, 2010), Brad Power recounts the story of Allied Signal, which used Six Sigma in the 1990s to produce 31 straight quarters of earnings-per-share growth of 13% or more. Leadership changed in 2000 and 18 months later, the Six Sigma culture had essentially disappeared.

Sustainability of the positive changes associated with Baldrige, lean, and Six Sigma is not difficult if leadership and ownership don’t change, but such changes are inevitable. CEOs move on, quit, or retire. Companies merge or are acquired. So the ultimate sustainability question is: How can we keep the transformation going after those who led it are gone?

I see two ways this can happen. The first is to replace the leaders of the transformation with new leaders who fully support it. If the CEO is replaced by the COO who was personally involved in changing the culture, the transformation will continue unabated.

The second way is to establish a culture that compels new leaders to embrace it. A good example is the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, which won the Baldrige Award in 1992 and again in 1999. Simon Cooper took over leadership of the company in 2001 and has led a major expansion of the hotel chain, but he did not mess with the culture even though he had no part in developing it. The Ritz-Carlton sustains its competitive advantage because Mr. Cooper recognized that the culture he inherited was helping to produce the results he wanted to achieve.

Of course, even the strongest cultures can be dismantled if new leaders fail to see their value. In the end, sustaining programs such as Baldrige, lean, and Six Sigma does not depend on the results they produce: It depends on leadership.

To read more about sustainability, click on these articles:

• Sustainability: A Business Imperative
• Sustainability Forces Wheel
• What People Need to Hear
• 4 Parts of True Sustainability

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