LEADERSHIP MESSAGE BOEING FRONTIERS / DECEMBER 2013–JANUARY 2014 7 Tapping Boeing’s potential Boeing’s competitive advantage is its people— who do ‘amazing things’ Roger Krone As we approach our second century, Boeing faces major challenges. On the defense side, we are seeing reduced spending, fewer new programs and the need to provide more affordable solutions for our customers. Boeing Commercial Airplanes faces fierce global competition as it ramps up production on existing models and develops the next generation of fuel- efficient aircraft. These challenges create a significant opportunity to extend our aerospace leadership. Boeing possesses many advantages to address these chal-lenges. We have a strong core business in both our commercial aviation and defense sectors that allows us to leverage the power of “One Boeing.” We are transitioning from being a company that does business internationally to being a truly global company— nearly 60 percent of our revenue in 2012 came from outside the United States. The people of Boeing have created a tremendous portfolio of intellectual property and we are a leading technology innovator. Additionally, we are also taking aggressive action across the enterprise to reduce our costs and invest those savings in new products and capabilities. All of these competitive advantages flow from one source— our human talent. Within Boeing Defense, Space & Security, “People First, Cus-tomer Always” is one of our key strategic objectives. It advances an employee-focused culture, enabling personal and professional development, engagement, well-being, safety and community involvement as the building blocks for sustainable, long-term business success. Commercial Airplanes has a similar strategy. Recently, we recognized three teams across BDS as “People First Champions.” The teams—two from Boeing Military Aircraft and one from Phantom Works—comprise a diverse group of employees dedicated to finding new ways of meeting our customers’ needs. Whether focused on developing new tools to improve first-time quality, exploring new vertical-lift concepts, or identifying new main-tenance and upgrade procedures for fighter aircraft, these People First Champions are empowered to collaborate and find solutions. It is imperative we continue to move in this direction. First and fore-most, Boeing leaders and managers must view themselves as being in the people business. They must work to create an open and honest environment where different opinions are valued, teams are diverse and employee engagement is embedded in everything that’s done. Similarly, employees have a critical role to play in Boeing’s success. By executing flawlessly on current programs, employees help grow our core business and fuel expansion into new markets. We need employee input and ideas to reduce our costs and increase our competitiveness. Finally, we need employee involve-ment and support to improve workplace safety. The possibilities are astounding: Our ability to adapt to changing markets, innovate, collaborate across the enterprise, and produce first-to-market products—such as the 787 Dream-liner and the 702SP (small platform) all-electric satellite—stem largely from our willingness to empower our employees to “do amazing things.” Success stories such as these will drive new business and sustain jobs and career opportunities. Oftentimes, we look at technology or productivity rates as the source of our competitiveness. While these factors are important, the true source of Boeing’s competitive advantage is its work-force. An organization’s true long-term competitive advantage is its ability to react and adapt to change. At Boeing, this capability is embodied in the strength of our greatest resource—our people. Building a bigger, better Boeing—together—is something in which we can all take pride. n PHOTO: SALLY ARISTEI/BOEING President, Boeing Network & Space Systems, Boeing Defense, Space & Security
Frontiers December 2013—January 2014 Issue
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