UPSIDE DOWN EXCELLENCE Quality that's simple Hey Reader We close our Paul O’Neill series this week. This was a five-part look at how one CEO transformed a company by doing the fundamentals exceptionally well. Our final theme: persistence. Let’s recap the framework we've built: Start with common ground. O’Neill chose safety because everyone could agree on it. Measure it. Data exposes progress and problems. Make it visible. Metrics seen become metrics understood. Align incentives. Celebrate the...

UPSIDE DOWN EXCELLENCE Quality that's simple Hey Reader We’re nearing the end of our Paul O’Neill series. Two more weeks, and the holidays are here. A fitting time to talk about alignment—because alignment is a leadership gift that keeps paying dividends. O’Neill anchored his entire approach to one value: Alcoa will be the safest company in America. It wasn’t a motto. It was the operational spine. Hiring, firing, processes, conversations—everything tied back to safety. The Mexico story: At a...

UPSIDE DOWN EXCELLENCE Quality that's simple Hey Reader Week 3 of Paul O’Neill’s Playbook: Make It Visible We’re continuing our study of Paul O’Neill (the leader whose approach 7x’d Alcoa in the 90s) and why his principles work far beyond safety. If you strip away the labels, safety and quality follow the same pattern: Understand what could go wrong. Create a plan to prevent it. Teach the plan. Audit the plan. Different department names. Same muscle groups. This week’s focus: visibility. Week...