History

After the GE merger failed, Allied boss Larry Bossidy (already in semi-retirement) took back the CEO reins from Michael Bonsignore who, some think, didn't quite get control over the seemingly drifting corporation. Allied people were quickly brought in to take back control and Larry Bossidy hired David Cote, the hard-nosed TRW CEO, to put Honeywell back on track.

The "old" Honeywell had developed over the past century as a respectable, though plodding, Minneapolis-based company, with 3 main businesses - Aerospace (the largest segment), Home & Building products (best known for the round-wall thermostats) and Industrial Controls (TDC 2000 "distributed controls").

Before and during the GE fiasco, Siemens (the German giant) was reportedly fishing to buy the Industrial division (now called Process Solutions) which GE was ready to divest (since their primary interest was Avionics). But that sale never took place and the possibility has receded. The division is now a strong part of Automation and Control Solutions (ACS), the old Honeywell "red" (total $7.5B of which $1.8B is Process Solutions).

The NEW Honeywell Culture

Getting 114,000+ employees moving in the same direction, adopting the same values and behaviors and working like one cohesive team takes time and leadership. Building a new, fresh culture in a broad mix of corporate divisions takes drive and coordination, mixing in the cultural aspects that are unique to each business and driving new attitudes into every aspect of the total business. Dave Cote and his team have spent a lot of time and energy cultivating key initiatives throughout the entire corporation, and have remained laser-focused on them.

This "Honeywell Culture" review comes primarily from Jack Bolick and Roger Fradin, with some involvement from David Cote at the top. Together they are creating a unique customer-centric culture developed from Allied Signal, with Honeywell's best traits, and a splash of GE. Allied Signal brought financial and process disciplines, and strategic planning. Honeywell brought an innovative, engineering culture that thrives on customer results. During its exploratory involvement, the GE influence brought organizational strength and Six Sigma commitment. Honeywell is now reemerging with its own special identity and culture.

The new Honeywell is focused on 5 key initiatives: Growth, Productivity, Cash, People and the "Enablers". There are 3 enablers: Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing and Digital Works (corporate-wide digital initiatives to increase productivity and information flow).

The growth initiative has 4 pillars:

1. Each individual must do a superb job every day, focusing on Customers to provide quality, delivery, value and technology.
2. Building a superior sales and marketing organization.
3. Expanding globally.
4. Creating a set of robust, funded technology roadmaps for new products and services.

• Growth & Customer Focus
• Leadership Impact
• Getting Results
• Making People Better
• Championing Change & Six Sigma
• Fostering Teamwork & Diversity
• Global Mindset
• Intelligent Risk Taking
• Self-Awareness/Learning
• Effective Communication
• Integrative Thinking
• Technical or Functional Excellence

• People: Honeywell's people are its greatest assets. They recognize themselves as a global team of individuals, proud to be associated with Honeywell's heritage as an automation pioneer, with a common commitment to uphold that tradition. They take great pride in working among the best in the business, learning from each other, and delivering as a team.
• Integrity: When challenged with tough business decisions, Honeywell does not tolerate anything but the highest levels of integrity, for themselves and for all those around them.
• Customer-centric management: A lean, results-oriented culture that puts customers first. Managers are expected to spend at least 50% of their time with customers, or customer-facing employees.
• Global Operations: Honeywell people are all part of a global company that operates in 90 countries, respecting diversity, but sharing common values and vision.
• Metrics & Vision: Honeywell (each Division) has a set of metrics by which business performance is measured. This becomes part of the incentive plan, which ties back to the vision of the business. These metrics and vision are on display at all Honeywell locations throughout the world, reminding every employee that they are all headed towards a common goal.
• Quality Policy: Right the first time, every time - in all aspects of the business. Tools like Six Sigma help achieve that goal.

Industrial Automation

Roger Fradin insists that putting customers at the center of day-to-day discussions is a top priority of his. Honeywell has been around for 120 years and you don't survive for that length of time unless you put significant value around your customer relationships. Roger believes that customer responsiveness, cutting-edge technology, plus outstanding sales & marketing will drive growth for ACS. He is confident in business prospects and has no doubt that the customer-centric culture will drive results.

Jack Bolick joined Honeywell about 8 years ago; he was at Johnson Matthey Electronics when it was acquired by Allied Signal. He's just the kind of leader that makes things happen and gets results. He believes that his people should be able to count on him and his leadership team to state clearly what they want to do, and then do what they say. His results: When he took on the Process Solutions assignment, revenue was $1.65B; at the end of 2004 it's an $1.8B business, with 16% orders growth. Revenue grew 8% in 2004, and is expected to be $2.3B by 2008.

Within Jack Bolick's Process Systems Division, there are 5 initiatives to support growth:

• Taking care of the installed base.
• Expanding within key regions.
• Expanding within key vertical markets.
• Enabling knowledge transfer through differentiated sensors.
• Expanding services through domain knowledge.

Jack Bolick and I have developed a friendship through this exchange and, at 49, I would not be surprised to see him shoot to the top of Honeywell, or any other company he chooses, within the next decade.

My own sense is that a new and focused Honeywell has emerged from the turbulence of a few years ago. The company now shares common corporate vision, goals, ethics and initiatives. But each business also has some distinct cultural differences. Even within ACS there is a distinct cultural difference between various Honeywell divisions such as Process Solutions and say Sensing & Control (the old Micro Switch), or the Security businesses within ACS. This probably reflects the differences in the businesses, customers and markets served plus the legacy/history of the individual business units.

Long-term Honeywellers who have worked in various Honeywell divisions feel that Honeywell had retained many of its strengths - specifically the unswerving demand for integrity and attention to customers. And the new Honeywell does indeed have a refreshing, more open culture, with a lot more results orientation and recognition for those who get results.

It seems that 120 years of history allows for a few bumps and bruises along the way. But it's clear that the new Honeywell has healed, and the company now has the strength and determination to move forward, and to maintain and even expand its industry leadership.

Related links:

Honeywell ACS Leadership & Bios

Honeywell History - before and during the aborted GE merger

Honeywell weblog - provide your own comments & feedback