Reinventing

A CORNING researcher demonstrating

the flexibility of Gorilla Glass.

Excellence
How Corning used quality to
maintain its legacy of
innovation for 160 years
In 50 Words
Or Less by Jim and Mary Beth Buckman
• Corning, a glass and
ceramics manufacturer,
fell into a deep slump in
the early 2000s after an
uptick in globalization One of the first organizations in the United States
and the organization’s
legendary quality advan- to institutionalize R&D as a key business strategy, Corn-
tage dissipated.
ing is renowned for innovation. In 1879—an era when light
• The organization
returned to profitabil- bulbs were blown by skilled craftsman—Corning presented
ity and reclaimed its
stronghold after renew- Thomas Edison with a bulb-shaped glass encasement and a
ing its commitment
to quality and adding
manufacturing process that would make electric light afford-
rigor to its innovation able for family homes. Years later, Corning created bulbs for
process.
the cathode ray tubes used in the first televisions.1
 innovation

Headline Goes
In This Area
Deck goes here
by Author Name

In 50 Words First three words are Vectora Bold 18 pt all

Or Less cap. Ullamet iustrud dipit nulla alit nonsecte modolenibh eum
• Text for 50 words or
less is Vectora Roman
at, quat. Ibh eui ea faccumsan henim atue magna faccum quat.
(All photos courtesy of Corning)
9 on 11 with hanging Odolortio odo dolor alit ipis at, con utatuer ad tat luptatumsan
indents.
• Text for 50 words or enissecte molendrem iriure er acil eu feum eummolobor iurem
less isCorning’s Gorilla Glass makes touchscreens on smart-
Vectora Roman
9 on 11 with hanging
er sim quatet illa facidunt wisi.
phones, tablets, notebooks and televisions damage-resis-
indents. Gait nullam quat. Ut inibh ero ex exerostrud tat nos autet ex
tant.
• Text for Its optical
50 words or fiber and cable connection systems link
less is Vectora Roman ea feugiat iusto consed tatie dolorper iril utat etueraessis ex
9people
on 11 withand businesses worldwide. It innovates and manu-
hanging
indents. eugiamc onulpute modoloreet lum augueril dit vulputem venit,
factures products
• Text for 50 words or
for the health and environmental indus-
sit nulput ut voloborper illa feum vendrer cincipi sisit, conse
tries.
less SomeRoman
is Vectora of Corning’s specialized offerings include mir-
9 on 11 with hanging erciduis dolorperos nulputpatum dolor iusto odolore rciniat,
rors for state-of-the art telescopes and windows in NASA
indents.
se venis ad dunt lum ip ea facidunt ea am, veleniam volortinit
space shuttles.

2 QP • www.qualityprogress.com July 2013 • QP 35

 Corning doesn’t just dream up glass and ceramic
products—it also manufactures them. The organiza-
tion’s commitment to manufacturing what it invents
distinguishes it. It is one of the reasons Corning has
successfully served consumer and industrial markets
worldwide since it was founded in 1851.
Today, Corning, which is headquartered in its name-
sake city in New York, employs 29,000 people globally
and generated $8.01 billion in sales in 2012.2 Like all
legacy companies, Corning was not immune to market
forces and influences. But great companies survive
while poorly run companies fall by the wayside.
Operation: total quality
James R. Houghton, the great-great-grandson of the
organization’s founder, served his first term as Corn-
ing CEO from 1983 to 1996. In the early 1980s, Corning
joined other iconic U.S. organizations—including Mo-
torola, Ford, Xerox, Milliken, AT&T, P&G and Cargill—
in the pursuit of quality to increase stakeholder value.3
While the methods and concepts varied from one orga-
nization to another, there were four recurring themes:
1. Attack on all fronts. Everyone must be engaged.
2. Take a tactical approach. Small teams were used
to fix processes across the organization.
3. Be armed to improve. All employees learned and
used quality tools.
4. Practice top-down deployment. Total quality re-
quired total support of the CEO.
Houghton designated a top executive, Forrest
Behm, to run the quality program. Highly regarded by
his peers and a year from retirement, Behm analyzed
the task ahead and concluded:
• Achieving total quality would likely take longer than
Corning’s executives thought. Behm postponed re-
tirement and committed to Corning’s goal.
• The CEO must devote a great deal of time to ensure
the success of the quality effort. A view of Hough-
ton’s calendar revealed he allocated 25% of his time
to quality-related activities. “It was one of the hard-
est things I ever did,” he said.4
During the first half of the 1980s, Corning made
enormous strides toward total quality that continued
into the 1990s. In 1995, the organization received the
Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Its quality
journey continues today (see Table 1).
To earn the Baldrige distinction, organizations must
establish strong customer preference in the market-
place and demonstrate superior process excellence,
cost efficiency, yield and reliability. Organizations also
must demonstrate integration and alignment among
their business units and functions. They must be role
models.
Competing in a globalized world
Corning boomed until the early 21st century when it
became a maturing organization without any innova-
tive product hits on the horizon. What the company

Heritage of quality / table 1

Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4 Phase 5 Phase 6 Phase 7

1983 to 1985 1986 to 1989 1990 to 1992 1993 to 1998 1999 to 2002 2003 to 2011 2012 to present
Start up Break out World-class Quality Baldrige Performance excellence Performance
quality integration roadmap to values: execution and excellence values:
quality improvement collaboration,
execution and
improvement
Awareness Quality skills Introduce self- Quality built Performance Leverage contributions Accelerate use of
Quality training and assessment into business excellence of individuals and teams collaboration and
improvement tools process strategies groundwork laid Rely on quality tools to extend approach
teams Develop Realize greater Baldrige journey Relied on quality meet corporate financial across global
innovation customer begins foundation objectives operations and
Create businesses
corporate process satisfaction Telecom­ through historic Values to guide us
quality values Establish Improved financial munications highs and lows
Execution of excellence
customer performance development to differentiate us
and supplier Adopted ISO 9001
partnerships Improvement to sustain
leadership

36 QP • www.qualityprogress.com
 Innovation

once considered strengths proved to be challenges:

• The ballooning tech bubble. Corning experienced
an upward swing and introduced several product
lines, including fiber optics. Eventually, that market
became saturated with competitors.
• The quality advantage. This approach was be-
coming stagnant and no longer provided the cost,
speed and innovation necessary for the company to
continue prospering from innovations alone.
In 2002, Corning’s board took an unprecedented
step and asked Houghton to return to the organization
as CEO. When Houghton took back the reins, he be-
lieved it was necessary to examine Corning’s values,
strategy, culture and leadership.
For more than a century, the organization’s primary
strategy was invention and innovation. By manufactur-
ing a cornucopia of glass and ceramic products, Corn-
ing had acquired a wealth of diversified manufacturing
experience. Houghton not only decided that this strat-
egy was sound, but he also re-emphasized it. In difficult
financial times, he invested 11% of revenue into R&D.
By inventing products, Corning also had created
entire industries. Under Houghton’s leadership, the
company left many industries as it lost market share
to lower-cost competitors in an increasingly globalized
world.
Houghton asked himself, “Given all that we’ve in-
vented, why are we not the top manufacturing com-
pany in the United States?”5 In other words, why was
FOR 160 YEARS, Corning has operated within a culture of innovation and
Corning lagging despite its many inventions? was one of the first organizations to use R&D as a key business strategy.
A strategic problem was revealed in Houghton’s
rigorous review of Corning’s vulnerabilities. Corning’s Jim Steiner, senior vice president of specialty mate-
executives, who were tasked with examining the orga- rials, had met McCabe at a conference about quality
nization’s expressed values, found the legendary qual- renewal. He believed McCabe had the knowledge, con-
ity advantage wasn’t enough to maintain a competitive viction, reputation and vision the job would require.
edge. Houghton offered McCabe the job.
Quality had become less of a driving value in the
organization. As evidence of quality’s diminished im- Renewed commitment to quality
portance, the reporting structure for the quality office There were several imperatives under the performance
had changed to middle levels in the hierarchy. excellence initiative:
With Behm, the former quality director, having • Concentrate on cost advantage.
retired, Houghton needed to fill this critical role. He • Preserve the culture of innovation, enhance it and
turned to his senior leadership team for help in finding have it remain the guiding light of everything Corn-
the next leader of what would be called performance ing does.
excellence. To send a clear message about the impor- • Upgrade the continuous improvement system to
tance of quality, Houghton wanted the quality director best in class. Corning would integrate Six Sigma,
to report directly to him. lean, kaizen and statistical process control, and
The name that kept surfacing was Don McCabe. customize those approaches. Eventually, the new

July 2013 • QP 37
 system that fit its culture and values.
McCabe set bold goals and expectations, and used
cross-functional teams to leverage outcomes and ex-
pand the scope of quality. The Corning performance
excellence model in Figure 1 supported the organiza-
tion’s new definition of quality. Deploying the model
demanded a great deal of effort and resources, but it
was necessary to maintain the company’s innovation
culture.

Access and innovation

RESEARCHERS AT CORNING measuring the strength of Gorilla Glass.
system would be deployed across its vast, global
operation.
Like many organizations, Corning initially associ-
ated quality with product quality. Quality, however,
needed to evolve into a process that enhanced every
aspect of the organization, positioning it to lead in in-
novation, manufacturing and commercialization.
McCabe determined quality would be a strategic im-
perative. He recognized that great resources were al-
ready in place but that Corning needed to build on the
expertise of staff and develop a process management
Corning’s performance excellence ­
model / figure 1
Values to guide us
The next phase in Corning’s journey emphasized val-
ues, execution and improvement to meet financial
objectives. Using a small team, McCabe oversaw the
customization of Corning’s Six Sigma program and pre-
pared for an organizationwide expansion that would
provide all employees access to training and tools.
Over time, training materials to facilitate learning
would be uploaded to the company intranet and trans-
lated into eight languages.
Globally, 70% of Corning’s resources—both in man-
power and expenditures—are devoted to manufactur-
ing. One of McCabe’s first tasks was to transform man-
ufacturing operations using the following methods:
• Define, measure, analyze, improve and con-
trol (DMAIC). A rigorous, data-driven method
was customized for improvement. When a Corn-
ing team worked through the steps, tollgates at
the end of each phase tracked progress.
• Individual DMAIC (iDMAIC), An al-
ternative to the team-based approach, this
online application allowed one person to
learn about Six Sigma and apply the disci-
pline to a personal project. This approach

Quality • Integrity • Performance • Leadership • Innovation • Independence • The individual

enabled higher rates of learning, promoted
Six Sigma certification and avoided project
and meeting proliferation.
Collaboration Execution Improvement • Design for Six Sigma (DFSS). An
Improvement

To transform the way To differentiate us To extend our leadership

advanced Six Sigma tool, DFSS was cus-
projects

we work
Enterpreneurial business
relationships
Collaborative thinking
and behaviors
Real-time information
Customer and market New products and
tomized to form new and innovative
understanding technologies processes:
• Define, measure, analyze, business processes. Corning applied his
Integrated winning improve and control
strategies • Lean method to create new processes and to fix
• Design for Six Sigma
Global operational broken ones.
excellence Commercial processes • Lean. This manufacturing technique
improvements

acess and exchange

Integrate

Results oriented reduced waste and improved business pro-

Fast, flexible global individuals and teams
organization cess flow.
• Innovation. An innovation process was
developed to support new product and

38 QP • www.qualityprogress.com
 innovation

technology development (see Table 2).

Corning’s approaches to streamline manufacturing
processes using lean, Six Sigma, DMAIC and DFSS
produced dramatic results: high quality products and
low-cost production.
Many organizations struggle in applying Six Sigma
outside of manufacturing. McCabe organized a small
team to drive training, best practices, process improve-
ment and performance excellence. A three-pronged
approach that championed innovation, manufacturing
excellence and communication was used. This flexible
approach considered Corning’s underlying culture and
the organization’s vision and values, and promoted the
growth elements of innovation, investment and busi-
ness variability.
By 2011, 3,000 employees were trained in Six Sigma.
Performance excellence Champions were embedded
in each division of the organization and at every manu-
facturing facility. Nearly 1,000 formal improvement
projects were completed in 2011. Every year, Corning
employees complete 100,000 personal improvement
projects. On average, each employee uses perfor-
mance excellence tools four times a year.
One of the most telling examples demonstrating the
integration of performance excellence into its culture
involves an hourly maintenance worker. She used the
iDMAIC online application to rearrange cleaning carts
for greater efficiency and effectiveness, which not only
saved her time in doing her tasks but also fostered
pride in her work.
A FRESNEL LENS for the railroad industry from the early 1900s.
Performance excellence advocates at Corning know
different problems require different tools. The organi-
zation created a software package with templates, fact- marketing personnel to participate in improvement
driven examples and easy process steps for projects without being compelled to use ill-fitting tools.
that don’t require a high-powered approach. Instead
of impeding innovation and creativity, the company Another 160 years
found standardization enhanced it. It is possible to top 155 years’ worth of accomplish-
Corning catalogued and made available online best ments. In the past five years, Corning generated more
practices for more than 50 routine tasks in its market- profit than it did in the preceding 155 years combined.
ing department, including sales calls, proposal devel- It is evident Corning’s ultimate goal is be around for
opment, market analysis and forecasting. This allows another 160 years. Chasing short-term profitability at
the risk of long-term success
is simply is not how Corning
Corning’s innovation process / table 2 operates.
Corning’s renewed com-
Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Stage 5
mitment to quality and the ad-
Build Determine Test Prove Manage life
dition of rigor to its hallmark
knowledge feasibility practicality profitability cycle
innovation process allows the

July 2013 • QP 39
 innovation
CORNING’S HEADQUARTERS in Corning, NY. The organization employs 29,000 people globally.
company to better manage the life cycles of its inven-
tions and improve profitability and sustainability. The
performance excellence program allows Corning to
be a low-cost producer across their product lines on
a global basis. Over an eight-year period, performance
excellence saved Corning $1.5 billion.6
When Houghton took the helm of a fine old com-
pany in 1983, he used total quality to create great
advantages for Corning. In the last decade, Corning’s
performance excellence effort reshaped the company
and redefined quality as value creation. The value cre-
ation machine has served Corning investors, employ-
ees and stakeholders well. QP
References
1. “A Century of R&D,” Corning, www.corning.com/r_d/century_of_
research_development.aspx.
2. “Corning Inc.,” Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Corning_Inc (case sensitive).
3. Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras, Built to Last: Successful Habits of
Visionary Companies, 10th edition, Harper Business, 2004.
4. Interview with James R. Houghton, former CEO, in 2002.
5. Ibid.
6. Interview with Kristine Dale, director of corporate quality, in 2011.
EDITOR’S NOTE
This article was based on interviews conducted with James Hough-
ton in 2002 and with the following Corning executives in 2011: Don
McCabe, senior vice president, manufacturing and performance
40 QP • www.qualityprogress.com
excellence; James Steiner, senior vice president, specialty products; Kristine
Dale, director of corporate quality; and Roger Ackerman Jr., performance
excellence facilitator.
This is the second installment of the authors’ “Next Generation Quality
Leadership” series that seeks to explore the relationship between leader-
ship and quality. Read the first article about the Mayo Clinic titled “Improving
on Excellence,” which was published in the July 2012 issue at http://asq.org/
quality-progress/2012/07/quality-management/improving-on-excellence.
html.
JIM BUCKMAN is principal of Buckman Associates in Eden Prairie, MN. He
studied engineering at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. Buckman
is an ASQ member, Baldrige examiner and a certified Six Sigma Green Belt.
MARY BETH BUCKMAN is principal of Buckman Associates. She earned an
MBA from the Kotz Graduate School of Management at the University of St.
Thomas in St. Paul, MN.
More on
corning
Looking for more details on
Corning’s quality journey?
Scan this QR code to con-
nect to ASQ’s Knowledge
Center, which has a video,
instructor materials and
reading recommendations. You can also visit http://
asq.org/knowledge-center/case-studies-corning.html
to find these resources.