I had Robert Stapp of OP•EX Direct Results Inc. on the Business901 podcast and we had a great discussion on performance improvement in general. 
We also discussed in detail, Hoshin Kanri aka Policy Development. This podcast is on this particular subject but before you start listening I have included a little background on the term.
The purpose of Hoshin Kanri is to make it possible to move away from the status quo and make a major performance improvement. Policy Deployment deploys top management policies and targets down through the organizational tree. At each level, the policy is not only implemented but translated into policies, targets and actions for the next level down. This way top management vision can be set into a coherent, consistent, understandable and attainable policies and actions that can be applied at all levels of the company and in all functions of the company.
When these actions and policies are applied, they result in the vision becoming reality – and a major and continuing improvement in performance. Hashin Kanri ensures that everyone in the company is made aware of the overall vision and targets with specific requirements for their own behavior and activities.
To listen to Robert’s take on this subject and a bio on Robert, please listen to the Business901 podcast.