Mel Eaton brings a diverse background to his new role as VBSS champion for Motion & Flow Control. After receiving a bachelor's degree in accounting from Bentley College in Massachusetts, he worked in a variety of disciplines including manufacturing, finance, materials management and production scheduling. He joined Rule in 1989 and most recently served as champion for Jabsco and Hydro Air. Q: What are the main responsibilities of a management company champion? A: Our primary role is to establish a VBSS culture of continuos improvement within our Management Company. One of our priorities is to accelerate the rate of change in our processes that impact our customers. We work to ensure that improvement projects are aligned with the strategic and operating objectives of the value centers. And we concentrate heavily on breaking down barriers that impede progress. Q: What types of barriers exist? A: The most pervasive and intractable of all are the cultural barriers that prevent us from fully utilizing the skill sets our people possess. Q: What excites you most about your job? A: I love being part of the solution. I'm fond of saying that budget concerns may keep you up at night, but what gets you up in the morning are the tangible improvements you had a hand in. Whether it's streamlining a process, improving customer service or facilitating an acquisition, when you see your efforts moving the company forward -- that's a real motivator. Q: What will it take to engrain VBSS more deeply in the culture? A: ITT Industries does a good job on the technical side of VBSS, but we need to look more closely at the entire spectrum of leadership issues. How do we foster leadership skills? How do we strengthen interpersonal relationships so we can tap the ideas, expertise and enthusiasm our people have to offer? Add the leadership component to our impressive technical capabilities, and there's no limit to how far this organization can go.			Toppling "interpersonal barriers" is a top goal for Mel Eaton, new VBSS champion for Motion & Flow Control.