The numbers speak for themselves: from the mid-1950s until 2000, Emerson Electric notched up 43 consecutive years of annual increases in earnings per share and 44 consecutive years of increased dividends per share—a winning streak that ranks among the longest in US corporate history. Such financial consistency, however, obscures the true nature of a company in a state of nearly continual change. Indeed, over this period St. Louis-based Emerson evolved from its regional roots as a maker of simple industrial components (such as electric motors) into a global provider of technology components and systems, including automated process controls, network power systems, climate control technologies, and even appliances and tools, as well as a host of related services.

Leading Emerson during most of this span of years was Charles F. (“Chuck”) Knight, the Cornell-trained engineer who became the company’s CEO in 1973 and its chairman in 1974. Knight retired as CEO in 2000 and served as chairman until 2004, when he was named chairman emeritus. Underpinning Knight’s management philosophy is a unique and singular belief in the power of process. A manager’s job, Knight argues, can be broken down into components that can in turn be optimized, planned, and controlled.^1...