Several years ago KCHC was a budding star in the overall Kimberly-Clark business portfolio. Projected high sales and profit-growth rates, a function of organic business growth in the North American and international markets, coupled with plans for selected acquisitions in related businesses, painted a bright picture. However, the performance of the past year had not lived up to the advanced billing. With two months remaining in the year, the organization would not meet budgeted targets for net sales and operating profit for the second straight year. To make matters worse, the forecast for the coming year looked even more discouraging with relatively flat sales projection and continued erosion in profit, all caused by rising input costs and an increasingly competitive marketplace.