3M 2006 Annual Report Download - page 3

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To the outside world, what we do looks a little like magic.
Our people have an uncanny ability to see customer
needs and then meet them by drawing on 3M’s deep
pool of technologies – a pool supported by R&D-related
investment averaging more than 6 percent of sales.
We create entirely new product categories and breathe
new life into markets crying for reinvention.
George W. Buckley
Chairman of the Board,
President and Chief Executive Offi cer
It’s been called “the 3M effect.” But what may appear
to be serendipity or wizardry really is our very mindful
method of driving discovery and innovation. It’s fi rmly
rooted in our collaborative culture. Each day, we have
one thing in mind: to help customers succeed – at
home, in the workplace, on the go, around the world.
Harnessing innovation for your benefi t – that’s the
practical magic behind 3M’s success.
Working Our Magic 1
To our shareholders
I am very pleased by the many accomplishments of
the 3M team in 2006. It was a year in which we made
great progress toward inventing a new future for
ourselves at 3M, a future of faster growth and increased
competitiveness, while continuing to deliver superior
returns to our shareholders.
We are convinced that higher levels of value creation
for our shareholders are driven by higher rates of sales
growth, particularly while sustaining the higher levels of
ROIC for which 3M is well known. Importantly, growth
also enhances career opportunity for the people of 3M,
whose efforts are the primary drivers of our success.
In accelerated growth environments, everybody wins.