Kmart's Bright Idea  When Charles C. Conaway went to Kmart Corp.
(KM) last summer, he brought along a mania for performance-based
analysis. Today, it's hard to miss the point: Conaway's office
is dominated by a 20-foot-long mural upon which the CEO tracks
quarterly progress on nearly 100 restructuring initiatives, from
replenishing shelves to implementing price changes within 48
hours. Beside each project is the cost and benefit to date, plus
the name--and phone number--of the manager in charge. "It's the
ultimate accountability," Conaway says.  Accountability has been
in short supply for years at the foundering discounter, which
has seen one turnaround effort after another sputter out as its
chronically understocked shelves, tacky merchandise, and poor
service drove shoppers to rivals like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT)
and Target Corp. (TGT) The Troy (Mich.)-based chain racked up a
$244 million net loss for the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, on a
meager 3.1% sales gain, to $37 billion.  But Conaway, a 40-year-
old o