Whether it’s a Six Sigma deployment, a project, a training class or metrics, one variable stands out as the ultimate gauge of success: Business Line-of-Site. Yes, I meant “Site” not “Sight.” It’s more than just seeing the path to the destination. It’s about actively targeting it.

When you are passionate about something, it is easy to get wrapped up in the means versus the end. But the ultimate measure of success in any Six Sigma deployment is the ability to define how it has made the business better. It’s not about improvement for the sake of improvement or learning for the sake of learning. For example, you may have the most rigorous green belt training and certification program in the industry, but if the belts don’t understand how to translate what they have learned to make the business better then they are just ‘belts’ instead of masters of business improvement.

So next time you scope a project, develop metrics, or get ready to implement an improvement, remember, the question is always the same: “How will completing this activity make the business better?” It is your answer to this question that will determine if you are “on target.”