Magic Mirror on the Wall – Why did my deployment stall?

When companies deploy Six Sigma, most have a vision of what that will mean to the organization. It might be improved customer satisfaction, or shorter cycle time or better quality products, cost reduction, revenue growth or maybe achieving an overall culture of excellence. Whatever the vision, there is nothing more disappointing than finding out that after years of doing everything on the “deployment to-do list,” the benefits did not materialize.

Eventually the finger pointing will start. Were the projects not the right ones? Were the black belts not working fast enough? What about the metrics? Why have other companies been successful? Leaders will want to know the answer to these and numerous other questions all leading to them to the same ultimate question which is, “What is the secret to success?”

The answer is not a secret at all but only requires that the leader take a long hard look in the mirror. Yes, the mirror will show them who is ultimately responsible. It is them. Whether they like it not, the success of any Six Sigma deployment is a direct reflection of the leader’s passion and engagement. Why have they not seen this before now? Maybe they are vampires? I think I’ll save that thought for a Halloween blog.