Gianna Clark

Lately, there has been a lot of talk about Six Sigma. Believers tout stories of business success, unprecedented customer satisfaction and countless dollars to the bottom line. Naysayers point to near business ruin and cultural impacts that stifle innovation and growth. Whether you are an avid believer or a practicing naysayer there is one thing […]

I recently stepped into the elevator at our corporate office with a newly trained Green Belt. It was lunch time and the elevator was crowded. As the doors closed the Green Belt, recognizing who I was, remarked with pride, “I just finished the SIPOC on my project!” A voice in the front immediately said, “SIPOC […]

With”The Discreditor” ranking a strong #5, “The Busybody” boasting the #4 spot, “The Egomaniac” landing #3, and the “The Whiner” grabbing #2, it’s hard to imagine who could possibly hold the #1 spot. Well ponder it no more, because this week it’s right here on the Blogosphere. The #1 position on the Six Sigma Most […]

With “The Discreditor” ranking a strong #5, “The Busybody” boasting the #4 spot, and “The Egomaniac” landing #3, our countdown of the Six Sigma Most Wanted List of naysayers continues this week with #2 – “The Whiner.” Mode of Operation (MO): This Naysayer complains about everything including Six Sigma. Six Sigma training is too hard or […]

With “The Discreditor” ranking a strong #5 and “The Busybody” boasting the #4 spot, this week, our countdown of the Six Sigma Most Wanted List of naysayers continues with #3 – “The Egomaniac.” Mode of Operation (MO): This Naysayer has been improving things for years and has fixed everything there is to fix. They don’t need […]

Last week “The Discreditor” took the #5 spot on the Six Sigma Most Wanted list of naysayers. This week, our countdown continues with # 4 – “The Busybody.” Mode of Operation (MO): Much too busy to be bothered with Six Sigma. Everyone is already working overtime just to handle the daily workload (which is probably crammed […]

Ever wonder which Naysayers hold the distinction of being on the Six Sigma Most Wanted list? With so many types of naysayers to pick from, it’s tough competition. But after two years and 44 Nayisms, your time of wondering is coming to an end because the “Top 5 Countdown” is about to begin. This week, […]

Last week I joined several of my colleagues in Chicago to participate in the Conference Board’s 2007 Six Sigma Leadership Conference. More than 115 Six Sigma leaders gathered to network and learn more about how companies are “Leveraging Lean and Traditional Six Sigma to Optimize Business Process Delivery.” Mike Kirby, Deputy Under Secretary of the […]

Ever wonder what kind of eggs would be found in a Six Sigma easter basket? Here’s what I say . . . Eggs-ceptional teams Eggs-citing projects Eggs-ponential ROI Eggs-traordinary improvements Eggs-hilarating challenges Eggs-treme customer satisfaction Hope your Six Sigma easter basket is filled with Eggs-actly what you need. Happy Easter!

Nayism 44: “What do you mean by asking my employees to spend an hour doing online Six Sigma orientation? You must be dreaming if you think I can afford to have them away from their job for that amount of time.” Will trying to get this naysayer on board be your next nightmare? How should […]

Nayism 43: Ever since we started deploying Six Sigma, everyone has been jumping around like they found the golden nugget. Don’t they know that golden nuggets don’t really exist? Hmmm. Sounds like this naysayer may have kissed the ’ole blarney stone one too many times. Believe it or not, the Six Sigma Pot O’Gold is […]

Nayism 42: Why does every department have to have their own Black Belt? Let’s just pick some people to be Black Belts, give them a job title, put them in a separate department and be done with it. Sound like a good idea? Here’s what I say. . . One of the most important aspects in […]

Nayism 41: “Six Sigma” is not for us. We’re past all the buzz words and latest fads. For various and sometimes unknown reasons, people shy away from Six Sigma because of the name. In fact, Six Sigma has become so popular that it could be the hype surrounding the name that turns them off. So […]

Nayism 40: The year-end financials are out and Company XYZ who is using Six Sigma didn’t do well. Looks like Six Sigma is looking more like Sick Sigma. It’s that time of year when Six Sigma naysayers turn to company year-end financial performance and try to lay blame on Six Sigma for companies that may […]

Nayism 39: Our organization is flat and has little turnover. There just aren’t any leadership positions available for Black Belts when they repatriate. Organizations with little movement might find themselves getting a little stale when it comes to repatriating black belts. Is there anything you can say to clear the air? Here’s what I say . […]

Nayism 38: Six Sigma doesn’t work. Just look at the Fortune 500 . . . yada . . . yada . . . yada. . . blah . . . blah . . blah After reading yet another Six Sigma bashing news article, I find it interesting that intelligent people are publishing the kind of […]

Believe it or not, naysayers all over the world are frantically writing letters to Santa. So what are they asking for? Here’s the top 10 list: Number 10: Two dozen “Just Say No” buttons. Number 9: Ten pounds of stinky cheese to go with their ‘whine.’ Number 8: A “Harry Potter” invisibility cloak to help […]

Nayism 37: Six Sigma touts a lot of benefits for the company but what’s in it for me? The answer to this question could be the turning point for this individual. Can you give them the right answer to their WIFM (What’s In It For Me?). Where do you begin? Here’s what I say . . […]

Nayism 36: “Six Sigma won’t work because. . .” As we approach Thanksgiving it is only fitting that we reflect on the things that we are thankful for. Believe it or not, I am thankful for Six Sigma naysayers. Yes – those stodgy, old school, dig in their heels, change resistant individuals who lurk the […]

Nayism 35: Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble, Send me a Black Belt on the Double. I have a problem and he needs to fix it! At first, this statement may not sound like a “nayism” but beware. Something is brewing in this organization and it is definitely trouble. Why? Here’s what I say . . . […]

Nayism 34: Every year our company sets unreasonable Six Sigma financial goals and we have to scurry around to find projects to meet them. It’s just too much for our organization to cope with. This is a common nayism heard in organizations with a culture of “business as usual.” Should they back off a bit […]

Nayism 33: Our department has had several Black Belts who completed projects that drove positive change but since they have been repatriated, it’s been business as usual. If this Six Sigma stuff was that good, why don’t the Black Belts keep doing projects once they return to the organization? Here’s a perfect example of how […]

Nayism 32: We’ve learned the tools, trained folks and made good progress with our projects but somehow Six Sigma hasn’t become the “way we work.” Exactly when, if ever, will the cultural transformation thing happen? Sounds like this organization is having a tough time changing old habits. Much like the latest weight loss fad, short-term […]

Nayism 31: “Of course I’m on board with Six Sigma. What’s not to like about it?” Fact or Fiction? Is this leader a genuine believer or a shrouded figure from the “dark side”? How can you tell? Here’s what I say . . . As spoken by the true master Yoda, “Find the answer to the […]