Category: Blogs

Six Sigma started in our department slowly.There were many factors that played into this, but mostly staffing issues: 1. I only have a staff of student employees (from 8-16 per year).2. This staff is in a constant state of change.3. Students come with various skills, many with no math or business or technical background.4. Knowledge […]

As a sophomore and junior in college I heard about Six Sigma in my statistical analysis class. I despised the class, but was intrigued by applying its principles to business practice. Outside of class I read a few articles online and even picked up Peter Pande’s “What Is Six Sigma?” I breezed through the easy […]

I was recently reading a book on John Locke (1632-1704), a British philosopher considered by many to be the primary intellectual inspiration of Thomas Jefferson. I thought I’d share what he had to say about new ideas and achieving agreement because the parallels to modern change management are uncanny considering this was written over 300 […]

Benchmarking results consistently identify examples of Six Sigma success. Even so, getting “naysayers” on board is a continuous challenge. What do you tell them? Nayism 21: If a Black Belt likes what he or she does, why rotate them back into the organization? Why not let Black Belt positions be permanent positions instead of just […]

SixSigmaCompanies.com celebrates its first birthday today. I made my first poston this day last year. To celebrate I’d like to pay tribute to the short list of Six Sigma blogs and podcasts out there. There are only a handful of good Six Sigma blogs outside the iSixSigma Blogosphere. My definition of “good” is, written by […]

We’re at it again. Our latest podcast is ready to download. This podcast features an interview with Steve Walter,Global Talent Director for Ingersoll Rand, andmight I dare say the Seinfeld of Six Sigma. He emceed the Six Sigma Excellence Awards in Miami last month and brought some serious laughter to the Six Sigma crowd. I […]

Here is a Valentine’s Day Design of Experiments that is sure to make lovely conversation over dinner with your loved one. Written by Ravindra Khare, Three Romeos And A Juliet, is a story about the quest of three young men in search of the meaning behind the wink and the smile of a beautiful woman… […]

Benchmarking results consistently identify examples of Six Sigma success. Even so, getting “naysayers” on board is a continuous challenge. What do you tell them? Nayism 20: Why are black belts getting monetary rewards? The rest of us are working just as hard. Why should they be treated “special?” The topic of monetary incentives and rewards […]

The article Six Sigma, the Baxter Way at PharmaManufacturing.com features an interview with Allen Harmon, the director of operations at Baxter’s Biologics facility in Hayward, California. The question/answer session reveals details on how this Baxter facility is using Six Sigma and Lean in their operational excellence program. Noted in the interview, Harmon states that Baxter […]

Have you ever been sitting in a meeting listening to a discussion on a topic and wondered if you were in some sort of parallel universe where real issues are always subordinate to the trifling matters of the moment? Or maybe sat through a strategy session which ultimately added no value because of turf struggles […]

  The business of higher education today is just that—a business. It focuses more today on the bottom line and it is important to stay on the competitive edge for all of its customers—from the students and their parents to the faculty, staff, and donors, as well. The business of education also has a greater […]

It’s that time of the year again. The time of year when we all do a reality check on the job market — or more specifically — on the salaries ofSix Sigma Black Belts, Master Black Belts, Champions and Deployment Leaders. With now being the time of year when yearly bonus checks are being distributed […]

We just released the second iSixSigma Magazine podcast. This episode reveals a few of our findings from the “Knowing the Customer” research in the January/February issue. Visit http://www.isixsigma-magazine.com/podcast/to download or subscribe to the iTunes feed for automatic updates.

Most healthcare organizations have experienced some type of quality improvement program in the past. Unfortunately, many of these programs are implemented with little thought, planning, or expectations for success. These programs have created cynicism among many organizational leaders, which have caused these leaders to dispute the value of other quality initiatives. However, it is not […]

Philosophy has been my passion since I completed an undergraduate degree in the subject 15 years ago. Thankfully I had other skills so I was able to avoid the “do you want to super-size that value meal” world many humanities majors nervously joke about as graduation approaches, but I didn’t have much of a plan […]

Rudolf Giuliani, former Mayor of New York City, spoke to a large audienceof Six Sigma professionals on Wednesday, January 25 at the IQPC 7th Annual Six Sigma Summit in Miami, Florida. He gave the groupsound advice for developing leadership skills through six principles, each explained through stories from his own experiences. I’ve summarized a few […]

Benchmarking results consistently identify examples of Six Sigma success. Even so, getting “naysayers” on board is a continuous challenge. What do you tell them? Nayism 19: Our department is getting overwhelmed by all the Six Sigma training. I’m afraid that if you don’t back down, it will spark a “mutiny.” Sounds like this “crew” has […]

iSixSigma invites you to listen to the first iSixSigma Magazine Podcast, downloadable at http://www.isixsigma-magazine.com/podcast/. The iSixSigma Magazine podcastsfeature notable results fromthe research study in each issue as well as interviews with Six Sigmapractitioners and commentary on Six Sigma. For those new to podcasting, a podcast is an audio file published to the internet andusuallyaccessed by […]

IQPC Six Sigma Summit 2006: Day 2 Gianna Clark, Managing Director Six Sigma, Dominion Gianna Clark is full of energy! Her presentation entitled “Maintaining Six Sigma Momentum, Recipe for Success” was indeed a recipe with real ingredients and instructions to baking up Six Sigma success. The staple ingredients are: Projects, Engagement, Metrics, and Sponsorship. With […]

In fact changing environments, Six Sigma projects with typical lead times are perceived as slow. It might lead to disbelief in the methodology in the organization. Typical well lead projects go through a toll gate review, facilitated by the black belt, and with participation of (at least) the project champion, project sponsor and project team […]

IQPC Six Sigma Summit 2006: Day 1 Milton Jones, Global Quality and Productivity Executive, Bank of America Mr. Jones speaks often at the Six Sigma conferences. Bank of America is one of the most vocal Six Sigma companies, updating their continuing story of Six Sigma every step of the way. He started off with their […]

I’m at the IQPC Six Sigma Summit and Awards Conference in Miami, Florida. The conference kicks off Tuesday morning withspeakers from Regal Beloit, Bank of America and Delphi Corporation, and the morning general session culminates with Roy Templin, who is the chief financial officer of Whirlpool, and Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of New York. I […]

Benchmarking results consistently identify examples of Six Sigma success. Even so, getting “naysayers” on board is a continuous challenge. What do you tell them? Nayism 18: I don’t see how Six Sigma will help the Communications Department. They need to know how to write, not how to do statistics! At first this might make sense […]

An iSixSigma reader submitted the following article for publication on iSixSigma.com. From time to time we receive excellent submissions such as this one, but they are just a bit too short for publishing to the website. The iSixSigma Blogosphere, however, is the perfect place for these “mini” articles. What is a Six Sigma Mindset? Interview […]