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From Army recruiting to the Bradley fighting vehicle (and everything in between -including meal scheduling), the US Army continues to improve processes and save dollars through Lean Six Sigma. “Lean Six Sigma techniques implemented throughout the Army continue to prove successful, and leaders anticipate reaching a $2 billion-savings mark this year.” Yesterday’s article on army.mil/news […]

We have heard time and time again that Six Sigma “stifles innovation.” But where’s the data to prove it?

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 […]

I recently received an email from another Command that outlined a program of LSS projects regarding the Army Reserves Family Support Group. The Family Support Group is essential a booster organization that supports military families during deployments and other activities that make their loved one absent. They provide resources such as Red Cross Assistance, small […]

When I first joined the hotel industry as the finance guy, I was literally glued to my desk. Sure, I would attend all the necessary office meetings and staff events but my mind was solely ‘back to work’. Bipan the General Manager would come by my office and reminded me very often, “Hey, Mr. Finance […]

“Dilemma” is term properly reserved to describe a situation in which we must choose between two more-or-less equally unpleasant alternatives. This pretty much sums up how most organizations feel about documentation for Six Sigma projects. On the one hand, there is always an organizational craving (note that I am specifically avoiding the term “need” here) […]

The QualPro vs. Six Sigma debate is hot again. Forrest Breyfogle has written an article on iSixSigma.com poking holes in Charles Holland’s research of 58 Six Sigma companies…. For those unfamiliar with the debate sparked by the July 2006 Fortune article and subsequent Dilbert cartoon, go ahead and read up. Forrest isn’t the only one […]

Pete Abilla over at shmula has set up a question answer session with Craig Gygi, author of Six Sigma for Dummies and the Six Sigma Workbook for Dummies. Just ask Craig a question in the comments section of the blog and Pete will be post Craig’s answers in a few weeks. Pete says that Craig […]

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 […]

The United States military has recently ramped up process improvement initiatives in the Air Force, Army and Navy. Mark Graban over at the Lean Blog recently wrote a post about the Lean efforts of the Air Force. I thought I’d share even more information about the program here. The primary goal of Air Force Smart […]

I have recently gone through ’Train The Trainer’ for Green Belt. I discovered on the training some excellent tools I had not been using, or have just plain forgotten about. Over the next few Blogs I would like to talk about ’Lost Tools’ and ask why they are not being used, and the impact on […]

I’m sure I’m not the only Black Belt who has conversations like these: Someone coming to a meeting in the BB office/cubicle area for the first time: “Wow, I’ve never been to your office before. It’s not very… 6S’d, is it? Ha ha!” Team member, at a meeting: “Boy, I thought you Black Belts were […]

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 […]

Tollgate reviews can be a real source of anxiety for belts of all colors and levels. For the Army, a tollgate is like a phase-line on the Battlefield. It allows leaders to know where you are in relation to everything else. Go pastit without permission or authority and there may be some repercussions. With projects, […]

From Gauss defining the normal distribution to Galton designing his theories on correlation to Onho developing the Toyota Production system, we are proud of our rich heritage and the number & variety of sources that have come together to create the Lean Six Sigma model. So it is encouraging to see what may be an […]

iSixSigma Blogosphere Newsletter Guest Blog – May 15, 2007 Dawn Mular, Sun Microsystems employee and blogger, recently wrote Top 10 Program Mistakes (Green Belt) Programs Make… First, I like that she plugs the Software channel of iSixSigma, linking to the recent article, Top 10 Program Mistakes Software Green Belts in Training Make, but more importantly […]

My favorite part of the Leadership Conference is diving into the softer side of Six Sigma, the people side of the equation. I spent the afternoon on the first day in the Predictive Index session led by Heather Haas, the director of strategic initiatives for Bob Wilson & Associates. First off, Heather did a fabulous […]

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 […]

Here is a situation encountered on a recent project. I have abstracted the key-points here. The project started as a textbook DMAIC engagement with all the elements you would expect to find including impact on customer, strategic problem, clearly measurable benefits and well-defined goals. The project was too tackle rework created at a certain process […]

Our organization’s Black Belts recentlyparticipated ina two-day retreat in which we did some team-building and strategy work for the upcoming fiscal year. We did a leadershipprofile that diagnoses each person’s preferred approach. The four main styles are generalized as Driver, Conscientious, Steady, and Interactive. I’m sure that the profile is similar to many others out […]

Mike is the Associate VP of Six Sigma for sanofi-aventis. He is also the author of Applying the Science of Six Sigma to the Art of Sales & Marketing. Mike is very energetic and enthusiastic. Watch out Don Linsenmann, you’ve got competition. Mikemade some great jokes, but not enough sugar had kicked in from our […]

I’ve only got one more session to attend before I pick the family up at the pool and head for home. The snacks this afternoon are really good. They are setting up now. Popcorn, licorice, candy bars, soda, peanuts and soft pretzels with queso.. Just what we need for the next session. Good thing I’m […]

Jim Pearson, VP Customer Advocasy at EMC Corporation, just finished his presentation about Lean Six Sigma at EMC. I interviewed Jim nearly two years ago about their Six Sigma deployment. Jimshared EMC’s Lean Six Sigma program building blocks: Centralized training program Single online repository Established financial guidelines Certification and recognition programs Mentor and facilitations offerings […]

Chris Jones, I&CIM Global Deployment Champion for Delphi is speaking now. He’s laying out the case for change at Delphi. In a nutshell, because their customers demanded it. Delphi’s Enterprise-wide Strategy: Tools, process, and culture, encompassed by Kaizen: Tools are tools. You use themto help solve problems. Process is THE problem solving framework integrated in […]

I’m here for day two of the ISSSP Leadership Conference. Rox is opening the general meeting, thanking everyone for the fun at the Grand Evening last night. From Michael Cyger’s pictures, we know that Minitab had a good time… Today we’re going to talk about change management. The emcee is Jeanenne LaMarsh, Founder and CEO […]

5:15 am: I’ve always heard that the wake up to life is an experience not to be missed.People I spoke to last night at theGrand Evening went on and on about the sunrise, the moon set and the desert scenery. They even said they were going to show up *again* this morning to do the […]

It’s closing in on 1:00 am and right about now I’m thinking my earlier commitment to hike Pinnacle Peak is appearing very silly. The bus leaves the hotel at 5:15 am. This is the second time I’ve typed this blog posting, and yes, even those of us in Internet-land mess up and lose entire postings […]

Last evening, about 100 of Six Sigma’s finest went up to the Arizona hills to the Outback Oasis for some R&R after a full day of conference workshops. It was a great day for learning, and it was topped off with 80 degree F weather and cloudless skies. Roxanne O’Brasky, president of ISSSP, and her […]

After a much needed break, we’re back in the main hall and will hear from Rusty Patterson, VP Customer and Supply Chain Institute for Raytheon. His presentation is titled, “What’s Next for Six Sigma? Transforming Your Company to Remain Competitive.” Raytheon kicked off Six Sigma in the beginning of 1999. For cornerstones for Six Sigma […]

Next up is Stephen Turnipseed, Lean Six Sigma Advisor for Chevron Global Upstream. I’ve heard Stephen speak before. He is a great speaker. Chevron does not have the luxury of a CEO driven deployment. They started Six Sigma as a grassroots deployment, and it has been expanding. Now it’s moving into supply chain. Steve is […]

The ISSSP Leadership Conference general session has started. Roxanne O’Braskey is welcoming the attendees and giving a shout out to the 18 SKF employees from around the world that are here today. Marty Sherber is the Master of ceremonies, he is the senior VP of client development for AIT. He’s also a 5th degree Master […]

I’m at the ISSSP Leadership Conference with Jessica Harper, managing editor of iSixSigma Magazine and Michael Marx, our resident research manager and blogger-extrordinairre. The weather is beautiful – definitely not as green as Seattle, but the sun is glorious. I’m sitting in a presentation by Larry Goldman of Crystal Ball (of Hyperion and Oracle acquisition-fame) […]

The following is theOpen Mike column from the May/June 2007 issue of iSixSigma Magazine, entitled “Getting Ahead in Business with Six Sigma.” Attending the IQPC Six Sigma Summit in January, I was excited to hear the keynote speaker, and I wondered what Gen. Colin Powell could teach Six Sigma professionals about leadership. He had a […]

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, […]

It seems “Voice of the Customer” (VOC) is a label applied to almost any interaction between a business and a customer these days. Anything from direct interaction to the vaguest involvement along the periphery. Anything from highly structured, planned, and observed interactions to informal, anecdotal, and third-hand accounts. Some VOC is certainly useful. But more […]

The May/June issueof iSixSigma Magazine has hit the shelves (metaphorically speaking of course) as well as cyberspace via the digital edition. If you do not subscribe to the magazine you are really missing out on a wealth of information. I’m not just saying that because I work for the Magazine. I was hooked on iSixSigma […]

Pete Abilla who runs the shmula blog has just started working as the process improvement leader at eBay. I have been reading shmula since Pete started blogging and can honestly say that he is one of the best process improvement bloggers out there. I often link to him in the Guest Blogger section of the […]

Michael Cyger has been on an office cleaning frenzy lately, giving away books for trivia ¦ I thought I’d do a little spring cleaning myself. I’ve got five Cox-Box wall calendars sitting on my shelf when they should be hanging up in your office.  I’ll send one calendar out to the first five people to email […]

Most methodologies warn against the use of part time resources as project leaders. This is more so true with Blackbelts. However, the Army has a unique situation with the Army Reserves. These are true full time members who serve up to a total of 38 days per year. Couple that with the fact that most […]

Six Sigma critics are right about one of their chief complaints: the program is a re-packaging of a lot of tools and ideas that have been around for a long time. Personally I don’t think that’s a bad thing, since many of the ideas that have been re-packaged were languishing before. Regardless of where the […]

In preparation for an award I am accepting for being a pioneer in the CPM (Corporate Performance Management) and BI space for the work done infusing the balanced scorecard (BSC) methodology prior to our deployment of lean six sigma (LSS) , I started thinking about how many blank faces I see when I start talking […]

The IBM Institute for Business Value released a study earlier this year entitled “Driving operational innovation using Lean Six Sigma.” This study showcases how three companies – Caterpillar, POSCO, and Scottish Power have elevated Lean Six Sigma to do more than improve processes and reduce costs: Although CEOs might instinctively think of management approaches such […]

Hi Blogosphere, I’ve recently taken a big decision. It’s important to know that it is totally the right decision but it was also a big decision. You know when you make a decision sometimes you agonise over it and, as BBs, we often spend weeks gathering data to ensure we’ve absolutely, statistically verified that the […]

One of the most recent moves to engage the leadership in Business Transformation is to have the Project Sponsors brief/present BB/GB projects to the Deployment Directors/Senior Leadership. The strategy is a great way to change the old thought process of “kicking the can down the road” or “maintaining the status quo” until the next bloke […]

When you are just started to work on a new project, as Six Sigma professional you are conditioned not to jump to conclusions and let the data and facts guide you to process improvements. However, by asking yourself two simple questions at the start of such an improvement initiative, you be able to get a […]

Reading Robin Barnwell’slastest post, I was reminded of a conversation I had recently regardingstandard work in our own projects. When our Black Belts share their experiences, it’s really interesting to seehow parts of the project structure are valued differently by each individual. Let me give you an example. We have a guideline for rapid improvement […]

Jessica Harper (managing editor of iSixSigma Magazine), Michael Marx (iSixSigma’s research manager) and I will be in warm Scottsdale, Arizona, May 7-10. If you’re looking to escape the weather and be (almost) guaranteed warm days and sunny skies, then consider joining us in Scottsdale for the ISSSP Six Sigma Leadership Conference. This year I vowed […]