![]() In a Six Sigma program, key leadership and P&L owners are trained and actively engaged in the process, with the CEO playing a key role in company-wide initiatives. ![]() Traditional project methodology usually concentrates on the quality and speed of the project implementation, itself, and not of the measurable customer experience. In Six Sigma, the voice of the customer defines quality in terms of meeting customer expectations.The principles of Lean and Six Sigma most important to emphasize when integrating Six Sigma into an organization’s existing project methodology or philosophy are: Six Sigma Principles That Are Key to Successful Project Execution A common sense approach to implementing Six Sigma concentrates on the aspects of Six Sigma that move the company forward, rather than engaging in a philosophical debate of Six Sigma versus current project approaches. This approach plays well in companies where the leadership groups sees Six Sigma as overly complicated and as taking steps back before being able to move forward. Building on an organization’s change history makes Lean and Six Sigma more acceptable to change agents by emphasizing and celebrating past success rather than tearing down and starting over. If the best aspects of Lean and Six Sigma are to be leveraged to improve change dynamics, then it is best to introduce them as a way to augment the current project methodology and not as something to replace it. At any thriving organization, change has been going on for a long time, either formally or informally. In many instances, the just-do-it mentality can be hidden within the argument that a project methodology already exists. It is when common sense is the code word for “just do it” that problems can occur and warning flags should be seen. Common sense in the context of historical knowledge of a particular business – including a grasp of best practices and insights on how to make things happen in that business culture – is an invaluable ally of the Six Sigma disciplines needed for effective change. Yet on the flip side, there are Six Sigma practitioners who downplay the role of common sense and hold on to tools alone – at the expense of the valuable insights that years of hands-on experience can bring. Real Common Sense Has a Role in Six Sigma Projects Once individual leaders become familiar with the concept of root cause, then they are willing to jump on the bandwagon and admit that common sense alone might not have allowed them to discover the solution to a customer requirement or systematically find the unknown cause to the process problem. While Six Sigma often gets a bad rap of “slowing down project implementation,” much of that is based on the up-front effort in properly defining the problem and collecting the appropriate data to determine the root cause of a problem. The discipline of Lean and Six Sigma should be utilized on issues where the solution is not known. Of course, a Six Sigma practitioner would say, if the solution is known, then by all means implement it. They think if everyone were as bright and motivated as they, these projects would get done … and the projects would get done on time and under budget. To them, the answers to process improvement needs are obvious. Why do we need to go through all this methodology, training and the statistics stuff to execute a simple project?”Ī large segment of thought leaders in corporate America believe in the “just do it” approach to change. Many times when Lean and Six Sigma are introduced to an executive management team, there will be an individual who makes the statement: “This is just common sense.
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