The New and Definitive Guide to Lean Six Sigma

Introduction

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The Tao of Lean
Six Sigma

The combined discipline of Lean Six Sigma has been around for well over a decade, and its component disciplines date back much further—a long enough time span to produce hundreds of deployments: some successful, some not.

If you look at the successful uses of Lean Six Sigma, you'll see a wide range of reported approaches and benefits. Some global corporations launched massive efforts to establish a now well-entrenched infrastructure that has generated millions or even billions of dollars in saved operating costs. Other companies started with small, localized efforts that expanded over time, ultimately leading to a cultural transformation. Century-old brand-name companies have brought in Lean Six Sigma experts to reinvigorate lagging business lines. High-tech companies have incorporated the design methodologies into their new product development operations to stay ahead of markets that can change overnight. Healthcare organizations have

 

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adopted Lean Six Sigma to ensure that patient focus is always given a top priority.

Even in the midst of the differences, however, there seems to be a common pattern of evolution among these organizations. Regardless of the shape, size, or application, what all the success stories have in common is that the business leaders managed to navigate their way through some critical questions and unite many different pieces of a complex puzzle into a coherent whole.

These leaders understood that in the Tao of Lean Six Sigma, there is no single right path. They became successful by defining what they wanted to achieve, creating a solid foundation, and then expanding where they used the methods and what tools they incorporated to meet their organization’s needs. They didn’t have to be perfect right out of the gate; instead, they focused on ways to continually learn from and leverage their lessons and gains. Also, these methods have evolved over time. Leading companies have learned to innovate, expanding the methods as well as their applications.

Thinking about Lean Six Sigma as a path instead of a destination can help you better understand how to launch a new deployment, identify ways to help a struggling initiative, and target the next steps to build on your foundation. Each of these aspects is addressed in this book:

• If you are just starting out and want to know how to shape a solid deployment, or if you have an existing program that isn’t quite firing on all cylinders, then Part 1 is for you. The first chapter gives an overview of the biggest questions that shape the decisions about the path you want to create. Other chapters address how to use metrics to help manage an improvement effort, how to get leaders more involved in championing a deployment, the importance of using assessments to drive effective project selection, and how to

 

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• begin shaping a culture that is more supportive of Lean Six Sigma methods. The final chapter discusses a more formalized way to evaluate where you currently are in your Lean Six Sigma journey and how to identify reasonable next steps.
• Part 2 is for companies that are well on the way to having a solid foundation and want to do more—tackle bigger problems, use more sophisticated methodologies, push the culture of improvement deeper into their company, and so on. The first chapter discusses business process management (BPM) and the important role it can play in ensuring high-level performance in core processes. Other chapters address design and innovation methods and their advantages when you are inventing new processes or products, the application of advanced statistical tools to tackle complex problems, setting up systems to better link strategy and execution, and how to tackle business challenges quickly with enterprise kaizen.
• We've also included a special chapter on the use of Lean Six Sigma in the healthcare industry because the need is so great and the demand so high.

We want to point out that this book is not about the specific tools and principles of the Lean Six Sigma methodology. You can learn about those mechanics from countless other resources. The focus in this book is on helping people think about ways to improve how they use Lean Six Sigma to drive business results. Don't settle for less from your own deployment or avoid a promising opportunity to engage employees and generate significant financial returns for your business. With this book, we hope to provide you with practical advice that will help you decide what to do next, no matter where you are in your improvement journey. You too can innovate your own Lean Six Sigma journey, and join the leading companies that are doing it right.