Archive for Six sigma marketing
Simplifying Lean and Six Sigma eBook
Posted by: | CommentsIn a recent Business901 Podcast, Simplifying Lean and Six Sigma for Government and Healthcare, Jay Arthur author of many books on Lean And Six Sigma and most recently , Lean Six Sigma for Hospitals: Simple Steps to Fast, Affordable, and Flawless Healthcare discussed making these methodologies available to the masses.
Jay has always been a master at simplifying these process and reducing the cost of entry into a methodology. His belief is that you can go a long way (5 sigma) by just doing it and utilizing only a few basic tools that he discusses in his money-belt videos.
This is a transcription of the podcast.
Simplifying Lean and Six Sigma for Government and Healthcare
Jay started many years ago simplifying the Lean Six Sigma process through his early books, Lean Simplified and Six Sigma Simplified which eventually led to Lean Six Sigma Demystified: A Self-Teaching Guide.
Related Information:
Lean Six Sigma for Government
Operational Excellence in Government, is it Possible?
Putting Customer Value in the Product Lifecycle
DMAIC, DMADV, Lean, Six Sigma for Government?
DMAIC, DMADV, Lean, Six Sigma for Government?
Posted by: | CommentsA short introduction by Maria Elena-Stopher, describes lean transformation at the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, and shares lessons learned in Lean applied to federal government processes. Full one-hour video is available for purchase through the Maryland World Class Consortia.
Is this process doable on a national level, a lot of people think so. But where would you start…..
Steven C. Wilson one of the leading Lean Six Sigma trainers in Iowa states, “Lean Six Sigma is not a complex process if you understand the theory behind it. But to begin any journey you need a starting point and a solid base of knowledge to provide direction. Leaders do not need to know the intricacies of DMAIC, DMADV and Variation. Leaders do not need to know when to use Binary Logistic Regression. But they do need to know the basics to enable others.”
Steve has just released his first book, Lean Six Sigma for Government
Disclaimer: I work with Steve on a regular basis.
Related Information:
Lean Six Sigma will increase effectiveness of Stimulus spending
The Hell with the Economic Stimulus Package – I’ll Lead
Balancing Internal and External Lean Six Sigma Consulting Roles
Leading the Way in Iowa Quality Training
Continuous Improvement, The Toyota Way
Posted by: | CommentsJames Franz was my guest on the Business901 podcast and this is a transcription of the podcast. If you have been spending your time improving your processes and wondering why you are not getting the expected returns, this is for you. Jim is the co-author with Jeffrey K. Liker on the latest of the Toyota Way books: The Toyota Way to Continuous Improvement: Linking Strategy and Operational Excellence to Achieve Superior Performance.
Continuous Improvement: The Toyota Way
James Franz has over 24 years of manufacturing experience and learned lean as a Toyota Production Engineer in Japan. He started at the Motomachi plant and then moved to NUMMI and then finally worked in Georgetown, Kentucky. After leaving Toyota, he then went to Ford to apply his lean knowledge beginning in production engineering. He was sent to Ford of Australia for 3 years and led their Stamping, Assembly, Casting, and Powertrain facilities to global leadership in lean for Ford. Jim also teaches for the University of Michigan’s Center for Professional Development’s Lean Certification course.
About the Toyota Way Academy: The Academy’s mission is to teach the Toyota Way using the Toyota Way. For more information visit: www.toyotawayacademy.com
Related Podcast: Sustaining Lean using Continuous Improvement: The Toyota Way
Related Information:
Coaching Lean eBook with Dr. Liker
Dr. Jeff Liker on PDCA and Lean Culture>
PDCA for Lean Marketing, Knowledge Creation
Understand Scrum, Understand Implementing PDCA
Lean Sales and Marketing Roles
Posted by: | CommentsIn Lean Marketing, there are three primary roles for the development and management of Lean Sales and Marketing process. It is the Value Stream Manager, the Team and the Team Coordinator. The roles and responsibilities are similar to the three roles used in Scrum which are the Product Owner, the Team and The Scrum Master.
Quick overview of the Scrum roles:
- The Product Owner represents the stakeholders and the business.
- The Team is a cross-functional group of about 7 people who do the actual design, implementation, testing, etc.
- The ScrumMaster maintains the processes in lieu of a project manager.
Quick overview of the Lean Sales and Marketing System:
- The Value Stream Manager (VSM) represents the product/service markets and the business.
- The Sales and Marketing Team (Team) is a cross-functional group whose number and expertise is derived from the decision making path of the customer. This Team does the actual sales; providing content, technical functions, trials, testing, etc.
- The Team Coordinator maintains the integrity of the processes through coaching and predefined control points.
The Value Stream Manager is responsible for maximizing return on investment (ROI) through his particular Value Stream of Customer Identification, Customer Value, Customer Acquisition, Customer Retention and Customer Monitoring. (Value Stream Mapping Customer Value). He translates this Value Stream and assigns it in conjunction with the Team Coordinator to particular Teams similar to a typical Sales Manager would to his Salespeople. The VSM and the Team Coordinator will routinely evaluate the outcomes to determine best fit. The VSM may work with Multiple Teams for his Value Stream. The VSM has profit and loss responsibility for the product/service. The VSM represents the Voice of the Market which may be thousands of individual clients, distributors, brokers and agents. As with Scrum’s Product Owner, the VSM has the final authority.
The Sales and Marketing Team is first and foremost the listening post for the customer (prospect) that enables them to provide the customer with the information, technology, and support that is required. This is done through a PDCA/SDCA Cycle that depending on the complexity may constitute an entire sales cycle or just a certain portion of the customer’s decision making process. The team is cross-functional and includes the expertise required to fulfill the requirements of the customer through his decision making process. It may include but not limited to salespeople, marketing, IT, service, etc. It is self-managing with a very high degree of autonomy and accountability. The team decides what to do, what commitments to make and how best to accomplish it. Stable teams are important for internal productivity but also since they are in direct contact with the customer. When these teams only serve part of the decision making process of the customer, the Team Coordinator becomes directly involved during the handoffs form one team to another.
The Team Coordinator serves very similar to the ScrumMaster. The TC helps the Team learn and apply PDCA. The TC does whatever is in their power to help the team be successful. The TC is not the manager of the team but instead serves the team, minimizing distractions, educating them on the iterative process of PDCA, Knowledge Creation and Agile methods. The TC and the VSM must be different people. As the TC runs interference for the Team there may be some priority balancing that is required between the VSM and the TC. It is imperative that the TC creates and maintains a manageable flow inside the Team. If the Team runs into an impediment it is the TC job to find the resources needed to remove it. The TC will also monitor the Team flow through the use of established control points created within the cycle.
The confusing part for most organizations is in defining the role of the team. Look for an upcoming blog on that particular subject.
Related Information:
5Cs of Driving Market Share Program
Where is the path in Continuous Improvement for Sales and Marketing?
Why does sales and marketing operate to a different quality standard?
The Future of Marketing is Lean
PDCA for Lean Marketing, Knowledge Creation
Lean Marketing Creates Knowledge for the Customer
