Lean Sales and Marketing thru Service Design Thinking » Six Sigma

Driving Profit through People and Processes

business901 — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 02:38:00 +0000

This is a transcription of the Business901 Podcast, People & Process Drive Profit Podcast with Vivian Hairston Blade, Founder, President & CEO of Experts in Growth Leadership Consulting, LLC (EiGL Consulting, LLC) based in Louisville, KY.

Open publication

Vivian is a recognized expert, keynote speaker, trainer and executive coach in the principles of Customer Experience, Lean Six Sigma and Leadership Development. With a 20+ year career in Fortune 100 companies, General Electric and Humana, Inc., Vivian has extensive experience in successfully leading the development and execution of customer centered, quality-based, growth business strategies.

Share this:

People & Process Drive Profit Podcast

business901 — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 03:28:00 +0000

Vivian Hairston Blade, Founder, President & CEO of Experts in Growth Leadership Consulting, LLC (EiGL Consulting, LLC) based in Louisville, KY was my podcast guest. Vivian is a recognized expert, keynote speaker, trainer and executive coach in the principles of Customer Experience, Lean Six Sigma and Leadership Development. With a 20+ year career in Fortune 100 companies, General Electric and Humana, Inc., Vivian has extensive experience in successfully leading the development and execution of customer centered, quality-based, growth business strategies.

Through EiGL Consulting, Vivian has helped clients achieve direct cost savings and productivity by more than 10%, implement customer loyalty and customer service programs, and has coached and trained hundreds of professionals in customer experience implementation and leadership skill development. Her articles have been published in many professional, industry and business publications.

Podcast Powered By Podbean

Download Podcast: Click and choose options: Download Here or go to the Business901 iTunes Store.

EiGL Consulting is WBENC, TSMSDC and SBA-WOSB certified, accredited by the Better Business Bureau, and is a member of Greater Louisville, Inc. Vivian’s website is: http://eiglconsulting.com/

Share this:

Don’t get rid of your waste, start utilizing it!

business901 — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 03:40:00 +0000

Do you always look as waste as something you should get rid of? In lean circles this would be an area that they would attack and as many call it get rid of the low-hanging fruit? That is supply side thinking. And it works when there is excess demand. We need to become more effective and efficient. We should even go beyond Lean and reach Six Sigma levels. Of course, we do! Or do we?

But wait a minute, is there excess demand? We live in a world that has excess supply and as a result we have to start viewing the market from the demand side. Do the same rules apply? What happens if we start looking at waste as a resource versus a constraint? Could it create other opportunities?

For example, how much time, money and knowledge are spent optimizing the supply chain on the inbound side versus the outbound? Do you consider developing the supply chain for a market advantage? The organizations that have specifically, Amazon for example has created business opportunities for themselves looking at excess capacity as a resource and developed products around it (Amazon Prime, selling used books, buying back books, cloud computing). They even have started creating a publishing empire as an outgrowth of their ability to deliver digital products.

Does your supply chain shy away from encouraging mass customization? This is an old term that is re-emerging as a result of a response to create demand. Supply Chain Technology should be leading the way in creating new products opportunities not just looking at getting rid of waste. Why can’t the supply chain lead in defining new ways of mass customization, collaboration and co-creation opportunities within their existing customer base?

Administrative functions may be another untapped goldmine. Why not create opportunity there for customers to utilize your purchasing power for example? The untapped goldmine is on the demand side of the equation, that’s where the need is? Waste may be your most underutilized resource within a company, it can very often be a way to accelerate or increase demand. Extend your services that you are good at and use them to gain competitive advantage by extending them to your customer. If we don’t, we are forgetting to maximize all of our opportunities.

Consider things that you do well internally and how they may provide additional value to your customer. I think we forget sometimes how embedded the culture of our company is in our product or service. You will find that culture extending into your customer’s place of business. Your internally practices may not be as internal as you may think. Getting your engineers and operational people into your customers place of business or in Lean terms going to Gemba could provide some very interesting conversations and as a result opportunities.

What are you doing in your business that might have value for others?

Share this:

Is Lean and Six Sigma a waste of time?

business901 — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 02:25:00 +0000

Most large manufacturers last year failed to reach their cost-savings targets, despite significant investments in “lean manufacturing,” “Six Sigma” and other productivity programs as part of their overall retrenchment efforts in this tepid economy. Nearly 70% of manufacturing executives say that their manufacturing-improvement efforts led to a reduction in manufacturing costs of less than 5%, the typical minimum threshold for successful productivity programs. That’s according to a survey of manufacturing executives conducted in May and June by AlixPartners, the global business-advisory firm.

“At their core, continuous-improvement programs must include clear priorities based on the expected financial impact,” said Andrew Csicsila, director in AlixPartners’ Manufacturing Practice. “Yet, there remains a pervasive misunderstanding that simply focusing on ‘lean’ and ‘Six Sigma’ processes alone will be the magic fix. Ultimately, it’s not about chasing a process or philosophy. It’s about the cash.”

Can this be true? I am a proponent of Lean and adhere to most of the underlying philosophies that it exhorts. However, I go off on a rant sometimes when I hear that we are always supposed to “wait” for improvements to prove their effectiveness. It is all about culture, you will hear echoed by the top-level consultants. (I always thought it might have been because culture pays betters – sorry just a joke). It seems to always fall back that Leadership is shortsighted and not patient enough, even if it does mean their jobs.

I think improvement efforts should be based on results in the marketplace. In my blog post last week, The Death of PDCA that stated following traditional Lean thinking leads us to focus our efforts of continuous improvement internally versus externally. We are constantly trying to improve internal processes making them more and more efficient. Many companies are seeing little change or improvement from these efforts over their competitors and in the marketplace. Business is Business. If it is not about succeeding in the marketplace and in a crass way cash, what is it about? I hate to take it down to this level because I hold corporations and myself to higher standards than this but let’s face it, if you are not making money, you cannot be effective at what you do.

On one side of the fulcrum we have products and services supported by internal processes and on the other side of the fulcrum are customers or the demand side. There has been a significant shift in the marketplace and at the moment the customer is in control. Supply exceeds demands. However, continuous improvement seems to be still stuck on the wrong side of the fulcrum, the internal processes.

We do not live in a world of excess demand. The strategies that we need for improvement need to be focused on the demand side, the customer. These efforts of continuous improvement must be focused on moving ourselves along the path of our customers. Do you wonder how that path is shaped? A brief synopsis is that path is shaped initially by understanding the knowledge gaps that exist between you and your customers. As that knowledge is shared and made explicit the gaps close and eventually the power of the two organizations is realized. It is in the spirit of Service Design and Innovation that these thoughts will flourish.

Looking back at the beginning of the quality movement can you remember this types of all too common of a scenario described by Tim Ogilvie, CEO of innovation strategy consultancy Peer Insight and co-author of a new book Designing for Growth: A Design Thinking Toolkit for Managers: “We had a VP of production and a VP of quality, and they had an argument on the loading dock on the 30th of the month as to whether we we’re going to ship that order or not. And the VP of quality said, “It’s not high enough quality because I inspected it.” And the VP of production said, “I got to make my order.” It was an adversarial system, and here we are 25 years later and the quality is all baked in because at our workstation we self-inspected and we fulfilled with a Kanban, and we got single minute exchanges. All of these amazing breakthroughs have happened in that time period.”

It is the time for continuous improvement to start tackling the demand side the equation. It is not going to be an overnight success but small gains of moving from frameworks such as cooperation and joint ventures to co-producing and co-creation or platforms of customer-centricity to user-centricity are the starting points. This is the one of the few ways that you can create and sustain demand. And with demand comes increased revenue and market share that can be measured. Without doing this your company may flounder and the results may not be very forgiving.

Share this:

Data Driven Problem Solving Program

business901 — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 02:35:00 +0000

Steven C. Wilson, one of the leading Lean Six Sigma trainers in the state of Iowa has released a new program, Data Driven Problem Solving. The entire program can be downloaded as a PDF and MP3 on IowaQualityTraining.com.

Data Driven Problem Solving includes a 100 page book with over 4 hours of audio. In addition, a copy of Lean Six Sigma for Leaders book is included. The Data Driven Problem Solving program is a result of material covered in a 2-day workshop presented by the author Steven C. Wilson. It was created to support the training both before and after the class. It provides many of the questions people had about problem solving utilizing DMAIC. You do not need to fully comprehending the tools of Six Sigma. With an understanding of Data Driven Problem Solving, it will allow more participation in your organization’s problem solving efforts.

Data Driven Problem Solving uses activities based approach and is comprised of multiple separate sessions, which follow the Six Sigma DMAIC approach without the need of the typical Black Belts, Green Belt hierarchy associated with Six Sigma organizations. It is presented in a unique question and answer format providing information about how to use and implement a problem solving methodology in an organization.

Topic that are covered:

Process Improvement Basics
Roles and Organization – Teamwork
What is Our Quest? – The Define Phase
How is the Current Process Performing? – Measure Phase
What are the “Deep Dive” Causes of a Problem? – Analyze Phase
What will We Change? – Improve Phase
Are We There yet? – Control Phase

About: Steven C. Wilson is the host of Quality Conversations and can be found at Wilson Consulting and Training Services, Inc (WCTS, Inc – www.stevencwilson.com). Wilson has over 20 years of experience applying quality improvement tools, methodologies, and principles in a variety of industries that include automotive, healthcare, logistics, distribution, education, and numerous manufacturing venues. He has dedicated himself to the cause by training/coaching over 600 Six Sigma practitioners in over 70 companies with an emphasis on getting results. Wilson possesses a very engaging style of leadership, training and consulting, and provides an experienced eye for companies on the road to organizational improvement.

Program is also available on Amazon:
Ring Bound:Data Driven Problem Solving
CD Format: Data Driven Problem Solving

Share this:

Lean or Six Sigma which fork in the road do you take?

business901 — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 02:45:00 +0000

People will see my comments floating around the Internet on the subject of Lean Six Sigma. I am not an expert and probably take too much liberty in the application of them to even proceed but it was important to me to basically post my view.

There will always be a strong debate between Lean and Six Sigma people about using the 2 terms jointly. I am not positive of the lineage of it but I believe Michael George at the time of the George Group (later to be Accenture) coined the term. I assume he viewed the two methodologies as compatible and more effective in conjunction with each other versus separately. I am not even sure that many (Case in point being that many of today’s “Lean” consultants were trained as Lean Six Sigma Black Belts) disagreed at the time except for the very traditional Lean stalwarts.

Dr. Mikel Harry, credited as one of the founders of Six Sigma states that Six Sigma is not a culture and was developed as a quality tool to gain breakthrough performance for an organization. I adhere to that statement and think Six Sigma offers great opportunities for an organization and provides a very precise and workable structure in achieving this. I am not against the hierarchy of belts and the formalities of DMAIC, DFSS, etc. Many organizations need this type of structure to be successful. I am avid defender of Six Sigma in the Lean circles many times to the chagrin of others.

Lean was developed by the MIT group under Dr. James Womack from a study of automotive companies and more specifically the Toyota Production System. Its approach is based on continuous improvement with a direct correlation to PDCA and Dr. Deming’s philosophies. Lean made its first inroads in many companies and gains in popularities (IMHO) because of the ease of entry into the methodology. Removing waste and improving flow was Lean’s mantra in the 90’s and the tools of 5s and Value Stream Mapping soared in popularity. However, as Lean continued developing tools of A3, Hoshin and Standard Work became common place. But even more so, the culture of PDCA and the spirit of Kaizen started to take hold.

Six Sigma was the methodology of choice for many manufacturers as a result of the significant strides that GE and Motorola had made. Later, Lean seemed to gain and Six Sigma wane in popularity. Lean became the path to a customer as an enabler of some quick wins. You could then take the deep dive with Six Sigma when you wanted to get “serious”. As Lean continued to steamroll and Six Sigma still continued with somewhat lackluster performance many organizations and consultants dropped the attachment to Six Sigma and became “Lean”. Popularity does create a crowd. This may not be an entirely accurate description but it serves as a basis for my views and the following comments.

What makes Lean Six Sigma work? When you first start using any methodology, you are typically introduced through the tools. Using Lean initially versus Six Sigma makes perfect sense, it is an easier introduction. And why reduce variability on non-value activities? But sooner or later you get to the fork in the road. One path says Six Sigma and the other path is this thing they call culture (Lean). So do you want to take the deep dive with a breakthrough structured approach (still has a steep incline) or do you want to try and instill a culture of empowerment. There is not a right or wrong answer. You can take either. Where I disagree, is that you can take both.

Six Sigma has always been about structure and tools. It is very, very good and does an outstanding job when applied properly. In Six Sigma thinking, you can use Lean tools initially and get to 95%. To finish the job, you use Six Sigma. And as a result, Lean Six Sigma was developed. If your organization grew out of the Motorola and G.E. world it seems like a perfect fit.

If you adopt the Lean mentality and the spirit of Kaizen (continuous improvement is not an event) you become immersed in the culture of Lean, as Dr. Balle wonderfully described in the Zen Story about the mountain. Summed up in the blog post: Lean Tools and Culture as it Relates to Zen

Have you ever played yourself in a game? On a basketball court or even a simple game of checkers, sooner or later you have to pick a side to win. It is inevitable. This is the ultimate wedge between the two methodologies and can simply be stated. Six Sigma is a structured methodology and Lean is a cultural driven by a learn by doing approach. That is not to say that Six Sigma does not have its prototyping options and that Lean is not without statistical control (it did evolve from Deming). But it is saying that both are two completely different paths that you must choose between.

If you take the path of and see Lean as Lean, Six Sigma does not make sense and is not a compatible technology. There is a significant culture difference and approach. If you take the path of Six Sigma, you view Lean as only a set of tools nothing more and why not, Lean has a great toolbox. If you take the path of Lean you still can be just as efficient and just as effective as Six Sigma, you just do it differently.

I make no qualms about stating that I believe and follow a Lean philosophy. Lean works in my world much better. PDCA which is basically form a hypothesis, test it and adjust is what sales and marketing is all about.

I support the ideas of Lean and Six Sigma without hesitation. What I have trouble understanding is how you can be philosophically aligned in Lean thinking and practice Six Sigma. So I believe you must ask yourself; Which fork in the road do you take?

Share this:

Blended Learning Programs in Lean Six Sigma

business901 — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 11:37:00 +0000

Many people shy away from quality or continuous improvement programs since they are unable to see the direct benefits of it. Steven C. Wilson a leading Lean Six Sigma Trainer in the State of Iowa outlined a unique training program at the Southwest Iowa Manufacturers Alliance for Quality program. He introduced his latest adult learning training methods and how the training is adapted to a particular organization. In particular, he addressed how organizations can make a stronger connection between training and implementation.

Steve commented on the training, “Too often, training programs are not utilized when employees get back to work. Based on my twenty years of assisting organizations and individuals improve quality through training, I have identified several components that will encourage employees and their organizations to change and use these new skills. Under the title of iQuality Academy, I have moved our training programs from tactical learning and acquiring new skills to providing the path from training to improved business performance.”

I think this is a unique approach and a great way to use the advantages of virtual learning. If you can’t tell by listening, Steve does voice over work and works with authors, trainers and studio producers, to make their presentations more effective and entertaining. He is also the host of Quality Conversation, Quality Conversations, an internet based radio program dedicated to the discussion of “all things quality”. Currently the program is heard in over 35 countries.

I was fortunate to have Steve participate in a podcast if you would like to take a deeper dive on the subject. The podcast centers around being a successful trainer and consultant. Download Podcast: Click and choose options: Iowa Quality Training or go to the Business901 iTunes Store

If you are from Iowa, Steve hosted a program about Funding Quality Training. Bernie Duis, Director of Economic Development at Iowa Western Community College (www.iwcc.edu), joined Steve for a discussion about Iowa’s quality training funding programs, administered by the state’s 15 community colleges.

Disclaimer: I work with Steve but felt this was an excellent presentation to share. I thought he did a masterful job of presenting and it was a good example of how voice over work might improve your presentations.

Share this:

Balancing Internal and External Lean Six Sigma Consulting Roles

business901 — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 02:59:00 +0000

Steve is the epitome of today’s successful consultant. He acts as a in-house consultant for a major healthcare facility in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa area, instructs at many of the Iowa Community Colleges, conducts Green Belt and Black Belt training for industry and hosts the Blog Talk Radio Show, Quality Conversations.

This is a transcription of the Business901 Podcast, Leading the Way in Iowa Quality Training with Steve.

Leading the way in Iowa Quality Training –

About: Steven C. Wilson founded Wilson Consulting and Training Services,Inc (WCTS, Inc) as a process improvement consulting firm. He has dedicated himself to this cause by training over 600 Six Sigma practitioners in over 70 companies in the state of Iowa. His training focuses on quality to include Lean, Theory of Constraints, Supply chain, Problem Solving and Six Sigma Green Belt and Black Belt training. Recently, he has developed new approaches to a blended learning platform and is piloting them in his Leadership and Data-Driven Problem Solving Courses. In the podcast with Steve, I came away with a feeling that he looks at his practice more from a training perspective than consulting.

Share this:

Continuous Improvement Book Special

business901 — Sun, 29 May 2011 20:16:57 +0000

I decided to clean off my book shelves this weekend and as a result I am offering a special deal on over 50 Continuous Improvement Book titles. For anyone that purchases from the Business901 Amazon Shop (which means that I must be the seller and shipper of the book) I will include the paperback version of the Lean Marketing House. Review the titles and subjects that include Lean, Six Sigma, Wikibrands, Kanban, Knowledge Management, Service Design, Decision Making and Six Sigma Marketing, PDCA, Scrumban and more!

Business901 Amazon Shop

This offer may be rescinded at any time. I may decline non-domestic shipments if I cannot find an effective shipment method.

Offer automatically expires on 6/1/2011

Share this:

Lean, Quality, Six Sigma Consultants and Organizations – 28 Day Marketing Program

business901 — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 05:05:00 +0000

I am putting a different twist on these programs. All of the webinars will be distributed at the designated time to provide a structured learning concept but they will be yours to keep. I won’t be taking the time off though. In addition to the webinar training, I will be offering the participants the opportunity to make appointments so that they can sign up for 30 minutes of 1 on1 training with me via the web. That will be 2-hours of direct coaching on implementing your training.

Marketing your Black Belt is a 28-day program starting May 6th. Marketing your Black Belt is based specifically on addressing these issues: Customer Acquisition, Marketing, Customer Retention and Communication & Collaboration. Specifically designed for Quality consultants.

Get Clients NOW – 28 Day Program: Program starting on the Monday, April 18th: 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM (GMT-0500).Program Structure and Agenda: During the first three sessions you will receive all the tools and training needed to design your individual 28-day marketing action plan. Specifically Designed for the Professional Consultant.

Value Stream Marketing: is a 28-day program starting Thursday, May 12th, from 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM (ET). We want our participants to learn how to utilize a Sales and Marketing Value Stream implement through the use of a Marketing Kanban. Specifically Designed for Organizations.

Limited Amounts of Attendees.

How many times has a good idea failed because of a poor plan or execution? For start-ups and established organizations alike, Business901 provides effective but easy to use methodologies. They are flexible enough to allow you to apply your own ideas, while giving you guidance before, during and after. We will provide practical, information-rich, immediately applicable direction that can have immediate impact on the success of your organization.

P.S. 90 Day Program – ask for details about our Achieving Expert Status Program

Share this:

How to develop a Survey to capture Voice of Market

business901 — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 03:22:00 +0000

This is an excerpt from the book Best in Market authored by Dr. Eric Reidenbach. The book incorporates the overall essence of Six Sigma in marketing today. It takes the DMAIC structure and applies it in a simple easy to read structure that will be beneficial to a Black Belt that may not be all that familiar with marketing and/or to a marketing team that has limited exposure to Six Sigma. It is a readable book that it is not filled with Six Sigma terminology and methodology that typically takes away from the message. The points that are made on value and quality through out the book and on how to acquire them through proper techniques will provide additional insights into your own marketing methods.

The previous value models were generated from survey information collected from buyers in the targeted product/market. It might be useful to take a few moments and review the process. The purpose of this review is not to make market researchers out of manufacturers but rather to make them better buyers or specifiers of market research information. Too many research companies sell off – the – shelf research to companies. Good research is driven by the information needs of the client, not the bottom line of the seller.

Step one: Asking the right questions

The first step in any survey design is to make sure you are asking the correct and relevant questions. This is where interviews or focus groups can be particularly helpful. Both of these techniques are best classified as “exploratory” in nature rather than definitive. They can be very useful in eliciting the right types of questions to ask in a survey.

Focus groups usually are comprised of about 8 to 12 individuals who are part of the targeted product/market. These individuals are asked to talk about their experiences, likes, dislikes, problems regarding the product in question. It is essential that this discussion should focus on how they define quality and value. This is where the more comprehensive definitions of quality and value come in. Relying on the interaction among the group can be very beneficial and revealing as one respondent will play off another. Your attention should be directed toward compiling a list of attributes that define quality and value. During this process it is essential that a level of granularity be achieved, since the more granular the information the more actionable it is.

For example, a respondent might say “quality of the product” is important. Your next set of questions should be what does quality mean? Can you give me an example of good quality? Can you give me an example of bad quality? If you were designing a product like this, how would insure that it is a quality product? Allowing these questions to be part of a group discussion can be very enlightening. In fact, I have found it quite useful to have a group of manufacturing executives behind the one way glass to listen and view the groups being conducted. They will learn a lot just from this exposure.

The tendency of the uninitiated research user is to rely too heavily on focus group information. Some people tend to take the information as gospel. Keep in mind that the responses come from just 8 to 12 individuals and do not reflect a statistical sample of actual buyers. In fact, it is probably wise to conduct at least two or more focus groups to corroborate the information. These sessions can be videotaped and replayed for other individuals in the company exposing them to how the market defines quality and value. They provide good discussion guides.

Step two: Questionnaire development

The actual form of the questionnaire will depend upon what data collection technique you are using. However, most types of questionnaires have some basic elements in common.

Once a list of quality and value attributes has been generated, they can be assembled into a questionnaire. The questionnaire has three basic sections: a screening section, a body, and a demographic section. The screening section contains questions that make sure you are reaching the proper person. Ask the wrong person the right questions and you run the risk of getting bad information.

The body of the questionnaire contains the attributes that you have generated from the focus groups. These should be randomly listed (as most professional survey companies do). These questions should be answered using a scale anchored by 1 = poor performance and 10 = excellent performance. There are other types of anchors but the real issue you are trying to assess is the performance of the different competitors.

Finally, any information that you want to collect regarding who is answering the questionnaire should go last. Typical demographics include age, gender, geographic location, size of company (revenues or employees), and any other information that will help you segment or target buyers. This information goes last so that in the case of a respondent dropping out you will still have the attribute information.

There are several other aspects of questionnaire development that are important and can and should be worked out with whoever is doing the research. Good competent research companies will be able to address these issues.

Step three: Fielding

Once the questionnaire has been developed and tested, it is fielded. This again is done by the research company and depending on the nature of the buyers can be handled by telephone, internet or mail. In some cases a personal interview format can be useful. Each format has its advantages and costs and should be discussed with the research company.

Step four: Analysis

When the data is collected and edited it is subject to an analysis. There are numerous ways of surfacing information. The models shown earlier were the result of a multiple analytic approach. First the items were factor analyzed which permits the surfacing of the CTQs. These are then regressed against a composite of value questions. The regression model generates a goodness of fit measure that tells you how good the independent variables (CTQs) are in explaining the dependent variable (value) and how important each element of the model is in capturing the meaning of value.

There are other ways of analyzing the data but any technique(s) chosen should identify and prioritize the drivers of value (quality, image and price) and should do the same for the CTQs. Clearly, the more focused the CTQs the more actionable the resulting information.

The model should also yield information that permits you to identify your competitive value proposition with that of your key competitors. This will require you to not only survey your customers but also those of your competitors.

Again, many types of analytics can be used but you will want to be able to break down the respondents into your customers and be able to identify other customers by brand or competitor. This is essential.

A complete discussion of data collection and the various types of analyses are beyond the scope of this book. Other books, such as Listening to the Voice of the Market: How to Increase Market Share and Satisfy Current Customers, delve into the research process in significantly greater detail.

Generating this kind of information is not cheap. But the returns from good market information are invaluable in becoming best in the market. And, being best in the market has its own longer lasting returns.

Share this:

Dr. Jeff Liker on PDCA and Lean Culture

business901 — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 02:30:00 +0000

Dr. Jeff Liker celebrated author and authority on Toyota and the Toyota Production System was my guest on the Business901 podcast and we discussed his upcoming book, The Toyota Way to Continuous Improvement (Book release date is May 13th, I have pre-ordered mine).

Dr. Liker in comparing Lean and Six Sigma:

Sometimes, I’ve heard people say Six Sigma is more sophisticated, and it’s like the graduate school for the tougher problems that require advanced statistics; and Lean is more common sense and practical, and more quick and dirty. That’s not the way I look at it at all. But the tool that you see with Lean is something like the Kanban system. You have a card and you write information, and you decide what the maximum and minimum is. When you reach the minimum, you send the card. That’s a very simple production and inventory control system compared to a linear program that is on the computer; you put in all sorts of data and you optimize the schedule.

Here, you’ve got these cards, and people are just counting cards, and it seems very primitive. But the reason why these tools are so simple is because Toyota wants the people who are actually doing the work to see the problems as they occur. They want them to solve them in real-time, one by one, as they come up, instead of allowing problems to accumulate, and then, perhaps once a year, once in three years, do a big, deep dive project and you’re basically trying to solve three years of accumulated problems.

So the tools and techniques are intentionally very simple, a trend chart, not regression analysis.

Admittedly, there may be some loss of precision, because we don’t know if it’s statistically significant or not, but what we’re doing is lots and lots of little problem?solving cycles, and we’re learning by direct observation. Because you can see it and touch it, people who are actively engaged at the workplace can understand it.

So it’s by definition the tools are very visual and very easy to understand.

And Dr. Liker went on to say:

So, we’re constantly looking for the next thing without realizing that we already had it to begin with, whether it was total quality management or a continuous program or A3s or DMAIC, whatever it was. The underlying PDCA concept was there to begin with, but we didn’t continue.

We didn’t have what Deming called “Stability of purpose,” and we focused on the tool and deploying the tool instead of developing the culture, so that PDCA became a way of thinking and a way of living rather than a program.

Podcast Powered By Podbean

Professor Liker is the author of The Toyota Way Fieldbook which is one my favorite and most quoted books. His most recent work, Toyota Under Fire a 2011 Shingo Prize Winner, takes you beyond the headlines and into the offices and factories of Toyota to reveal the truth behind the company’s highly publicized and controversial recall of over 10 million vehicles.

Professor Liker’s Company Website: Optiprise

Share this:

Lean, Six Sigma, Agile Consultants become a Recognized Expert

business901 — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 03:30:00 +0000

For the next Marketing your Black Belt Program, I am offering a special opportunity. The program is actually designed for Professional Service Consultants that work in a technical field such as Lean, Agile or Six Sigma. It is well suited for the one-person or small consulting company of less than 10 people. This 28-day program consist of six sessions. During the first three sessions you will receive all the tools and training needed to design your individual 28-day(it is Agile) marketing action plan. It will start on the 1st Friday of the month, Feb. 4th and for the following 28 days.

Session 1: 60 minutes(Friday@ 11:00AM)
Session 2: 60 minutes(Monday@ 11:00AM)
Session 3: 60 minutes(Tuesday@ 11:00AM)
Session 4, 5, 6: 45 minutes(Friday@ 11:00AM)

In addition to the six live webinars and coaching sessions, the program includes:

White papers and resources
Weekly email support between class sessions
Review of individual marketing action plans with feedback
All class sessions are recorded so participants who miss a session, or wish to review, may listen and review at their convenience.

In addition to the above and for the next 7 days or until the class is full, I am offering the following bonuses:

Lean Marketing House eBook
Marketing with A3 eBook
5Cs of Driving Market Share Audio Program
Best in Market eBook
Podcast interview and published on the Business901 Website*
(2) Generated News releases.
20 to 30 page eBook(Transcribed from Podcast)**

This webinar will be taped and published as part of future training programs so your participation will require a release to be signed. However, your participation and expertise will be further enhanced from the future marketing efforts of the program.

Registration Page: Marketing Your Black Belt

*Podcast will be published within 120 days of completion of program.
**eBook will be created within 21 days of completion of podcast recording.

This program will provide you with the tools and the knowledge to enhance your position as an expert in your field. The last three sessions will cover specific strategies and tactics geared toward Customer Acquisition/Retention and Pricing of Services.

Registration Page: Marketing Your Black Belt

There are a limited number of seats.

Share this:

How Lean, Six Sigma and Agile all work under the same umbrella at Xerox

business901 — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 03:13:00 +0000

This is a transcription of the podcast, Adding Customer Value in Development at Xerox that featured Patrick Waara talking about Xerox’s use of Agile techniques. Pat has been with Xerox for nearly 25 years teaching Lean, Six Sigma, and Agile techniques to Xerox’s software development community improving their software development capability. Our conversation originally was designed to discuss swarming and Lean problem solving. However we ventured off into the subject of how Lean, Six Sigma and Agile all work under the same umbrella.

Adding Value in Development

Pat has both a BS and an MS in computer science from Michigan Technological University. He has held a variety of jobs at Xerox including developing user interface systems for Xerox’s DocuTech and Systems Architect for Xerox’s iGen3, all dealing with software development and systems.

Share this: