Ron Behrens, an old friend and colleague, recently replied to my invitation to share examples of the intelligent use of statistics, such as that used in our Six Sigma projects. I asked for stories, some data, and some statistical analyses. With his response, he noted that I had probably already received many such responses. I received none but his!
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His story began with a discovery of inaccurate data and a lack of a standardized process, just like what many of us see in our operations. His story then illustrated how his organization successfully overcame that to show that statistical analysis can improve the systems we operate. That is what Six Sigma professionals do.
His expectation got me to thinking about the fact that his was the only story I received. I know we are all busy, and I certainly am not high on the lists of folks we all need and want to respond to... that was my initial reflection. I then remembered the same kind of limited response when, many years ago, I was at Ford world headquarters, and we asked our operations for similar success stories to share with the rest of the corporation the fact that this new way of operating and improving systems was working. We got a similar, limited response.
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This is just junk copied from this blog:
http://blog.pqsystems.com/2012/12/10/six-sigma-and-more-show-your-stren…
QD, find some original material !
Used with permission
Hi Tony.
Not copied. Used with permission.
That aside, are you saying that you disagree with David's premise that opportunites for quality improvement often don't come to light because we are reluctant to toot our own horns?
Brilliant, gorgeous, talented, etc.
David,
I also worked at Ford in an earlier life (1985 to 1998). Ford implemented a "Customer Driven Quality Award" program in the 1990s and there was a huge response. In a typical year, over three hundred assembly plant quality improvement teams would submit nominations for the award. Only two assembly plant teams were guaranteed awards, so the competition was extremely tough. I was fortunate enough to win the award four times, and I was "robbed" of a few more awards (LOL). But my point is that people did respond in a big way, and there were some truly wonderful case studies showing six sigma techniques in action. Perhaps your low response rate is due to workload or other issues, rather than a reluctance to let the light shine.
I once had an employer who stressed the importance of publications to improve intellectual capital and enhance the reputation of the company. So I took the bait and worked really hard on a manuscript. The final product was new, innovative, and had the potential to create a new industry standard. The company ignored the manuscript for almost a year. Too technical, I suppose. If it could not be reduced to a 30 second elevator speech, they were not interested. So, another theory for the lack of response: people are often driven by incentives and the opportunity for recognition. When their actions and accomplishments are not recognized, they will lose interest in participating. This may have been the cause of the eventual demise of the Customer Driven Quality Award program at Ford. When 300 teams submit and only two teams "win", after a while people decide not to participate. Too bad that in this country, recognition is so closely linked to competition. Policy, politics, and jealosy get in the way. Deming preached against slogans. One of my pet peeves is corporate lip service. They want employees to "act like owners", but aren't willing to treat them like owners.
Andy
Obstacles to Success
David,
I read your article this morning looking to gain some additional insight on 6 sigma from someone else. Instead, I read some interesting ideas that relate more to my executive coaching business. You share some very good points, in my opinion -- I enjoyed the article.
As an executive coach, I believe that one of the biggest reasons that leaders are successful, and are set apart from everyone else, is being aware of and leveraging their strengths. Additionally, one of the key obstacles to success in my experience is limiting beliefs. There are three primary obstacles to success but I find limiting beliefs as the one that holds most of us back and keeps us from realizing our full potential.
Thanks,
Richard
Inspirational!
Hey Dave,
Inspiring thoughts, as usual, and quite timely for me. Thank you for sharing them.
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