Leadership & Teamwork

How can employees be motivated to do projects?

From my perspective, this is not a Six Sigma problem. However, it does seem to be a management problem. The motivational issue will likely disappear with some proactive leadership. The difficulty you are have in relating your issues to the…

How can I determine if Six Sigma will work in my organization?

Determining if some initiative can “fit” an organization is much like buying a pair of shoes – you can know the exact size of each foot, but sooner or later, you must put the shoes on and walk around a…

How can I drive successful Six Sigma projects in sales and marketing?

There is a wide array of stereotypical reasons that potentially explain why people are not willing to “do” six sigma projects. For example, in some situations, there are no incentives to offset the added risk and responsibility. As yet another…

How can I implement Six Sigma in my company if I only have a basic understanding of Six Sigma?

Asking for the optimal way to sell an organization on the merits of Six Sigma is much like asking how two people how they can best develop “love and admiration” for each other. Your intent and focus is laudable, but…

How do you handle Six Sigma skeptics?

As humans, we often seek insight by way of reasoning. In this case, we are concerned with the reasoning of a “skeptic.” Referencing the standard dictionary (Excel version), we define a skeptic as “somebody who questions the validity or truth…

If a company is looking for a proven tool to elevate its performance to the next level, which would you recommend?

With respect to your question, my thinking may appear to be somewhat out-of-context. Nonetheless, it is my opinion that the premier tool, to be held in revere above of all others, is leadership. Tools such as Six Sigma, Lean, TQM,…

What's your best advice to gain the trust, comittment and participation of all associates in the shortest time possible?

In my opinion, between 25 and 50 percent of variable pay must be directly linked to “hard” Six Sigma goals – throughout the organizational hierarchy. This tactic usually gets everybody’s attention and quickly sounds the alarm to “align goals and…