Selecting Six Sigma Consultants

People tend to miss the most important factor when selecting outside consultants - RESULTS! 

There are a lot of wanna-be consultants out there who went through mandated Black Belt certification 5 years ago, took an early retirement package, and now read their old Six Sigma slides and MiniTab examples to their clients.  There are others who have a flashy premier presence, a nice sales pitch, are intellectually very savvy, but fall short on results after their clients have spent $1 million+ in fees.  Skip the budget conscious "Extra, Extra Get your 5 Day Blackbelt for just $1,995 each" peddlers.  Avoid people without the right credentials (ala people with the Six Sigma Expert or Grand Master Black Belt titles whose only qualification is 25 years of experience in Quality or attendance at a 3 day Crosby seminar 15 years ago).  Forget "Simplified Six Sigma" - It's difficult as hell to do it right and get results.

Seriously, the most important factor in selecting an outside firm is their demonstrated ability to achieve results, over and over, in a variety of business environments.  If they can do this, then they probably have all of the other critical qualifications. 

Forget the first impressions, the glossy brochures, the impressive canned education booklets, the nice dinner they treated you to, or the $1000 suits.  Do some deep-diving into their qualifications.  Beyond the expected degrees, certifications, experience, and professional affiliations, look at the "hands-on experience horsepower" they bring as a firm.  Talk to (and visit) their clients.  Don't take their website's word for their expertise.  Go see firsthand what has been accomplished with their other clients.  Talk to the executives, talk to the people in the plant.  Get the names of the consultants who actually did the work.  Look at the numbers before and after.  Look at their longevity and client list.  Make sure there is a character/personality fit with the people who will work with you.  Select a firm who is as passionate as you about improving your business.  I know this sounds like a lot of work, but most people put more effort into buying a new car than they do in making a significant investment in outside consulting assistance. 

The best decision is to select a firm who has demonstrated not only the technical Six Sigma, Lean, etc. knowledge, but the leadership and practical implementation expertise to deploy this knowledge and transform an organization to best-in class status.  It's one thing to teach Six Sigma and certify candidates - That's a no brainer. It is much more challenging to go beyond that and retrofit Six Sigma to the strategic challenges of a business, link 100% of the Six Sigma efforts back to the business plan and the financials, transform the culture, build a high performance organization who uses this stuff without even thinking about whether its Kaizen, Lean, Six Sigma, or whatever.  The proof is in the results - Market share, revenue from new products, increased profits, lower costs, speed, improved asset utilization, and happier employees. 

Don't overlook the most important consultant selection factor - RESULTS!  If you want to discuss consultant selection criteria in more detail, email me directly.

Terry (burtonceobreakthrough.com)