Billy Wilkerson

Recently, I had the privilege of viewing several Air Force presentations that introduced lean six sigma methodologies to senior leaders. The training was developed by the University of Tennessee’s, Center for Executive Education. I highly recommend their courses of instruction for any agency moving forward with Lean Six Sigma. I found particularly useful one of […]

I’’ve seen it over and over again. An airman makes a mistake and then the reprimands begin, “He should know better,” says one sergeant. “Put a letter of counseling in his file,” says another sergeant. “Let’s not recommend him for promotion,” says even another sergeant, etc., etc. To me, these are all examples of when […]

Recently, someone asked me what I thought to be the biggest mistake of a manager. I believe that managers can get so caught up with processes that they forget about the people. People are what drives an organization. People are not machines, they are emotional. A manager needs to be able to sense the emotional […]

Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence wrote, “The range of what we think and do is limited by what we fail to notice. And because we fail to notice that we fail to notice there is little we can do to change until we notice how failing to notice shapes our thoughts and deeds.” After […]

Whether you wear stripes, bars, or stars on your shirt, the environment needed for open communication begins with you. Unfortunately, it is easy to become over-directive in our management styles when burdened with deadlines and our other “important” issues. With so much going on, who has time for idle chat, right? Well, it should be […]

For those of us involved with Lean it is easy to understand the challenges that come from starting a process improvement program from the ground floor. I would like to personally thank the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), for providing such a great model for all government agencies to follow. There website is a great resource, packed […]

The “Y” generation is definitely living up to its name. Why, why, why…everything is why these days. It appears that the good old days of say it and obey it are over and behind us. Blind faith leadership is becoming a thing of the past. Personally, I say thank goodness. After all, as Colin Powell […]

Since 2004, Sheriff John Rutherford has being fostering a culture of continuous improvement throughout the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO). With over 3000 employees having received initial roll out training, a full fledged division that bears the continuous improvement title, a dedicated steering committee comprised of top level executives to help ensure every project’s success, and […]

Like many of the tools available for law enforcement officers today, Lean Six Sigma (LSS) process improvement methodologies are only as good as the officer’’s skill level, trained in its use. Firearms, TASERs, pepper spray, batons, are all examples of what law enforcement officers, the world over, are required to achieve proficiency with before hitting […]

I have facilitated and experienced the benefits of Lean Six Sigma in both military and law enforcement. My experience tells me this. Everyone looking at making improvements, whether in the corporate setting, or in the public service sector, have one, and only one, main overarching project…figuring out how to get its workforce engaged enough to […]

Thanks Chief, but you really aren’t in charge…The talk that has to happen. In most organizations there are several layers of decision makers. Each layer has more authority to make decisions than the one before. Military and law enforcement know this to be called, “chain of command.” Several times, I have had a high ranking […]

Lean Six Sigma has special challenges in organizations that have a military styled rank structures. I have personally experienced this as a Representative of a law enforcement agency and as a military guardsman. Recently, I have had the good fortune of making the acquaintance of Retired Colonel Billy Asbell, former Director for the Air National […]

Supervisors never “earn” the privilege to be disrespectful to subordinates simply because they have achieved a higher rank. This can be an indication that they have been promoted beyond their ability to lead and digress to using intimidation as a resource to get things done. If you find yourself using positional authority to get things […]