Category: Communication

The Importance of Vision Casting
Published:Need help setting a vision for your team? Read about how a new leader found inspiration through a phone call to his local fire department, and learn the five practical steps to casting a vision.
Read more ยป
The Secret to Leadership? Enable Joy
Published:We are all members of teams of one type or another, but have you ever stopped to think about how to lead a team well when you arenโt the boss? Thereโs a plethora of advice about being a better boss and the like, but how about a team that will only be together for a […]
Read more ยป
Give Your Elevator Speech a Lift
Published:Imagine you run into a senior leader in your organization in the elevator or while walking down the hallway. The leader asks, โWhat are you working on?โ You could say, โOh, you know me, Iโm keeping busyโ or perhaps โIโm working on a few new projectsโ or even โIโm making great progress on my project […]
Read more ยป
You’re Coming in Broken and Unreadable
Published:Communication can make or break a relationship, an organization or even a company. The next time you are writing a mission statement for your new project remember to think about how you plan to communicate.
Read more ยป
The 5S of Communication
Published:Lean 5S (sort, simplify, shine, standardize, sustain) are about organizing work space so we can be more efficient, effective and productive. All Lean concepts are about how work gets done. There are many benefits Lean 5S can provide including improving safety, decreasing down time, raising employee morale, identifying problems more quickly and establishing convenient work […]
Read more ยป
Integrate Values into Business Processes
Published:The intent of any organizationโs process improvement efforts is to improve the effectiveness (e.g., reduce defects) and efficiency (e.g., cost cutting per transaction) of the business process. What one often does not see as part of the effectiveness definition, however, is the expectation that the newly redesigned or improved business processes need to reflect the […]
Read more ยป
Communicate Change Throughout the Value Stream
Published:I was recently asked, “What is the most efficient way to communicate change throughout the value stream?” What I am about to propose does not need to take the place of other methods to communicate change. Historically, email, newsletters, video or updating policies all have had their place. I have had good experiences using a […]
Read more ยป
Crafting a Vision: Who We Are, What We Do, Where We’re Going
Published:The second part in this series on culture change focuses on the importance of developing and maintaining a clear mission for your Lean enterprise.
Read more ยป
Spreading the Word Throughout the Supply Chain
Published:In a recent survey, iSixSigma gathered data on how organizations communicate about their Six Sigma efforts โ data that reflects a lack of communication both within and outside of Six Sigma programs. A resulting iSixSigma Magazine research report, โSpreading the Word,โ examined internal communication. Externally, the flow of information โ or at least the knowledge […]
Read more ยป
A Project Charter Communication Strategy Is Essential
Published:Six Sigma Black Belts, Master Black Belts and project Champions, when embarking on a DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control), DMADV (Define, Measure,ย Analyze, Design, Verify)ย or process management project, need to be aware of the importance of establishing a communication plan when developing and validating a team charter. A finely executed Black Belt project can suffer […]
Read more ยป
The Eight Elements of TQM
Published:Total Quality Management (TQM)ย is a management approach that originated in the 1950s and has steadily become more popular since the early 1980s. Total quality is a description of the culture, attitude and organization of a company that strives to provide customers with products and services that satisfy their needs. The culture requires quality in all […]
Read more ยป
Three Deadly Sins In Strategic Planning
Published:When clients are not getting the results they expect from their strategic plans, there are usually three overlooked causes โ incomplete planning, inadequate links between strategy and action, and poor communication. Are you getting enough from your Six Sigma strategic plan?
Read more ยป
The Role of Human Resources (HR) in Six Sigma
Published:Chances are you’ve heard of Six Sigma, perhaps in connection with General Electric, the company that made it popular in the 1990s. You may even know that Six Sigma uses statistical techniques to improve processes in both manufacturing and service industries. But did you know there is an important role for Human Resources (HR) in […]
Read more ยป
Communication Strategies for Six Sigma Initiatives, Part 2
Published:Making the decision to bring Six Sigma into your organization is just the first step on a long journey. Although this approach has proven successful for a variety of industries (including manufacturing, transactional and professional services), the best-laid plans may go awry if the focus is solely on the technical side, without considering the cultural […]
Read more ยป
Generating Support for a Sales Quality Initiative
Published:A quality initiative in sales โ an impossible dream? With the right proposition and simple techniques, not only is it possible but it can also be a successful venture. The goal is to achieve performance improvements similar to those achieved in manufacturing and elsewhere using quality-oriented techniques. Unfortunately, these initiatives often produce nothing but resentment […]
Read more ยป
Six Sigma Via Context
Published:I’m sure all of us experience daily memos, emails, voice mail, procedures, forms, and reports that are nearly meaningless due to lack of context. Some ramble on with obvious passion but fail to explain what the heck they’re talking about. Some are very beautiful with lots of statistical charts and graphs yet without simple contextual […]
Read more ยป
Words of Advice for Frustrated Black Belts
Published:“I entered the Six Sigma program with our organization in May as a BB candidate. Since then I have encountered a number of setbacks and frustrations. They aren’t unique to me, either. Many other BBs at my company are experiencing the same things. I’m hoping for some general advice. What can you do (as a […]
Read more ยป
A Project Charter Communication Strategy Is Essential
Published:Six Sigma Black Belts, Master Black Belts and Project Champions, when embarking on a DMAIC, DMADV or Process Management project, need to be aware of the importance of establishing a communication plan when developing and validating a team charter. A finely executed Black Belt project can suffer disappointing results if an efficient mechanism is not […]
Read more ยป
Preventing Conflicts Through Stakeholder Management
Published:A stakeholder of a Six Sigma project is anyone associated with the project either directly or indirectly. Examples of stakeholders are supervisors providing resources, team members, department heads and employees involved in the process. An up-front analysis of who the stakeholders are and how and when to involve them in the project can prevent potential […]
Read more ยป
Voice of the Business, Customer, Process and Employee
Published:Business could not have been better. Customers were reacting positively to the companyโs new and enhanced service portfolio, the company entered the market without much competition and customer satisfaction was at an all-time high. Profitability continued to rise, and the companyโs efficiency rate was impressive. But then things changed. New account numbers abruptly fell. Some […]
Read more ยป
Reserve Unit Improves Requisition Process
Published:For Lt. Col. Harry Yates of the 335th Theater Signal Command and his deployment advisor Capt. George Harris, Lean Six Sigma is having a big impact on the way daily work gets done. The 335th is an Army Reserve command co-located with Fort McPherson in East Point, Georgia. It is responsible for signal operations supporting […]
Read more ยป
The Initial Focus โ Strategy or Projects?
Published:Organizations often have a strategy and process improvement program in place, but eventually start seeing signs of waning momentum. The organizations experience a familiar realization that it is difficult to sustain improvements. Organizations including hospitals and health systems have encountered similar challenges. It is not easy to launch a major change initiative in healthcare, and […]
Read more ยป
Communication and Business Case Key to Revising Process
Published:Through a two-year Six Sigma project, the Department of Defense (DoD) Acquisition and Technology Programs Task Force (ATP TF) coordinated a revision to a joint weapon system safety review process that provided a 59 percent reduction in cycle time. Without the Six Sigma framework, the project might not have achieved the success it did within […]
Read more ยป
Gain Support with Straight Talk and Exit Strategy Tools
Published:Effective cultural change is not simply the result of a large group of people accepting the arguments of other influential people โ it is the sum of the change of that populationโs values, operational knowledge and habitual behaviors. Essentially, culture is not changed until a majority of the population is thinking and acting differently from […]
Read more ยป