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For better or worse, we live in a world where overnight success and quick transformations grab all the headlines. It’s not necessarily the best way to go about business, as overnight success can be hard to keep up long term, and it overlooks just how important and meaningful small but consistent change can […]

How do you turn upper management’s goals into concrete cybersecurity measures? For all the talk and pageantry, when it comes time to put rubber to the road, you need a plan. While you can certainly align your security team’s planning with your organization’s overall strategic goals, it isn’t quite as straightforward as you […]

In any business, no matter what you are delivering to customers, whether it’s widgets, computers, or automobiles, the focus should first and foremost be on customer value. This is the reason you have customers, and if there is any reason why this customer value breaks or the customers no longer see a reason […]

Lean and Agile make for a potent combination when considering any cybersecurity operations. When taking a look at these two disparate methodologies, you’d be forgiven for thinking they might be ill-suited for building a culture of security. That said, finding the synergies between the two enables a more resilient, efficient organization that readily […]

Integrating some regular Kaizen practices into your security department is a powerful foundation. Rather than relying on the likes of regular audits and penetration testing to see where vulnerabilities might lie, daily, incremental changes can lead to sustainable and lasting improvements. Cybersecurity itself is taking the utmost precedence when looking at the state […]

For any company that wants to earn customer loyalty and return business, raising the bar on customer service is the way to go. While low prices and an easy return policy can help a business get really far with customers, it’s the situations that happen when a customer has an issue that really […]

How do you keep pace with the rising threat of vulnerabilities in your tech infrastructure? Cybersecurity is still a top concern in businesses around the world, something that is only going to grow in prevalence in the coming years. That said, there isn’t much in place for continually improving your processes when it […]

Originating from Lean principles that were developed and later popularized by Toyota, Value Stream Mapping is a great way to visualize the flow of how things work in an organization. Whether it’s manufacturing, marketing, or production, the evolution of Value Stream Mapping over time has helped it go from pen and paper to […]

What does the future of business processes look like? We’ve seen quite a bit of change just over the last 40 years in how business processes are constructed. As technology grows more advanced, we’re due for a new paradigm shift. Radical approaches like BPR are becoming rather common when it comes to designing […]

In a business and manufacturing world that is more competitive than ever, there is something about differentiating your business from others to increase profits. While it’s not exclusive to manufacturing, those in manufacturing have come to praise the rise of Lean, which has not only helped eliminate waste but has also boosted the […]

Hoshin Kanri vs. OKRS is a debate you’ll likely come across when looking at strategic goals in your organization. Ostensibly, both of these frameworks cover a lot of the same ground, but how they let you act upon your long-term goals and strategy is a different matter altogether. It will come down to […]

The hope is that anything the world can do to improve the overall healthcare situation is going to be beneficial. Whether it’s more hospitals or making our existing hospitals more efficient, everything is on the table to help. It’s with this in mind that we can look at something like Six Sigma, which […]

Unmanaged variation can have steep costs, especially when left to run amok in your organization. Over time, these costs become far more substantial. You’ll find processes simply cost more, despite being designed in a specific manner. You might even notice your business’s reputation and customer satisfaction dipping over time. Noticing unmanaged variation takes […]

In every business, something’s always a little off or not running as smoothly as it could. It doesn’t matter if you are selling keychains or cars. There is almost always a bottleneck happening somewhere. Maybe it’s slowing people down or eating into profits, but chances are, it’s causing more problems than you need. […]

Kanban finds its origins in Toyota, developed as a means to achieve equal production and productivity that the 1940s American automotive industry was achieving. While Toyota didn’t become a force to be reckoned with overnight, the use of the first Kanban cards set the stage for a manufacturing revolution. Beyond manufacturing, Kanban is […]

In today’s super competitive retail landscape, standing out from the competition isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s downright essential. This is especially true when it comes to delivering a strong customer experience, as earning customer loyalty is one of the most outstanding ways to create more business in the future. One way retailers are […]

Artificial intelligence has been steadily making headway into businesses around the world over the last few years. While some are using it for the likes of ideation, product design, and analysis, it has other applications. When considering something like Lean, you want to target waste, boost efficiency, and overall make for a more […]

In today’s competitive landscape across various business verticals, the concept of Lean has become a leading philosophy for organizations seeking to grow and thrive. Whether it’s to optimize processes, reduce waste, or better serve customers, Lean is not just a tool, but a cultural shift that drives change for the better across an […]

Are you making use of digital Kanban boards? Remote work is on the rise, and as such, there is a definite need to adapt and change workflows to better suit working conditions. You can’t readily pull out a physical Kanban board in a Zoom call, so what do you do? Thankfully, there is […]

While it might seem rather unusual at first glance, the principles behind Six Sigma make for an ideal solution in most network operations. When you consider some of the core tenets running behind Six Sigma, these are quite similar to some of the best practices in networking. That said, you can take things […]

Whenever we think about how much organizations spend every year on process improvement, it’s a whole lot of money. The efforts to improve engagement, business results, and employee performance can certainly lead to rewards, or they can lead to wasted spending. The hope is that every company’s good intentions pay off, but far […]

Keeping Lean Six Sigma rolling while merging with another organization is vital to maintain synergy and successfully integrate processes into your current workflow. Rapidly identifying waste, cutting away non-value-added activities, and improving processes is key for any newly combined entity. Developing key strategies for this can seem somewhat daunting, especially as you’re considering […]

Quantifying Lean Six Sigma impact across any project can be a challenging prospect. You need to prove to stakeholders and management that the investment has been worth the time and effort expended. When taking on any sort of initiative, it helps to have support for future projects. The immediate effects of this might […]

If you jump back in time to the 1940s, Toyota was seeking ways to manage better and control the work taking place at each step of the manufacturing process. The idea behind Kanban came from Toyota, while other companies adopted a work management process that focuses heavily on visualizing work, including how to […]

Technology is one of the most useful things at your disposal when it comes to your Hoshin Kanri processes. While pen and paper certainly have their place, even in the modern world, the advent of modern software suites has given a shot in the arm to how people are conducting Hoshin Kanri lifecycles. […]

If you’re unfamiliar with Value Stream Mapping, that’s okay, as it’s not a methodology that has the same recognition as something like Lean Six Sigma. However, this doesn’t mean that Value Stream Mapping lacks a unique purpose as a way to document, analyze, and improve the steps involved in helping an organization or […]

What is Business Process Reengineering? There are quite a few ways to approach the design of a process. We can pursue continual improvement, hoping that little by little it is hammered into the right sort of shape. This has its benefits, as it doesn’t severely upset the current workflow, and teams stay on […]

The Theory of Constraints can lead to some great breakthroughs in your product design, but you have to understand the concept. Theory of Constraints is a management philosophy that supposes any workflow is going to have at least one pain point present. By addressing the pain point, you’re increasing the chances of overall […]

The whole notion of successfully implementing a new business methodology doesn’t come without numerous challenges. First and foremost among those challenges is getting internal stakeholders, like the day-to-day workers, to sign off on new processes. Total Quality Management has plenty of success stories, but even the best efforts didn’t go off without a […]

Predictive analytics is one of the most powerful tools at your disposal when it comes to decision-making in Six Sigma. Data drives quite a bit of any business’s operations under Six Sigma, so it stands to reason that leveraging historical data to try and gain a future advantage would be a boon for […]

Whether it’s Total Quality Management or another popular methodology used in the business world, a lot of the success rides on how engaged and involved the leadership is. There’s no question that it’s crucial in quality management, as it requires a strong leader to rally everyone behind the TQM cause and ensure everything […]

How do you build a business case for Lean Six Sigma as a non-profit? You’re not building towards record profits, so the usual business case for pursuing an implementation is out the window. As we’ve outlined in the past, however, Lean Six Sigma is a solid fit for any non-profit organization. While financial […]

How are leading organizations leveraging TQM? Total Quality Management is a philosophy and approach that emphasizes the likes of continuous improvement, customer satisfaction, and employee engagement. The methodology itself reached the peak of its popularity in the 1980s, before the rise in popularity of methodologies like Six Sigma and Lean. TQM is still […]

One of the best-known job titles in the world of product and development, Scrum Master is arguably one of the most common terms you will hear today. While the job itself has evolved, there is no question that businesses still heavily rely on this individual or team of individuals to help everyone work […]

Any sort of public sector project is going to have constraints seldom seen in a typical business. That doesn’t mean you have to forego the implementation and use of methodologies like Lean Six Sigma. It takes a deft hand, careful planning, and adaptation to make the approach work regardless of intent or industry. […]

The origins of Total Quality Management and its ability to exceed customer expectations have surprisingly been around for a long time. You can trace its origins to just after World War II, something most people don’t know. Given that it has been around for so long, Total Quality Management has been at the […]

BPR projects can be daunting at first glance, as you’re fundamentally changing the way you work. However, it might not be tenable to continue with work as it sits; processes might be inefficient, wasteful, and prone to costly errors. BPR isn’t something that happens in a vacuum, and understanding how it affects any […]

Six Sigma in healthcare seems like an unlikely pairing at first glance. After all, Six Sigma is oriented towards less strict industries like manufacturing, compared to the slew of regulatory bodies any healthcare provider needs to pay attention to. That said, it isn’t impossible. Some providers leverage the teachings and principles of Six […]

The next time you are on the hunt for a process improvement methodology that looks explicitly for bottlenecks, the answer is the Theory of Constraints. This system enables organizations to achieve both their financial goals and their consumer goals by keeping their entire supply chain moving. The Theory of Constraints is often associated […]

The Scrum framework’s history is relatively short, in the grand scheme of things. However, its introduction to businesses had a transformative effect seemingly overnight. At its core, Scrum seeks to address the rigidity and linearity of older methodologies to better suit the rapidly changing needs of customers. So, with that in mind, we’re […]

If you’re looking for a management philosophy that will help your organization identify any factors preventing you from achieving a goal, it’s likely based on the theory of constraints. The goal is to identify any factor that is limiting a company’s ability to achieve its goal and then make the necessary changes until […]

What can you do to engage employees in your BPR initiatives? Any sort of BPR effort can be a vast undertaking. When we consider the wider scope of what needs to be done to achieve any sort of success, the odds are stacked heavily against us at first glance. Overhauling a process from […]

What are the best data visualization tools for Lean Six Sigma? There is no shortage of options when it comes to how you approach visualizing the data your organization gathers in Lean Six Sigma. Some tools have become something of a de facto industry standard, with plenty of documentation and dedicated learning resources […]

In the world of different management techniques and methodologies, Hoshin Kanri stands out. A Japanese management style, Hoshin Kanri, is no doubt a game changer. For any organization, Hoshin Kanri can help it align goals at every level of the business and direct everyone in the same direction to achieve a common set […]

When you have an undertaking as massive and diverse as a BPR effort, you need a little help to get things rolling. While getting your workforce on board with your efforts is instrumental to the initiative’s success, that isn’t the only consideration you’ll need to keep in mind when planning your BPR effort. […]

One of the most important things for any organization in today’s world is to figure out how to best handle remote work. For better or worse, remote work is here to stay, and millions of employees worldwide are happier for it. Enabling a stronger work-life balance, there is a good chance that employees […]

Six Sigma in healthcare is a fine fit, but there are always going to be things you don’t plan for in the mix of it. There are few industries better suited for Six Sigma than healthcare, and we’ve certainly seen more organizations pivoting towards it in recent years. However, it can be tough […]

When a company considers how to best bring its teams together in a collaborative manner, several approaches can be taken to achieve this goal. At the top of any list should be Kaizen, which is the philosophy of continuous improvement. Translated as “changing something for the better,” the origin of Kaizen stems from […]

Scope creep is the bane of any project’s existence, and one thing that can seriously hinder your BPR efforts. Avoiding scope creep is going to be paramount to the success of any efforts you’re undertaking to revamp your processes. Thankfully, it isn’t quite as difficult as you might think to stay focused and […]

What does design thinking in practice look like? There has been much talk about its power and efficacy. However, when you peruse the many online resources available, the picture is incomplete. We know it’s a human-centered take on product design, but what does that look like in motion? Design thinking in practice isn’t quite what […]