isixsigma.com

Lately, I have written a lot on call center points of interest, as I have just rolled off three back to back projects in that space. These are some of the hardest six sigma project types, that is, when compared to manufacturing from the control perspective only. Now, I am not at all claiming that […]

Dr. Phil is blogging! No, not that Dr. Phil, I’m talking about Dr. Phil Samuel, Chief Innovation Officer for BMG. The blog is called Chief Innovator Onlineand is the second blog written by BMG executives. David Silverstein, CEO of BMG, has been blogging for just over a year now and Leadership & Business. I know […]

The Cox-Box is Copyright © 2000-2007 iSixSigma LLC and Gary P. Cox – All Rights ReservedReproduction Without Permission Is Prohibited – Request Permission

I recently stepped into the elevator at our corporate office with a newly trained Green Belt. It was lunch time and the elevator was crowded. As the doors closed the Green Belt, recognizing who I was, remarked with pride, “I just finished the SIPOC on my project!” A voice in the front immediately said, “SIPOC […]

John Corr’s comment (9 March 2007) in Andrew Downard’s Six Sigma Sucks blog (1 August 2006) showed the lack of understanding of how Six Sigma is applied in the service industry. While preaching a certain methodology it’s good to do some research first. A great example of how Starwood does continuous improvement in its hotels: […]

Not all that glitters, is gold, and so is true in a call center. Most performance management and incentive programs focus heavily on the financial or monetary benefits to help incentivize agent performance. But, in a black belt project, you focus on ways to drive down costs, so I ask you, can it be done? […]

Resolution, resolution, resolution…that’s what I always say…and so when I see black belts going after AHT (average handle time) as their key output (KPOV) variable, I cringe. Instead, why not break it down to the components of AHT: Talk Time, Hold Time and After-Call Wrap Time. Ok, some of you are saying , “what if […]

In my on-going journey to master the tools & techniques of Lean Sigma I have been reviewing the materials on ANOVA. How useful this has been, it has really moved me on a level. ANOVA comes across in training as a very useful tool and Tukey’s pairwise comparison really hits the spot. However in our […]

I have never personally sewn, but I’ve heard that one of the most difficult aspects of sewing is deciphering the pattern and following its directions. I learned this, and many more important lessons, from observing my mother, who made dresses for my sister when I was a child. Looking back, whoever created these patterns for […]

From Army recruiting to the Bradley fighting vehicle (and everything in between -including meal scheduling), the US Army continues to improve processes and save dollars through Lean Six Sigma. “Lean Six Sigma techniques implemented throughout the Army continue to prove successful, and leaders anticipate reaching a $2 billion-savings mark this year.” Yesterday’s article on army.mil/news […]

We have heard time and time again that Six Sigma “stifles innovation.” But where’s the data to prove it?

With”The Discreditor” ranking a strong #5, “The Busybody” boasting the #4 spot, “The Egomaniac” landing #3, and the “The Whiner” grabbing #2, it’s hard to imagine who could possibly hold the #1 spot. Well ponder it no more, because this week it’s right here on the Blogosphere. The #1 position on the Six Sigma Most […]

I recently received an email from another Command that outlined a program of LSS projects regarding the Army Reserves Family Support Group. The Family Support Group is essential a booster organization that supports military families during deployments and other activities that make their loved one absent. They provide resources such as Red Cross Assistance, small […]

When I first joined the hotel industry as the finance guy, I was literally glued to my desk. Sure, I would attend all the necessary office meetings and staff events but my mind was solely ‘back to work’. Bipan the General Manager would come by my office and reminded me very often, “Hey, Mr. Finance […]

“Dilemma” is term properly reserved to describe a situation in which we must choose between two more-or-less equally unpleasant alternatives. This pretty much sums up how most organizations feel about documentation for Six Sigma projects. On the one hand, there is always an organizational craving (note that I am specifically avoiding the term “need” here) […]

The QualPro vs. Six Sigma debate is hot again. Forrest Breyfogle has written an article on iSixSigma.com poking holes in Charles Holland’s research of 58 Six Sigma companies…. For those unfamiliar with the debate sparked by the July 2006 Fortune article and subsequent Dilbert cartoon, go ahead and read up. Forrest isn’t the only one […]

Pete Abilla over at shmula has set up a question answer session with Craig Gygi, author of Six Sigma for Dummies and the Six Sigma Workbook for Dummies. Just ask Craig a question in the comments section of the blog and Pete will be post Craig’s answers in a few weeks. Pete says that Craig […]

With “The Discreditor” ranking a strong #5, “The Busybody” boasting the #4 spot, and “The Egomaniac” landing #3, our countdown of the Six Sigma Most Wanted List of naysayers continues this week with #2 – “The Whiner.” Mode of Operation (MO): This Naysayer complains about everything including Six Sigma. Six Sigma training is too hard or […]

The United States military has recently ramped up process improvement initiatives in the Air Force, Army and Navy. Mark Graban over at the Lean Blog recently wrote a post about the Lean efforts of the Air Force. I thought I’d share even more information about the program here. The primary goal of Air Force Smart […]

I have recently gone through ’Train The Trainer’ for Green Belt. I discovered on the training some excellent tools I had not been using, or have just plain forgotten about. Over the next few Blogs I would like to talk about ’Lost Tools’ and ask why they are not being used, and the impact on […]

I’m sure I’m not the only Black Belt who has conversations like these: Someone coming to a meeting in the BB office/cubicle area for the first time: “Wow, I’ve never been to your office before. It’s not very… 6S’d, is it? Ha ha!” Team member, at a meeting: “Boy, I thought you Black Belts were […]

With “The Discreditor” ranking a strong #5 and “The Busybody” boasting the #4 spot, this week, our countdown of the Six Sigma Most Wanted List of naysayers continues with #3 – “The Egomaniac.” Mode of Operation (MO): This Naysayer has been improving things for years and has fixed everything there is to fix. They don’t need […]

Tollgate reviews can be a real source of anxiety for belts of all colors and levels. For the Army, a tollgate is like a phase-line on the Battlefield. It allows leaders to know where you are in relation to everything else. Go pastit without permission or authority and there may be some repercussions. With projects, […]

From Gauss defining the normal distribution to Galton designing his theories on correlation to Onho developing the Toyota Production system, we are proud of our rich heritage and the number & variety of sources that have come together to create the Lean Six Sigma model. So it is encouraging to see what may be an […]

iSixSigma Blogosphere Newsletter Guest Blog – May 15, 2007 Dawn Mular, Sun Microsystems employee and blogger, recently wrote Top 10 Program Mistakes (Green Belt) Programs Make… First, I like that she plugs the Software channel of iSixSigma, linking to the recent article, Top 10 Program Mistakes Software Green Belts in Training Make, but more importantly […]

My favorite part of the Leadership Conference is diving into the softer side of Six Sigma, the people side of the equation. I spent the afternoon on the first day in the Predictive Index session led by Heather Haas, the director of strategic initiatives for Bob Wilson & Associates. First off, Heather did a fabulous […]

Last week “The Discreditor” took the #5 spot on the Six Sigma Most Wanted list of naysayers. This week, our countdown continues with # 4 – “The Busybody.” Mode of Operation (MO): Much too busy to be bothered with Six Sigma. Everyone is already working overtime just to handle the daily workload (which is probably crammed […]

Here is a situation encountered on a recent project. I have abstracted the key-points here. The project started as a textbook DMAIC engagement with all the elements you would expect to find including impact on customer, strategic problem, clearly measurable benefits and well-defined goals. The project was too tackle rework created at a certain process […]

Our organization’s Black Belts recentlyparticipated ina two-day retreat in which we did some team-building and strategy work for the upcoming fiscal year. We did a leadershipprofile that diagnoses each person’s preferred approach. The four main styles are generalized as Driver, Conscientious, Steady, and Interactive. I’m sure that the profile is similar to many others out […]

Mike is the Associate VP of Six Sigma for sanofi-aventis. He is also the author of Applying the Science of Six Sigma to the Art of Sales & Marketing. Mike is very energetic and enthusiastic. Watch out Don Linsenmann, you’ve got competition. Mikemade some great jokes, but not enough sugar had kicked in from our […]

I’ve only got one more session to attend before I pick the family up at the pool and head for home. The snacks this afternoon are really good. They are setting up now. Popcorn, licorice, candy bars, soda, peanuts and soft pretzels with queso.. Just what we need for the next session. Good thing I’m […]

Jim Pearson, VP Customer Advocasy at EMC Corporation, just finished his presentation about Lean Six Sigma at EMC. I interviewed Jim nearly two years ago about their Six Sigma deployment. Jimshared EMC’s Lean Six Sigma program building blocks: Centralized training program Single online repository Established financial guidelines Certification and recognition programs Mentor and facilitations offerings […]

Chris Jones, I&CIM Global Deployment Champion for Delphi is speaking now. He’s laying out the case for change at Delphi. In a nutshell, because their customers demanded it. Delphi’s Enterprise-wide Strategy: Tools, process, and culture, encompassed by Kaizen: Tools are tools. You use themto help solve problems. Process is THE problem solving framework integrated in […]

I’m here for day two of the ISSSP Leadership Conference. Rox is opening the general meeting, thanking everyone for the fun at the Grand Evening last night. From Michael Cyger’s pictures, we know that Minitab had a good time… Today we’re going to talk about change management. The emcee is Jeanenne LaMarsh, Founder and CEO […]

5:15 am: I’ve always heard that the wake up to life is an experience not to be missed.People I spoke to last night at theGrand Evening went on and on about the sunrise, the moon set and the desert scenery. They even said they were going to show up *again* this morning to do the […]

It’s closing in on 1:00 am and right about now I’m thinking my earlier commitment to hike Pinnacle Peak is appearing very silly. The bus leaves the hotel at 5:15 am. This is the second time I’ve typed this blog posting, and yes, even those of us in Internet-land mess up and lose entire postings […]

Last evening, about 100 of Six Sigma’s finest went up to the Arizona hills to the Outback Oasis for some R&R after a full day of conference workshops. It was a great day for learning, and it was topped off with 80 degree F weather and cloudless skies. Roxanne O’Brasky, president of ISSSP, and her […]

After a much needed break, we’re back in the main hall and will hear from Rusty Patterson, VP Customer and Supply Chain Institute for Raytheon. His presentation is titled, “What’s Next for Six Sigma? Transforming Your Company to Remain Competitive.” Raytheon kicked off Six Sigma in the beginning of 1999. For cornerstones for Six Sigma […]

Next up is Stephen Turnipseed, Lean Six Sigma Advisor for Chevron Global Upstream. I’ve heard Stephen speak before. He is a great speaker. Chevron does not have the luxury of a CEO driven deployment. They started Six Sigma as a grassroots deployment, and it has been expanding. Now it’s moving into supply chain. Steve is […]

The ISSSP Leadership Conference general session has started. Roxanne O’Braskey is welcoming the attendees and giving a shout out to the 18 SKF employees from around the world that are here today. Marty Sherber is the Master of ceremonies, he is the senior VP of client development for AIT. He’s also a 5th degree Master […]

I’m at the ISSSP Leadership Conference with Jessica Harper, managing editor of iSixSigma Magazine and Michael Marx, our resident research manager and blogger-extrordinairre. The weather is beautiful – definitely not as green as Seattle, but the sun is glorious. I’m sitting in a presentation by Larry Goldman of Crystal Ball (of Hyperion and Oracle acquisition-fame) […]

The following is theOpen Mike column from the May/June 2007 issue of iSixSigma Magazine, entitled “Getting Ahead in Business with Six Sigma.” Attending the IQPC Six Sigma Summit in January, I was excited to hear the keynote speaker, and I wondered what Gen. Colin Powell could teach Six Sigma professionals about leadership. He had a […]

Ever wonder which Naysayers hold the distinction of being on the Six Sigma Most Wanted list? With so many types of naysayers to pick from, it’s tough competition. But after two years and 44 Nayisms, your time of wondering is coming to an end because the “Top 5 Countdown” is about to begin. This week, […]

It seems “Voice of the Customer” (VOC) is a label applied to almost any interaction between a business and a customer these days. Anything from direct interaction to the vaguest involvement along the periphery. Anything from highly structured, planned, and observed interactions to informal, anecdotal, and third-hand accounts. Some VOC is certainly useful. But more […]

The May/June issueof iSixSigma Magazine has hit the shelves (metaphorically speaking of course) as well as cyberspace via the digital edition. If you do not subscribe to the magazine you are really missing out on a wealth of information. I’m not just saying that because I work for the Magazine. I was hooked on iSixSigma […]

Pete Abilla who runs the shmula blog has just started working as the process improvement leader at eBay. I have been reading shmula since Pete started blogging and can honestly say that he is one of the best process improvement bloggers out there. I often link to him in the Guest Blogger section of the […]

Michael Cyger has been on an office cleaning frenzy lately, giving away books for trivia ¦ I thought I’d do a little spring cleaning myself. I’ve got five Cox-Box wall calendars sitting on my shelf when they should be hanging up in your office.  I’ll send one calendar out to the first five people to email […]