BB/MBB training/certification

Take a look at all of the companies advertising on here. They are all
big and have to take any customer whether the company knows what
the want or not. Most of their deployments are jokes.Ask yourself if that is the kind of company you want and you’ll be a
long way towards choosing the right company.

Hhmmmm….they are all big and are all jokes. Isn’t that something that one can be in an industry where one’s offering is a joke and still get and remain big.
Boy there aren’t many opportunities like that any more.

Brandon,
You need to be consistent. Go back and look at your thread from Friday where you were very clear what a joke it is … or your recomendations that all you need is $100 worth of PowerPoint slides…
Hhmmmm….
Jan, these folks sell training whatever you tell them you need, they offer with no guarantee of results for the company or real knowledge for the trainee. Brandon knows that too, just go look at his posts over the last six months.

Alright Jan, you asked a serious question you deserve a reasonable answer.
SS is a skill set that you can acquire in a number of ways..just like you can acquire any other skill set in a variety of ways. The DMAIC methodology is essentially the same as offered by everybody. So, the issue is how do you best obtain that knowledge AND how do you gain the ability to APPLY it? There is a difference. Remember the old adage..those who can DO…those who can’t teach.
You can learn the DMAIC process by reading a book or sitting in a classroom. The application is learned through practicing it with the guidance of a mentor. THEN beyond that you still need to learn how to integrate it with your company’s employees….there are a number of issues around Change Mngt that come into play with this challenge.
So, learning the DMAIC stuff is relatively easy. Learning how to apply it and get people to effectively react to the results is where the challenge lies. Finding the best avenue to accomplish that is very individualized depending upon your personal objectives and/or your company’s objectives. Talk to any of the firms listed on this site and askk whatever questions you deem necessary tounderstand what they bring to the table. It’s tricky bit…truth is…there isn’t a great deal of difference among them.

Can you imagine, if the training of medical doctors only entailed the classroom learning, maybe with some work on cadavers, then turning them loose on the patients without any further training, such as internships?  This is exactly what many six sigma and lean consulting / training approaches do.  They view the certification as a BB as the end of the process, with no further training required.  What folly! 
As my karate instructor once told me, when you get your black belt, then the real education of how to use the new skills and knowledge begins.  My instructor would, on occasion, have to teach a new black belt that they may know the moves, but they had no in-depth knowledge of how to use them in a blended approach, sizing up their opponents, and using their strengths – and weaknesses – to their advantage.  The new black belt would have a few bruises and sore spots, and a slightly deflated ego as the result of that lesson, but they would realize they had much more to learn.
Like in karate, achieving your BB in six sigma is just the beginning of your education.  You will know enough to be very dangerous without further coaching, mentoring and training by someone who has a lot of experience in continual improvement (many years worth).  Unfortunately, many believe that having completed a couple of projects for certification, they are ready to take on the world because they are “certified.”  Nothing could be further from the truth.
Shooter

I like your thought process – Over the past 20+ years my Sensei’s /
sheehan’s approach was the same and having mixed through MMA,
Kowanabedo and Haganah I certainly have a good appreciation for
a blended approach. With all of these trainings there was the
formal Kowanabedo which was very rigorous indeed as opposed to
Haganah which is simple techniques with maximum impact.So back to the original thread … When I consult I identify the pain
or opportunity and cultural need – then provide custom training
(just in time training) and comprehensive coaching with the
students and leadership to make sure results are being achieved.A standard approach, without a width and depth of expertise will
provide poor tactical results – a bit like putting someone studying taekwondo in a close contact bar room brawl. 80% of all training is waste ! Training is embedded through
application and it is key to have a good coach that will be able to
advise on best too usage and alternative approached as the
trainee’s projects progresses and new insights are gained.There are trainers and coached out there that consult like stan,
carnell etc have the depth and with of expertise to provide business
results and cultural transformation.The biggest issue with people searching for a consultant and
trainer is that they typically have not passed the level of
consciously incompetent (4 levels going from Unconsciously
incompetent, consciously incompetent, consciously competent to
unconsciously competent) which means that they know they do not
know – and they really will not get quality help until they connect
with some one that is unconsciously competent. Wow – that was a whole lot longer than I’d expected but I’m pretty
damn passionate about this topic as it is key to a trainees and a
companies success.Best regards,Adam
720 938 0321

Jan,
 
What these gentlemen have told you is true.  However as usual, I’m as couple degrees off center and see it a little different.
 
Learning the methodology is easy, it’s based of common sense (that’s why it works), we use it every day, but we don’t call it DMAIC.
 
Most of the tools are not hard or complicated; some of the more advanced statistical tools (i.e. DOE) still confuse me a little.  But that’s where books and mentors come it.
 
Knowing what questions to ask, knowing where to apply it, the courage to speak up, the ability to convey the message, patience and all of those other intangibles that are needed are the truly the difficult part.
 
But this last point is not exclusively a six sigma problem.  If you currently have these characteristics then don’t sweat the training so much.
 
Stevo
 
Ps.  I’m currently a French fry cook at Wendy’s, so take my advice for what it’s worth.