Summary

In Leading Six Sigma, two of the world's most experienced Six Sigma leaders offer a detailed, step-by-step strategy for leading Six Sigma initiatives in your company. Top Six Sigma consultant Dr. Ronald D. Snee and GE quality leader Dr. Roger W. Hoerl show how to deploy a Six Sigma plan that reflects your organization's unique needs and culture, while also leveraging key lessons learned by the world's most successful implementers. Snee and Hoerl share leadership techniques proven in companies both large and small, and in business functions ranging from R&D and manufacturing to finance. They also present a start-to-finish sample deployment plan encompassing strategy, goals, metrics, training, roles and responsibilities, reporting, rewards, and management review. Whether you're a CEO, line-of-business leader, or a project leader, Leading Six Sigma gives you the one thing other books on Six Sigma lack: a clear view from the top. * The right projects, the right people Identifying your company's most promising Six Sigma opportunities and leaders * How to hit the ground running Providing leadership, talent, and infrastructure for a successful launch * From launch to long-term success Implementing systems, processes, and budgets for ongoing Six Sigma projects * Getting the bottom-line results that matter most Measuring and maximizing the financial value of your Six Sigma initiative * Four detailed case studies: What works and what doesn't Avoiding the subtle mistakes that can make Six Sigma fall short. Proven techniques for leading successful quality initiatives. The Six Sigma guide designed specifically for business leaders Co-authored by Dr. Roger W. Hoerl, a leader in implementing Six Sigma at GE Draws on Six Sigma experiences at over 30 leading companies Covers the entire Six Sigma lifecycle, from planning onward Presents new solutions for overcoming the cultural resistance to Six Sigma initiatives Leading Six Sigma offers an insider's view of what it really takes to lead a successful Six Sigma initiative, drawing on the authors' experience at the top levels of the world's largest and most challenging organizations.Dr. Ronald D. Snee shares experiences drawn from executive-level consulting at over 30 major companies. Dr. Roger W. Hoerl teaches powerful lessons from his experience in pioneering Six Sigma throughout GE during the Jack Welch era. Together they offer unprecedented executive guidance on the issues most crucial to senior managers, covering every stage from planning through ongoingmanagement.Snee and Hoerl offer practical solutions for the cultural challenges and human resistance that face any executive seeking to initiate Six Sigma or improve an existing program. They even explain how and when to "wind down" initiatives, transitioning Six Sigma to a "fact of life" that doesn't require the support of a massive centralized infrastructure. " This is a truly insightful and well-researched book on Six Sigma by two of the leading experts in the field. Theirroadmap for successful deployment is supported by the experiences of major corporations, including GE and Honeywell. Itis extremely well presented in a step-by-step manner and backed up by real business-case examples. Bravo to the authors inbringing us a book that should be at the ready reach of leadership of organizations and the practitionersof Six Sigma. It reminded me so much of 'In Search of Excellence' as far as its potential impact on the way businessescan be successful. "&

Author Biography

Dr. Ronald D. Snee is Principal in Tunnell Consulting's Performance Excellence Practice Dr. Roger W. Hoerl is a long-time leader in GE's renowned Six Sigma initiative. He is Manager of GE R&D's Applied Statistics Lab

Preface.
Acknowledgements.
1. So You Want to Do Six Sigma?

Why You Need This Book. An Overview. Roles of Six Sigma Leaders. Summary. References.

2. Four Case Studies: What Works and What Doesn't.

Inside GE's Experiences. The First Year--1996. The Push for Tangible Benefits. DFSS and a Critical Mass of Green Belts. A Refocus on Customers. Digitization and Six Sigma. A Reinvigoration. The W. R. Grace Story. Less Successful Six Sigma Deployments. Summary. References.

3. How to Successfully Deploy Six Sigma.

Why Were GE and Grace Successful? Why Were Others Less Successful? The Keys to Successful Six Sigma Deployment. A High-Level Roadmap For Six Sigma Deployment. Summary. References.

4. Launching the Initiative.

Full or Partial Deployment? Developing the Deployment Plan. Deployment Plan Elements. Selecting the Right Projects. The Concept of Process Entitlement. Developing the Project Charter. Selecting the Right People. What Training Do I Need? Selecting a Six Sigma Provider. Summary. References.

5. Managing the Effort.

Managerial Systems and Processes. Management Project Reviews. Project Reporting and Tracking System. Communication Plan. Reward and Recognition Plan. Project Identification/Prioritization System. Inclusion of Six Sigma in Budgeting Processes. Deployment Processes for Leaders. Integrating Six Sigma with Current Management Systems. Summary.

6. Sustaining Momentum and Growing.

Playing Defense--Sustaining Momentum. Playing Offense--Growing the Effort. Summary. References.

7. The Way We Work.

Integrating Six Sigma With Process Management Systems. Creating an Overall Organizational Improvement System. Integration of Six Sigma With Other Strategic Initiatives. The Long-Term Impact of Six Sigma. Summary. References.

8. Final Thoughts for Leaders.

Understanding the Role of the Six Sigma Tools--A Case Study. How to Think About the Six Sigma Tools. Advice For Ensuring Project Success. Good Questions to Ask in Project Reviews. Advice for Ensuring Success of the Six Sigma. Initiative. Good Questions to Ask in Reviews of the Overall Initiative. Summary. Additional Six Sigma References.

Deployment Questions and Answers.

General Questions About Six Sigma. Questions Concerning MBB and BB Roles. Project Selection and Review Questions. Training Questions. Questions Concerning Financial Benefits. Other Human Resources Questions. References.

Six Sigma Deployment Plan-An Example. Contents. Introduction. Deployment Plan Elements. Lessons Learned. Key Issues. Action Plan.
Glossary.
Acronyms.
Index.

Supplemental Materials

What is included with this book?

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The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

Excerpts

Preface Six Sigma is about radically improving the performance of an organization-a pursuit to which we have collectively dedicated more than fifty-five years of our careers. We first worked together at DuPont in the early 1980s. We continued our professional relationship over the years and, in 1995, we both independently began our work in Six Sigma. Having been involved in improvement efforts most of our careers, we were both amazed at the tremendous financial results produced by Six Sigma. We continued our discussions of Six Sigma over the next several years as we deployed the method in different organizations. While we began to see numerous books on Six Sigma, they tended to either be focused on the technical tools of Six Sigma, or were using hype and fanfare to sell the reader on implementation. Our colleagues and clients, on the other hand, were raising deeper issues about how to actually deploy Six Sigma and avoid potholes along the way. These questions highlighted to us the paucity of practical guidance on the deployment of Six Sigma. This book represents our attempt to fill this void. How This Book Can Help You Six Sigma began at Motorola in the 1980s as a statistical measure of process performance. AlliedSignal and General Electric (GE) broadened and further popularized the approach in the 1990s. Their successes encouraged other companies such as DuPont, Dow Chemical, 3M, Ford, American Express, and companies in Europe and the Pacific Rim to undertake Six Sigma initiatives. The methodology has evolved significantly along the way, and today Six Sigma has grown into a holistic strategy and methodology for improving the performance of an organization. Six Sigma integrates the improvement tools that have proven effective over the years into a comprehensive approach that improves both customer satisfaction and the bottom line. As a result, Six Sigma builds on what has been successful in the past and takes performance improvement to a new level of effectiveness. Although the theory is simple, many who implement Six Sigma struggle with the details of overall deployment. Being sold on Six Sigma is of little value if it cannot be successfully implemented. While most companies have experienced tremendous success with Six Sigma, some have not. Our research indicates there is a lack of literature on why this is so. We have examined both very successful and minimally successful organizations in order to understand the root causes for success or failure. We have found that successful companies have important similarities in deployment, as do the unsuccessful companies. Understanding these common success factors enables one to significantly enhance the probability of success, while understanding the commonalities of unsuccessful companies enables one to avoid the potholes. Of course, each organization is different. You cannot blindly adopt the Six Sigma deployment models used by other companies and expect to be successful. It makes much more sense to understand what specifically led these companies to success, and adapt those approaches and methods to your own organization. Providing a roadmap to do just this is the focus of this book. What's In This Book We present a deployment roadmap that has worked in a number of different circumstances. It shows how to get started, manage the important aspects of the initiative, maintain the momentum over time, and eventually how to scale down the initiative and institutionalize Six Sigma. Specific advice is given in such areas as: Identifying your company's most promising Six Sigma opportunities and leaders Providing leadership, talent, and infrastructure for a successful launch Implementing systems, processes, and budgets for ongoing Six Sigma projects Measuring and maximizing the financial value of your Six Sigma initiative Avoiding the subtle mistakes that can make Six Sigma fall s