Overview

Lean Six Sigma can deliver increased operating margins and growth that will drive the intrinsic value of the company. But the key to having the stock market recognize that value is to sustain the growth in ROIC and revenue. And that means institutionalizing Lean Six Sigma so that the company can continue to improve performance year in and year out.

One of the biggest concerns we hear from our clients is How do we make sure that our people don t think this new initiative is just the latest flavor of the month? This telling comment reminds us that nearly every company will have tried to implement a change program or two at some point in the past. In many cases, these programs faded away and the initiatives became flavors of the month. The experience tends to create an immunity in the company to making change.

This immunity to change is not because people are opposed to doing the right thing. In fact, many of the skeptics of the program probably have tried to do the right thing many times in the past. The immunity is created by the conviction that this initiative is merely wasting time and committing effort to an initiative that is destined to fade away.

Institutionalizing the new methods encompassed within Lean Six Sigma will prevent it from becoming another flash in the pan. Lean Six Sigma is institutionalized through the CEO s visible commitment, management s resolve to use the Lean Six Sigma infrastructure as a...