Is Lean Six Sigma still relevant in 2022..?

Short Answer: YES! The results of Lean Six Sigma can be unbelievably great, and any investment will be worth it…that is IF the goal is meaningful results. What counts as meaningful results? Read on!

As we close our eyes and picture the reader, we can see the faces of the hundreds of dedicated, hard-working and trusting people whom we've have had the honor of teaching how to be competent Lean Six Sigma practitioners…and I ponder the challenging question…Is Lean Six Sigma Still Relevant?

We'll use a simple analogy here. Is diet and exercise still relevant to your health? Of course. But what if you use the same approach that was around when Lean and Six Sigma first recognized? You’d be having extra sugar in your coffee for energy, smoking a no-filter cigarette to calm down all while attached to a fat-jiggling exercise belt machine to create a sexy bum! The principles of eating better and moving more will always be relevant. But how we achieve those objectives and what works for our current reality is what must evolve. Just like Lean Six Sigma.

The principles [of Six Sigma] will always be relevant. But how we achieve those objectives and what works for our current reality is what must evolve

A CRUSHING WORK-LIFE, AND THE NEED FOR CHANGE

Most people can relate to workplace scenarios like crushing unpredictability, chaos to meet deadlines, no time to plan or strategize, intense stress trying to keep up with growth, uncertainty of how to scale, demanding customers, thin profit margins, escalating costs, employee turnover, facing the same problems over and over to name a few. These are extremely common and, in short, most people are working extraordinarily hard just to keep up, let alone to improve, grow and scale!

There are many success stories, of course, but this is usually because high profit margins and rapid growth hide

inefficiencies and poor quality. And a lot of times, success happens because the key success factors just happened to align…for a while. The real challenge is to reliably deliver a valuable product or service, while running an efficient and scalable operation at the same time as creating a highly competent and engaged team. And then keep that going as things change! This is something that very few achieve.

LEAN AND SIX SIGMA IN THEIR HEYDAY

Anyone who’s heard of Lean, Six Sigma or the blended Lean Six Sigma has likely heard the impressive success stories of Toyota, GE and Motorola. In the 1980’s, they famously aimed to gain from the success of Lean Manufacturing in Japan from decades before. These organizations committed to and executed on the main principles of process improvement, which – at the time – made it worth it. How did they do it? Large groups of people in a classroom, massive binders with printed slide after slide about the technical aspects of Lean Six Sigma techniques. Organizations either focused on Lean (primarily to reduce waste) or Six Sigma (decreasing defects and variation). And it was almost always focused on Manufacturing.

Cannsult Founder Clare DiFrisco Coaching

...frankly, there was an over-emphasis on the count of Lean Six Sigma belts (people certified as Green Belts or Black Belts) instead of on meaningful results.

And frankly, there was an over-emphasis on the count of Lean Six Sigma belts (people certified as Green Belts or Black Belts) instead of on meaningful results. And when there was a focus on results, many times, it was a narrow and singular focus of Dollars Saved. Not Customer or Employee-focused. So, many times, from a customer or an employee perspective, Lean Six Sigma would have been viewed as worthless.

We’ve come a long way since cigarettes and the vibrating exercise belt in the name of health. And for the health of our businesses, for the joy and fulfillment of our employees and to create real value for our customers, we must move a long way from the sad, copy/pasted slides, the old manufacturing or cartoon examples, the stale paper templates from 30+ years ago. And we must focus on increasing capabilities to solve meaningful problems instead of focusing on number of people trained.

we must move a long way from the sad, copy/pasted slides, the old manufacturing or cartoon examples, the stale paper templates from 30+ years ago.

SO, IS LEAN SIX SIGMA STILL USEFUL IN 2021?

Is exercise still useful in 2021? Sure! If your focus and your methods have evolved since 1950! It’s exactly the same with Lean Six Sigma. The results can be unbelievably great, and any investment will be worth it…that is IF the goal is meaningful results:

Cannsult CEO Riaan Coaching

Is exercise still useful in 2021? Sure! If your focus and your methods have evolved since 1950!

Meaningful Results: Instead of counting numbers of people trained or dollars saved, results must focus on delivering greater…

1. Value and Experience for Customers
2. Joy at Work for Employees
3. Sustainability & Scalability of the Organization

And to achieve these results, we must evolve to a more modern approach for building capabilities. To be relevant today, learning must…

• Be Self-Directed (online, self-paced)
• Include Hands-on Practice
• Allow Coaching on Demand
• Utilize Physical or Digital Application
• Include excellent templates and tools
• Allow for Flexible Goals (Focus on improving Work, Community, Self)
• Include Flexible Business Types (Service, Transactional, Manufacturing…)
• Result in Competence

Find out more about the best Lean Six Sigma Certification for you or your team here!

https://www.cannsult.org/post/is-six-sigma-still-relevant-in-2021