Instead of analyzing reasons why Six Sigma fails, let's examine the reasons why companies experience Lean success. These reasons can be divided into two categories: "managerial" in nature and "technical" in nature.

The overwhelming number one managerial reason is management commitment. Companies in which senior executives are the most vocal cheerleaders and engaged in tollgate reviews have experienced good success with continual improvement in general. Their knowledge of Six Sigma shows its importance to the organization, and their demand that decisions be data driven instills the right mind frame for continual improvement and keeping traction.

The second most effective managerial reason is correct project selection/scoping. Successful companies use a detailed process to select and rank potential Six Sigma projects. This includes a sorting process to sort out non-Six Sigma projects. In addition to the prioritization process, successful companies have the ability to correctly scope the size of the project. Correct scoping allows the project to be completed in the right time frame with the appropriate results, such as cost savings or quality improvement.

The third managerial reason is applying the correct resources to the Six Sigma process. Full time Black Belts have a much higher success rate than part time Black Belts. This not only applies to their first few projects but also to follow-up projects.

As for the technical reasons, it comes down to data, data, and data!

Data availability, data accessibility and data integrity are clearly the top three technical reasons.

Companies that have been compiling accurate data have a good resource to help identify the right projects on which to work. Companies that have easy accessibility to accurate data, work through projects at a much faster pace. Those that have effective measurement systems in place can rely on their data to point and validate the top root causes.

In summary, if you want to be successful with an improvement system in your company, pay attention to the managerial and technical reasons behind successful companies.

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