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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What color is your belt?, January 24, 2004
My comments on this pocket guide are the same as those on the other two created by Rath & Strong, except that this pocket guide is probably the one to purchase in bulk quantity so that copies can be distrbuted among those who need improvement in the leadership skills required by process improvement initiatives. Thus far, a substantial majority of Six Sigma programs either failed or fell far short of expectations. Why? Lots of reasons but one of the major ones is ineffective leadership, especially during implementation. Hence the special importance of this pocket guide.With regard to "champions," no organization ever has too many of them. Indeed, few organizations have enough of them. Process improvement (with or without wearing multi-colored belts) is immensely complicated, often frustrating and sometimes discouraging. To those now competing in what Theodore Roosevelt once referred to as the "arena," I remind them of what Jack Dempsey once said about champions: "They get up when they can't." Although Rath and Strong do indeed provide a wealth of information about Six Sigma, their "pocket guide" can be of substantial value to all organizations (regardless of size or nature) which need to simplify, thereby improve the process by which they produce whatever they offer for sale. Products, of course, but also professional services (e.g. legal, accounting, management consulting), memberships (e.g. healthcare providers as well as trade and professional associations such as chambers of commerce), and charitable support (e.g. non profit, tax exempt 501 (c) 3 organizations such as college and universities). Chapter One introduces the book's core concept, DMAIC, an acronym for Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control. A chapter is then devoted to each of the five separate but related process components. Rath and Strong explain how this process will guide and inform efforts to increase the ROI of resources to achieve whatever the desired objectives may be. One of this guide's greatest benefits is its ease of use: It can easily be carried within an attaché case, coat pocket, or purse, always available for direct and immediate access whenever needed. Now more than ever before, decision-makers are under great pressure to produce more and better results in less time, and with fewer resources. Hence the importance of improving first pass yield and cycle time, for example. Hence the importance, also, of enabling everyone within a given organization to understand how and why her or his efforts can -- and should -- contribute to the organization's operational excellence. For most executives, Rath and Strong offer a concise, easy-to-access, and well-written source of guidance to effectively defining, measuring, analyzing, improving, and controlling various stages of production of ideas as well as products and services.
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