"Using a Lean Six Sigma Approach to Drive Innovation"

George Byrne, Dave Lubowe, and Amy Blitz

Strategy & Leadership

2007, Vol. 35, No. 2, pp. 5-10

An analysis of companies that have used lean Six Sigma programs to achieve broad-based innovation identified the following characteristics that set them apart:

• Their vision of innovation was based on factual customer data and market insights. Their leaders created a compelling vision based on this understanding of market demands and their own organization's capabilities. They maintained focus by limiting their objectives to just a few.
• Their leadership committed itself to perpetual innovation. Leaders played very active roles, and showed that they were enthusiastically committed to real organizational change.
• The strategic innovation vision was aligned across the extended enterprise. It was used as a unifying force to align efforts both within the company and with supplier and customers.
• After an initial intense period of lean Six Sigma training, the companies established enduring processes and outlooks that affected much more than just their operations. They were able to both improve their business performance and create an organization with an ingrained tendency towards innovation.

The article provides a set of questions to assess whether your organization is equipped to make radical innovations and maintain this approach over time.

A brief case study of Caterpillar is used to illustrate the lean Six Sigma approach to innovation. Caterpillar has managed to increase their market share in all their lines of business. Between 2001 and 2005, revenues increased by 80 percent.

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"Leading Virtual Teams"

Arvind Malhotra, Ann Majchrzak, and Benson Rosen

Academy of Management Perspectives

February 2007, pp. 60-70

This article presents results of a study of 55 successful virtual teams in 33 different companies. Six leadership practices were identified that leaders of successful teams use to overcome the special challenges of virtual teams:

• Establish and maintain trust through the use of communication technology—This is done by:
  • Focusing on the norms of how information is communicated
  • Revisiting and adjusting the communications norms as the team evolves
  • Making progress explicit through use of the team virtual workspace
  • Making sure that no one is more inconvenienced than others by doing such things as rotating the meeting time
• Ensure diversity in the team is understood, appreciated, and leveraged—This is done by:
  • Posting a prominent team expertise directory and skills matrix in the virtual workspace
  • Virtual sub-teaming to pair diverse members and rotate sub-team members
  • Allowing diverse opinions to be expressed through use of asynchronous electronic means
• Manage virtual work-cycle and meetings—This is done by:
  • Allowing idea divergence between meetings and idea convergence and conflict resolution during virtual meetings
  • Using the beginning part of each virtual meeting for social relationship building
  • During the meeting, check to make sure everyone is engaged and heard from
  • At the end of the meeting, ensure that the minutes and future work plan is posted to the team repository
• Monitor team progress through the use of technology—This is done by:
  • Closely scrutinizing electronic communications patterns
  • Making progress explicit through posting balanced scorecard measurements in the team's virtual workspace
• Enhance external visibility of the team and its members—This is done by:
  • Having frequent report-outs to a virtual steering committee comprised of the local managers of team members
• Ensure individuals benefit from participating in virtual teams—This is done through:
  • Virtual reward ceremonies
  • Individual recognition at the start of each virtual meeting
  • Making each team member's "real location" boss aware of the member's contribution

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"Managing Employee Stress: A Key to the Effectiveness of Strategic Supply Chain Management"

John Upson, David Ketchen, and R. Duane Ireland

Organizational Dynamics

2007, Vol. 36, No. 1, pp. 78-92

Common reasons for supply chain problems include failure to design an effective supply chain system, poor implementation of what ever system has been designed, and lack of support from top management.

The authors of this article focus on employee stress as another cause of poor supply management practices. Given the context of globalization and competitive pressures for shorter product cycles, supply chain members are likely to feel the stresses of role conflict and role ambiguity from five different sources:

• Pressures to behave in new ways based on the need for strategic thinking
• Shifts in the role of "negotiator" to others in the organization
• Greater pressure to analyze the value of various partners
• Stresses from technological change
• Stresses from the need for continuous improvement

To reduce the stresses from the above sources, the authors recommend the following initiatives to reduce stress on employees:

• Training to deal with the new demands of working with a strategic supply chain
• Clearer role definition for employees
• Identification and addressing of user issues before and after technological changes
• Sharing communication strategically, in a free but responsible way
• Trust management with supply chain partners
• Flexibility through contingency planning
• Networking to provide greater access to information
• Corporate entrepreneurship through establishing a culture of change and creativity

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"Performance Management Lacks Consistency"

Kevin Oakes

T&D

April 2007, pp. 50-53

This article summarizes the findings of a recent survey on the Keys to Performance Management, conducted by the Institute for Corporate Productivity.

Some of the key findings were:

• Only 8 percent of respondents said that their performance management program contributes in a significant way. Forty-seven percent said they are not sure if their performance management process makes any contribution at all.
• Only 40 percent of respondents said that a large majority of their employees receive quality performance appraisals.
• Thirty-six percent of organizations consider performance management "essential".

Nine key management practices were identified as critical for program effectiveness:

• The performance management process includes developmental plans for the future. The study found that 69 percent of responding organizations use developmental planning.
• Training is provided to managers on how to conduct a performance appraisal meeting. Two-thirds of responding organizations reported that they do this training.
• The quality of performance appraisal is measured. Only 28 percent of respondents said they do this.
• There is a system in place to address and resolve poor performance. Seventy-one percent report they have a system in place.
• The appraisal includes information other than that based on the judgment of managers. Sixty-one percent include other information, but only 27 percent do so for all appraisals.
• The performance management process is consistent across the organization. Forty-three percent said performance management is consistent across all units.
• Employees can expect feedback on their performance more than once a year. The survey results found that the more feedback the better, up to monthly feedback as the ideal. Weekly feedback was considered less effective overall.
• 360 degree feedback is used to support the performance management process.
• The performance management process includes ongoing goal review and feedback from managers.

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"Why Does Affect Matter in Organizations?"

Sigal Barsade and Donald Gibson

Academy of Management Perspectives

February 2007, pp. 36-59

The authors define "affect" as an "umbrella term encompassing a broad range of feeling states, such as moods and discrete emotions, and traits, such as trait positive and negative affectivity".

The article provides a very good overview of research that has been done regarding the effects of affectivity in organizations. Topics covered include:

• Affect and performance—The original research approach of trying to correlate job satisfaction with performance produced low correlations of .17 to .30. Measuring affect instead of job satisfaction has produced stronger correlations. The research overall shows a strong relationship between trait positive affect measures and various measures of work performance.
• Affect and decision-making—In most cases, positive affect leads to better decision making, but there are exceptions where negative affect leads to more "critical" processing and more effective decisions.
• Affect and creativity—Most research supports that positive affect tends to lead to more creativity.
• Affect and turnover/absence—Positive affect tends to reduce both these variables, except in the case of people who have chronically negative affect. They don't expect things to be any better anywhere else.
• Affect and prosocial behavior—There is strong research support for the effect of positive affect on helping behavior.
• Affect and conflict resolution—Studies have generally shown that positive mood helps to resolve conflict.
• Affect and leadership—The positive affect of leaders has tended to be associated with positive leadership outcomes. This area is complex and still under research and development, however.

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Lean Six Sigma Implementations by GPOE

John McNeil, GP
 

Byrne, Lubowe, and Blitz refer to innovation driven by Lean and Six Sigma combined. Indeed, at GP's Operational Excellence practice (GPOE), we increasingly teach both Lean and Six Sigma philosophy and tools. Our Green Belt certification consists of two weeks of training, four days per week, separated by two to six weeks, plus one completed DMAIC project and successful completion of a test. The Green Belt Project begins during the first week, and we encourage each project to be through the Define Phase and into the Measure Phase before the second week begins. We also recommend that selected projects can be completed within 120 days.

To begin Black Belt certification, students must complete Green Belt Certification. Then they spend two weeks of training, five days per week, separated by two to six weeks; plus an additional DMAIC project and successful completion of a test. An additional project begins during the first week of Black Belt training and we encourage each project to be through the Define Phase and into the Measure Phase before the second week begins. Black Belt projects may take longer to complete than Green Belt projects. There is currently no industry standard Lean Six Sigma exam and certification; however, GP provides certification of successful completion of the course, project, and test, provides a summarization of the body of knowledge covered.

When compared to Six Sigma training and certification, adding training in Lean tools necessitates reducing training on Six Sigma or adding training time. Our curriculum reduces training on some advanced Six Sigma tools. Specifically we provide an introduction to non-normal distributions and design of experiments, but not experience. However we do integrate easy-to-use general statistical and also DOE software into our training.

We almost always are called upon to supplement the classroom training experience with project coaching. Coaching is vital for reinforcing the training. This localized support is essential to ensure, as Byrne et. al. point out, that your organization is equipped to make radical innovations, and maintain this approach over time. Because the commitment of your organization is the single most important ingredient in any LSS effort.

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