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Six Sigma Execution
Book

Six Sigma Execution

How the World`s Greatest Companies Live and Breathe Six Sigma

George Eckes
McGraw-Hill, 2005
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Editorial Rating

8

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  • Applicable

Recommendation

The high priests of the Six Sigma movement tend to be analytical thinkers who relish a methodical, data-driven process that enhances productivity. George Eckes certainly fits this profile. Like any good consultant, he doesn’t tell you everything you ever wanted to know about Six Sigma; he leaves you wanting more. For example, the book’s treatment of “measurement dashboards” – the metrics used to assess the efficiency of a given process – is less than definitive. The strength of his book, however, is that Eckes actually lays out detailed case studies from his retreats and seminars, practically handing you an agenda for getting a Six Sigma project off the ground. You’ll feel you’ve been part of a Six Sigma initiative from its opening stages. After you read this book you may not know enough to be a Six Sigma champion, but getAbstract predicts that you’ll no longer be a novice.

Summary

The Origins of Six Sigma

John F. Kennedy once observed, “Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan.” One of the classic errors CEOs make when introducing a program such as Six Sigma is to place too great an emphasis on consensus building. This can be fatal. Instead, push forward along the path you know is right. When you reach your destination, everyone will agree that it was the right way to go.

Today, Six Sigma is many things to many people, but it began as a straightforward efficiency program in the mid-1980s at Motorola, which was struggling with inefficient manufacturing processes and high rejection rates. Not surprisingly, given this context, the first Six Sigma initiative focused primarily on making manufacturing more efficient. It did not address waste in other areas of Motorola’s business. Many years passed before other businesses came to view Six Sigma as a strategic tool, but in the right hands it gave a tremendous competitive advantage to such companies as AlliedSignal under Larry Bossidy and GE under Jack Welch.

Welch had great confidence in Six Sigma’s ability to improve quality and efficiency at GE. When he decided to implement it...

About the Author

George Eckes is a consultant and Six Sigma expert with more than 20 years of experience. He also wrote The Six Sigma Revolution.

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