Mousetraps or Processes

In the April 2009 Inc. magazine, Jim Collins says that "There has been a big shift away from seeing the essence of entrepreneurship as the creation of a better mousetrap to viewing it as the development of a better process." Instead of building a better mousetrap, he says, "Isn't it much more important to create a better process that will produce many mousetraps over time?"

Build a Better Process

And isn't this the essence of Lean Six Sigma? To build a better, faster, more efficient, more effective process?

  • Simplify: Use Lean's 5S to simplify the work area.
  • Streamline: Use spaghetti diagrams and value stream maps to streamline the work flow.
  • Optimize: Use Six Sigma to focus, improve, sustain and honor your progress toward eliminating all defects and deviation.

If good is the enemy of great, why not become a process entrepreneur? Why not become obsessed with tweaking existing processes to delight customers and employees? 

Why not? 

Rights to reprint this article in company periodicals is freely given with the inclusion of the following tag line: "© 2008 Jay Arthur, the KnowWare® Man, (888) 468-1537, support@qimacros.com."

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