Lean Services Blog by Jay Arthur

Improvement Insights Blog

Latest "Service" Posts

Is Your Product or Service Lazy, Crappy or Whacky?

Sometimes the language of Six Sigma is off-putting. I have found one way to get people’s attention is to use plain English to describe their product or service.



“Your product or service suffers from three key problems: It’s either Lazy, Crappy or Whacky.

“Lazy: Your product takes long breaks, goes out to lunch, spends the night on the town, comes in in the morning a little bit hungover… it’s not your people, it’s your product. If you watch your product, your people are busy but your product is hanging out, taking its time, sitting around having a cup of coffee.

Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights, Manufacturing, Service.

Great IT PRO – 2/17/21 Webinar

Jay Arthur was the featured speaker for the Great IT Pro Webinar on 2/17/21. His topic was “Problem Solving With Data.” You may view the recorded video of Jay’s webinar below:



If you’re interested in learning more about QI Macros for Excel (the software Jay wrote and developed), click HERE and view the demo video in the yellow box. You may also sign up for a free 30 day trial of the software by filling out the form on that page next to the video, or by signing up at THIS link. If you’re interested in learning more about Jay’s ideas on Agile Lean Six Sigma, you can download a free brief summary of Jay’s ideas in his “Agile Lean Six Sigma Manifesto,” available at THIS link.

Posted by Jay Arthur in QI Macros, Service, Webinar.

Is Your Customer Bothering You?

Is your customer bothering you? Do they make you angry sometimes because they won’t do what you want them to do? Here’s how to think about it:

“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].

“My friend Shelle Rose Charvet wrote a book called “The Customer Is Bothering Me” and I thought that that was kind of a good thought to think about for a little bit. Do you ever get kind of angry with your customer for not doing what your customer needs to do to make life easier for you?

Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights, Service.

Learn Data Analysis for Problem Solving

Out of Work? Need a job? Want to become indispensable to your employer?

Learn the data analysis skills for problem solving (a.k.a. Lean Six Sigma). Do it now. It’s Free!

Click here to get started: www.lssyb.com

“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and the QI Macros [software].

“I don’t know about you, but right now, I’m staying home because of the directives around COVID-19. I know there’s a lot of people out there who have been displaced and are out of work, and now might be a good time to learn a new skill. I can tell you: being able to do some data analysis that results in problem solving is a skill that every, every, every business wants.

Posted by Jay Arthur in Agile Lean Six Sigma, Data Mining, Healthcare, Improvement Insights, Lean, Manufacturing, QI Macros, Service, Six Sigma.

Snowthrower Delivery Debacle

Ordered a snowthrower as a wedding gift for two day delivery. Eight days later it was delivered to someone’s home (not mine). How can we mistake-proof these kinds of problems?

“One of the guys in my office is getting married this June and so I got him an early wedding gift: a snow thrower. So I ordered it from Amazon. I ordered it on Monday, it was supposed to arrive on Wednesday; two days shipping on Prime.

“Then on Wednesday I get this notice that said, “Well, it’s sort of delayed.” So then it said maybe Friday, but of course on Friday it wasn’t here, and they tried to deliver it on Saturday, of course, which is when we’re closed.

Posted by Jay Arthur in Agile Lean Six Sigma, Improvement Insights, Lean, Service, Six Sigma.

Building Rapport with Improvement Teams – Step 3

A district level manager was hopping mad about something. I decided to see if I could use pacing and leading to calm her down and get back to solving the problem to meet her needs.

Posted by Jay Arthur in Healthcare, Improvement Insights, Lean, Manufacturing, QI Macros, Service, Six Sigma.

Building Rapport with Improvement Teams – Step 2

My boss sent me to talk to a cranky manager about a software project he wanted to do. Here’s how I used non-verbal rapport to connect with him in 30-60 seconds.

Posted by Jay Arthur in Healthcare, Improvement Insights, Lean, Manufacturing, QI Macros, Service, Six Sigma.

Building Rapport with Improvement Teams – Step 1

I was tasked with training the leadership team of U S West, the president and his vice presidents. Here’s how I started to build rapport with the leadership team and every team afterwards.

Posted by Jay Arthur in Healthcare, Improvement Insights, Lean, Manufacturing, Service, Six Sigma.

Lean Graduation Ceremonies

Last week, our grandson graduated from Colorado College and our granddaughter graduated from Rock Canyon High School.

Jake’s graduating class of 500 went single file to the podium to receive their diploma.

Rachel’s graduating class of 500 came from four directions simultaneously. Four name callers, four people handing out diplomas.

Which one do you think went faster?

Posted by Jay Arthur in Jay Arthur Blog, Lean, QI Macros, Service.

Quality 4.0 – Blog entry regarding the current trend of automation and data exchange

ASQ World 2018, there were a lot of sessions about “Industry 4.0” and the transformation required by quality improvement professionals (Quality 4.0).

Wikipedia describes Industry 4.0 as:  “the current trend of automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies.”

If I can read the writing on the wall, this means that more manufacturing jobs will be automated out of existence, including quality improvement.  In the next few years, AI will embody the quality improvement disciplines, and automate detection and autocorrection of performance problems. No human required.

But manufacturing is only 11% of U.S. employment. 80% is service industries. While quality in manufacturing is still important, the rise of service quality improvement is desperately needed in everything from healthcare to fast food.

Posted by Jay Arthur in Jay Arthur Blog, Manufacturing, Service, Six Sigma.