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A new leader can kill a company in 18 months. Here’s how:
Download my free ebook, Agile Process Innovation-Hacking Lean Six Sigma for Results.
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma For Hospitals” and QI Macros [software].
Back when I was in the phone company, I noticed some patterns that occurred. I was in the IT department and after divestiture in 1984, the company decided that we needed to create our own Bell Labs, our own research and innovation thing. They brought in all new leaders to do that, and they built a new building up in Boulder, Colorado.
Continue Reading "Leaders Kill Companies"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.
A study in Texas found that Lean Six Sigma projects save an average of $150,000 per project. How can you hack Lean Six Sigma to get those kinds of results? It’s easier than you think.
Download my free ebook, Agile Process Innovation-Hacking Lean Six Sigma for Results.
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].
I recently found an article online where in Texas, they’ve done an analysis of Lean and Six Sigma projects. They found that, on average, Lean and Six Sigma projects saved $150,000 a project. Now, obviously, there were some high ones and some low ones, but $150,000 a project.
Continue Reading "What’s a Lean Six Sigma Project Worth?"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.
Companies often implement Lean Six Sigma metrics that have nothing to do with success. Here’s why:
Download my free ebook, Agile Process Innovation-Hacking Lean Six Sigma for Results.
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].
I was mentioning Eric Ries’ book ‘The Lean Startup,’ and he talks about the problems with vanity metrics. Vanity metrics, as opposed to actionable metrics, right? You can measure things that make you feel good but don’t really do you any good.
“In Lean and Six Sigma that’s like ‘number of people trained,’ ‘number of teams started.’
Continue Reading "Lean Six Sigma Vanity Metrics"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.
Over 40 people signed up for this webinar, with Jay Arthur demonstrating some of the software’s most frequently used tools and answering questions asked by attendees.
If you saw a feature demonstrated in the webinar that might have been added to QI Macros after the version you’re using (for instance, the Improvement Project Wizard or the automated Process Change Wizard), you may need to purchase an upgrade to bring your QI Macros to the current version.
Send an email to support@qimacros.com and we can help, for instance in generating a quote to upgrade all the users at your organization or just guiding you through the purchasing process.
Continue Reading "*Latest webinar: 3/12/26 QI Macros webinar"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Data Mining, Excel, QI Macros, Webinar.
People like to pretend their business is different or unique. They use it as an excuse to avoid Lean Six Sigma. You are not unique. Here’s why:
Download my free ebook, Agile Process Innovation-Hacking Lean Six Sigma for Results.
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma For Hospitals” and QI Macros [software].
“Over the years, whenever I talk to people about Lean and Six Sigma or whatever, they very often say, “Oh, we’re not in manufacturing.” This is what is known as ‘uniqueness bias.’ Everybody thinks their business is different from everyone else’s.
Continue Reading "Your Business Is Not Unique or Different"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.
Parkinson’s law says: work expands to fill the time available. What are consequences of this?
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].
“You’ve probably heard of Parkinson’s Law. For some reason, I decided to go get Parkinson’s book out of our local library (from 1957; I was 6 years old at the time). Parkinson’s Law says ‘Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.’
“I don’t know about you, but sometimes in college, I would wait till the last day to actually do that paper that was due, but I knew about it for 3 weeks to a month or something [ahead of time], right?
Continue Reading "Parkinson’s Law and Its Consequences"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.
Ever tried to take your pants off while wearing socks? Friction makes it difficult. How can you remove the friction?
Download my free ebook, Agile Process Innovation-Hacking Lean Six Sigma for Results.
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].
“Have you ever tried to take your pants off, but while you still have your socks on? Seems like the friction between the sock and the pant makes it more difficult to take them off. But if you take off your socks first, then your pants will slide right over the smoothness of your skin and your ankle.
Continue Reading "Remove the Friction from Your Life and Work"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.
Over 100 people signed up for this webinar, with Jay Arthur demonstrating how to implement Healthcare Data Analytics to save time, save money, and (most importantly) save lives.
Books that Jay may have mentioned in the video:
You can view a short two-page illustrated guide to the Zero Harm – Trillion Dollar Prescription by clicking HERE.
Continue Reading "12/16/25 Healthcare Data Analytics Webinar"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Agile Lean Six Sigma, Data Mining, Excel, Healthcare, Lean, QI Macros, Six Sigma, Webinar.
Ever wondered if there might be a better way to start a Lean Six Sigma initiative? There is. Here’s Why:
Download my free ebook, Agile Process Innovation-Hacking Lean Six Sigma for Results.
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].
“Back in 2011, Eric Ries launched a book called “The Lean Startup” which was about how to start a startup business, basically. There were some rules behind it, but one of his rules was to have a “Minimum Viable Product”… Minimum Viable Product. Now, in 1997 when I launched QI Macros, it was a Minimum Viable Product but now it’s grown into all kinds of things.
Continue Reading "Lean Six Sigma Startup"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.
Over 160 people signed up for this webinar, with Jay Arthur demonstrating how to implement Healthcare Data Analytics to save time, save money, and (most importantly) save lives.
Books that Jay may have mentioned in the video:
You can view a short two-page illustrated guide to the Zero Harm – Trillion Dollar Prescription by clicking HERE.
Continue Reading "11/11/25 Healthcare Data Analytics Webinar"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Agile Lean Six Sigma, Data Mining, Excel, Healthcare, Lean, QI Macros, Six Sigma, Webinar.
