Top Down

Middle Out, not Top Down

Should you implement Six Sigma top down or middle out? HBR says:

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

“If you know anything about Six Sigma, everybody’s always talking about “top-down” and… you know… blah blah blah blah blah… But there was a very interesting article in a recent issue of Harvard Business Review and it found some interesting things: “Only 12% of major change efforts produce lasting results…” … produce lasting results. I’ve seen a lot of data here and there, but most Six Sigma programs do not survive more than about three years.

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Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.

Lean Six Sigma Implementation – Top Down or Middle Out?

Traditional Lean Six Sigma wisdom says to start top down, but that’s a sure fire way to fail. Here’s why:

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

“I think there’s a lot of conventional wisdom in in Six Sigma and Lean and Six Sigma that says, “Oh, you must start with the leadership team.” Well, I was reading this book that was recommended to me, “Creating A Lean Culture.” This was used by Virginia Mason up in Seattle to transform how they deliver health care. I thought this was interesting about how Lean typically starts and grows.

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