Improvement Insights Blog
Which Came First, Management Support or Results?
What’s the easiest way to get management support for Lean Six Sigma?
“Hi, this is Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and the QI Macros [software.]
“If you’ve been around Six Sigma or TQM and all these other things, you often hear it said (and you know it’s one of Deming’s 14 points) that you need management commitment and support… to get results – to get anything going.
“I’m going to disagree. I’m going to suggest to you that if you start getting results and start improving things and saving time, saving money, saving lives using the tools of quality, you will get management support.
“So which came first: the chicken or the egg? Management support or results? If you’re waiting on management’s support to get results, you’re going to retire before that happens, right? I think the companies that actually do that are rare – they’re kind of like unicorns. But to [most] companies, if you just start getting results, guess what? I think your leadership team will ask, “What are they doing over there?” “What’s magical about that?” and then everybody will come on board and you’ll get the support that you want.
“That’s my Improvement Insight for this week. Let’s go out and improve something. “
