Quotable Quotes from “Visionaries” of the Past

•       Everything that can be invented has been invented.

–      Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. Office of Patents, 1899.

•       I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.

–      Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943

•       But what … is it good for?

–      Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, 1968,

commenting on the microchip.

•       There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.

–      Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp.,1977

•       “This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered   as a

means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.”

–      Western Union internal memo, 1876.

•       “The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?”

–      David Sarnoff’s associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920s.

•       “Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible.”

–      Lord Kelvin, president, Royal Society, 1895.

•       “Drill for oil? You mean drill into the ground to try and find oil?  You’re crazy.”

–      Drillers who Edwin L. Drake tried to enlist to his project to drill for oil in

1859.

•       “Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value.”

–      Marechal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre.

•       “Louis Pasteur’s theory of germs is ridiculous fiction”.

–      Pierre Pachet, Professor of Physiology at Toulouse, 1872

•       “The abdomen, the chest, and the brain will forever be shut from the intrusion ofthe wise and humane surgeon”.

–      Sir John Eric Ericksen, British surgeon, appointed Surgeon-Extraordinary to Queen Victoria 1873.

Brilliant results from average people managing brilliant processes …

“We get brilliant results from average people managing brilliant processes – while our competitors get average or worse results from brilliant people managing broken processes”

~ Fujio Cho, Honorary Chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation

Lean and Six Sigma- What are the future prospects

Lean and Six Sigma have already been on an incredible run over the last couple of decades, although both approaches are based on good business management principles that have been around for a lot longer. In addition to producing billions in bottom line impact for companies seriously implementing it, it has gained notoriety and quite frankly, shows no signs of letting up soon.

With considerable time and attention being devoted by senior and front line managers, scores of employees are being trained in Lean and Six Sigma tools and techniques leading to on the job application to drive business unit, functional, corporate objectives and ultimately, profitability.

Can it go on like this indefinitely? 

A common question about the future of Lean Six Sigma is, when will it begin to wind down and perhaps morph into something else.

Continuous improvement also applies to Lean Six Sigma so whatever the ‘next big thing’ is it will look at least vaguely familiar. Some of these core strengths are the use of proven statistical tools, an overall improvement framework or roadmap (such as DMAIC), customer focus, utilisation of a formal infrastructure to supply the needed people, money and other resources, freeing top talent to work on the initiative and of course, reliance on senior leadership commitment.

To conclude, Lean Six Sigma is not just a set of tools and techniques- it’s a mindset and an attitude. Until this critical success factor is realized, most corporate Lean Six Sigma initiatives will be limited to ad-hoc improvements and fail to realize the benefits initially envisaged.

Just imagine you’re four years old, and someone makes the following proposal

Just imagine you’re four years old, and someone makes the following proposal: If you’ll wait until after he runs an errand, you can have two marshmallows for a treat. If you can’t wait until then, you can have only one–but you can have it right now. It is a challenge sure to try the soul of any four-year-old, a microcosm of the eternal battle between impulse and restraint, id and ego, desire and self-control, gratification and delay… There is perhaps no psychological skill more fundamental than resisting impulse. It is the root of all emotional self-control, since all emotions, by their very nature, led to one or another impulse to act.

~ Daniel Goleman

How Toyota builds cars – and what it teaches Aerospace companies

Bombardier Inc.’s Toronto plant employs an efficiency system developed by Toyota Motor Corp.
At first blush, the operations Simon Roberts and Dr. Kevin Smith run could not be more different. Mr. Roberts oversees the construction of some of the most complex aircraft in the world as head of Bombardier Inc.’ s Toronto plant in Downsview; while Dr. Smith is tasked with overseeing St. Joseph’s Healthcare in Hamilton as its chief executive.

But upon closer examination, a number of similarities between the two emerge, and in particular the challenges they face on a day-to-day basis. Both are in charge of huge facilities with a highly skilled workforce while trying to manage an extremely complex and precious product.

The goal for Mr. Roberts is saving money in an extremely high-cost, low-margin business. For Dr. Smith, it’s about saving lives.

They have also both turned to a somewhat unusual source recently to help them run their operations more efficiently: Toyota Motor Corp.

The Japanese automaker has long been considered the gold standard in lean manufacturing. But in recent years, other industries outside of the auto sector have also begun to adapt Toyota’s methods to streamline and improve upon their own operations, including both Bombardier and St. Joe’s in recent months.

The “Toyota Production System” was developed in the 1950s at a time when the Japanese auto industry was suffering, and Toyota, in particular, lacked the cash it needed to fund its operations and or even keep enough inventory on hand to build its cars.

In an effort to improve its operations, Toyota’s founders travelled to the United States to see how the wildly successful system instituted by Henry Ford built cars. But they were said to be less impressed by Ford’s plants than a system being used at the local grocery store: an automatic drink resupplier, where a customer wants a drink, takes one, and then another one replaces it. It was this machine, and its ability to hold only the inventory needed, that is credited with planting the first seed for what would eventually develop into the “Toyota Way” of building cars.

Lean Six Sigma Project Nightmare!

The start of any Lean Six Sigma project should be a focus on the customer and their requirements which need to be prioritised.

Sun Tzu, Statistics and The Art of War for Lean Six Sigma Executives

Warfare is one of the more common events in the history of man. Because of its importance to survival, warfare has been studied carefully. The factors that contribute to success in war are fairly well understood.

Fundamentally, success in war, as well as in business is based on leadership. Other factors such as information, preparation, organisation, communication, motivation and execution also contribute to success, but the effectiveness of these factors is entirely determined by the quality of leadership provided.

According to Sun Tzu, the Chinese military general, strategist and philosopher. To achieve success, you must manage information. Sun Tzu says that information, or the lack of it, determines the probability of success. According to him, if sufficient reliable information is available, victory is certain. Likewise, in business, you gather information to make good decisions. Information is the lifeblood of business. The best information comes from firsthand experience. Sun Tzu strongly champions the use of agents and informants (stakeholders) to gather and transmit firsthand information.

Sun Tzu warns us about relying on “folk wisdom”. Folk wisdom is the body of unproven assumptions and unwarranted speculation. Great danger lies in not challenging folk wisdom. Reliable facts always precede successful actions.

Most decisions made have an element of uncertainty. We simply cannot know everything. Even so, decisions must be made. Sun Tzu tells us to consider everything and make our decisions by weighing the potential for success. That is, Sun Tzu is telling us to assess the probability of success before acting. Modern managers have access to a number of simple, but powerful statistical techniques to assist them in quantifying uncertainty related to information. Lean Six Sigma is one such approach that can improve the quality of decisions.

Success on the information battlefield depends on knowing how to use statistics to make the right decisions.

An ancient Persian poet said …

An ancient Persian poet said: “If thou hast two pennies, spend one for bread. With the other, buy hyacinths for thy soul.”

Poetry, perhaps; but hard sense as well!

To buy “hyacinths” for the soul — to nourish your mind and heart with good reading; to become informed, alert, interesting in what you say to others — is just as important as progress in your business or social life.

Dear Algebra, Please Stop Asking Us To Find Your X …

 

Lean Six Sigma Quality Management tightrope

Every organization has its own opinion of what Quality Management is, and has spun together a list of acronyms and terms to define what it is for themselves. Quality Management has been implemented in most large organisations for several decades, under all sorts of brand names – Kaizen, Six Sigma, Lean, etc.

Experience suggests that such Quality initiatives are typically viewed as an overnight fix-it-all and an added chore to the day-to-day activities; teach the employees a couple of Quality tools and BANG! efficiency galore. However, that’s not true. In saying this I do acknowledge that there are many “islands of excellence” throughout the industry.

Quality is like any other activity. You need to learn it, apply it, fail at it, learn from your mistakes, and then get better at it. Companies, managers, and employees are not taught to handle nor given the freedom to fail. That’s why most Quality initiatives die before getting started, just because the fear of retribution is harsher than one will admit to.

No one methodology can answer all of life’s questions but employee adoption of Lean Six Sigma skills will rarely take you in the wrong direction.

Quality is about making things better. And that is the attitude that every company should have. The rest are just acronyms.