Leading Six Sigma: A Step-by-Step Guide Based on Experience with GE and Other Six Sigma Companies

Most books on Six Sigma quality focus on statistical and measurement techniques: this one shows senior managers exactly what they must do to lead a successful Six Sigma quality initiative. The authors don't waste time selling the idea of quality: executives already understand this. Rather, they offer an insider's view of what it really takes to lead successful quality implementations, drawing on their experience at the highest levels of the world's largest and most challenging organizations. Co-author Roger W. Hoerl shares an insider's view of his role in pioneering Six Sigma throughout GE during the Jack Welch era; Dr. Ronald D. Snee shares experiences helping leaders at over 30 major enterprises. They focus on the issues most crucial to senior managers, including the most specific and comprehensive coverage of Six Sigma planning, implementation, and deployment from the standpoint of the executive. Along the way, Snee and Hoerl offer practical solutions for the cultural challenges and human resistance that will face any executive seeking to plan or deploy a new quality initiative, or audit and enhance an existing program. They even explain how and when to wind down quality initiatives, transitioning Six Sigma to a fact of life that doesn't require the support of an extensive centralized infrastructure.