Leading Six SIGMA: A Step-By-Step Guide Based on Experience with GE and Other Six SIGMA Companies

Very good overview for managers/senior managers on six sigma implementation and six sigma leadership. Our company is implementing lean six sigma organization-wide and this book was execellent in providing a practical overview of the process

I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in how to successfully deploy Six Sigma in a large organization. Most books on Six Sigma are either technical (focusing on the tools and methodology) or are high level explanations of the basics of Six Sigma and descriptions of the wonderful impact it has on organizations. This is one of the few books I have found that focuses on the details of planning, organizing and managing a Six Sigma deployment. It is thorough and comprehensive. I led a corporate-wide Six Sigma deployment for a Fortune 1000 company and can confirm that the advice they provide is right on target. They have good, practical guidance based on real experience.

This book differs from most other Six Sigma guides in that it identifies, by name, companies that failed at Six Sigma. So many authors have presented Six Sigma as something magical that it is refreshing to see its warts. Make no mistake - the authors are not out to debunk or dethrone Six Sigma, a management philosophy and method that has been their professional life for many years. They clearly believe that Six Sigma is worth the investment of time, brain power, leadership and political capital that it requires. But they aren't afraid to point out the fact that it does require serious investment, and that management must sustain its commitment for years to unlock the full benefit of the Six Sigma approach. The book is a tolerably good read, albeit dry. It mercifully spares the reader any puffery or promotion, and it lays out the axioms of Six Sigma life in a very lucid format. Occasionally, it stoops to cliché, but not terribly often. We recommend it to those who need to know what it really takes to achieve Six Sigma performance, and how to begin.

Of the many books I've read on 6 sigma, this IS the book on how to plan and deploy a 6 Simga initiative in a company. This is not a book on the tools and how to use them in detail. It is discussed, but more in terms of highlighting the training required and the caliber of people assigned. There is a comparison and contrast of successful deployments and less successful deployments. The authors disect why they failed. They have a GE bias, in that at least on of the authors is heavily versed in the GE system. This is not to the detriment of the book, but it does color the successful path they advocate. That path is well trod and proven successful. There are variations to that that can be successful, and will depend heavily on the culture of the company.The path they advocate attacks the common organization barriers that ANY initiative will face. So in that sense, the book is broader that just 6 simga. Those elements are:* Active and strong leadership from the top* Appropriate resources, people and funding* Demand results* Be willing to change internal policies and procedure to support implementationThis is a must read for anyone planning an implementation, or looking to fix one.

Without a doubt this is one of the best books ever written on Six Sigma and I should know as I have read nearly every book written on Six Sigma over the last three years. However, let me clarify something up front. This book does not delve into the tools of Six Sigma nor the actual statistical methods of Six Sigma like Air Academy Associates excellent books `Basic Statistics' or `Understanding Industrial Designed Experiments'. What this book does, however, is address the following topics which so far every other book on Six Sigma has failed to cover and clarify:1. The right projects, the right people: Identifying your company's most promising Six Sigma opportunities and leaders.2. How to hit the ground running: Providing leadership, talent, and infrastructure for a successful launch.3. From launch to long-term success: Implementing systems, processes, and budgets for ongoing Six Sigma projects.4. Getting the bottom-line results that matter most: Measuring and maximizing the financial value of your Six Sigma initiativeWhat makes this book such a good value is that the author's of the book clearly know what they're talking about and their wisdom from implementing actual Six Sigma projects is priceless. This book is really a blueprint for implementing and sustaining Six Sigma and provides excellent advice on how to avoid the pitfalls that so many companies have run into during their failed attempts at implementing Six Sigma. The book is written in clear, easy-to-understand language with just the right amount of graphs and charts so even people who know nothing about Six Sigma will benefit from reading it. My advice is to buy this book and Michael George's outstanding book `Lean Six Sigma' together so that you truly get an appreciation for what Six Sigma is and what it can do when combined with Lean.