http://smallbusiness.logoworks.com/marketing/2007/11/01/small-business-and-six-sigma-a-powerful-combination/ Small business and home business tips & advice Sat, 11 Oct 2008 06:46:21 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5 http://smallbusiness.logoworks.com/marketing/2007/11/01/small-business-and-six-sigma-a-powerful-combination/#comment-940 Mark Thu, 01 Nov 2007 18:08:34 +0000 http://smallbusiness.logoworks.com/marketing/2007/11/01/small-business-and-six-sigma-a-powerful-combination/#comment-940 Marcelo - I'm a black belt and I completely agree with your thoughts on applying six sigma to small businesses. Most businesses don't get it because they either don't have the time (fighting too many fires) or they think that it is only for manufacturing. Most of what I have experienced in the projects that I have done have focused more on Lean than six sigma. I have also found that most people in a given process "know" what the solutions are, they just don't know how to verbalize them. Show the business leaders what their process really looks like (in a map) and overlay lead time / NVA / VA time with that and ask them if that is acceptable to them / their customers. That usually gets them to see the light. Remember, most small businesses start out as lean but as they grow, this changes and results in inefficiencies in the business impacting their customers and their bottom line. Marcelo - I’m a black belt and I completely agree with your thoughts on applying six sigma to small businesses. Most businesses don’t get it because they either don’t have the time (fighting too many fires) or they think that it is only for manufacturing. Most of what I have experienced in the projects that I have done have focused more on Lean than six sigma. I have also found that most people in a given process “know” what the solutions are, they just don’t know how to verbalize them. Show the business leaders what their process really looks like (in a map) and overlay lead time / NVA / VA time with that and ask them if that is acceptable to them / their customers. That usually gets them to see the light. Remember, most small businesses start out as lean but as they grow, this changes and results in inefficiencies in the business impacting their customers and their bottom line.

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