Organizations embarking on the journey to process excellence have much to gain if appropriate actions are taken in the early stages of deployment. A key principle of Six Sigma is that defects identified and fixed upstream will result in significant leverage and benefits downstream. Similarly, the steps and actions an organization takes early in the Six Sigma deployment life cycle will decide the probability of success downstream. Let’s look at six key steps to driving a successful Six Sigma deployment using the C-R-E-A-T-E principle:

Commit
Make no mistake, “C” can be nothing less than real commitment (is there such a thing as unreal commitment?) from the most senior leaders of the organization. Six Sigma transformation demands a substantial commitment in terms of time, resources, and upper-management focus over a sustained period. This commitment has to be seen and felt across all levels of management and staff throughout the organization. Front-line and operations staff will quickly judge whether this is just another management knee-jerk reaction to crisis management or something to be taken seriously. Jack Welch, General Electric’s former chairman is often cited as the model for how top-level commitment permeated every level of GE’s massive enterprise.

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