Six Sigma is a powerful tool for effecting change within an organization. Since its development in the late 1980s, it’s helped companies dramatically improve business processes, increase customer satisfaction to new levels and save hundreds of millions of dollars. To say it has the ability to transform a company is certainly not an exaggeration.

Yet, for some companies, Six Sigma hasn’t lived up to its reputation. This appears to be a source of wonderment to those who fail to realize that embarking on Six Sigma implementation is more than signing on to a good idea. Six Sigma success takes realistic goals, a strong leadership team and, above all, an empowered workforce.

Recently, while visiting a client site, I was involved in a round table discussion with Six Sigma Master Black Belts. As I listened to the group discussing their frustrations with the early stages of their Six Sigma launch, one common complaint became apparent. They weren’t working together on project improvement. Regardless of if they were senior management, a lean champion or an hourly worker, there seemed to be no sense of team.

A consultant in the group said something that shocked me and has stuck with me ever since. He said, “People are expected to get along with each other. They are expected to act profession ally. If they resist, then you need to eliminate them and find new participants.”

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