Harrington’s Wheel of Fortune
The Six Sigma methodology will help any organization improve, but for the best, longest-lasting results, it must be supported by a complete improvement process that involves all facets of the organization.
 Consider the wheel of fortune at right. You’ll note that the outer ring, which holds the wheel together, consists of management leading a process of unending change directed at continuous improvement. The wheel focuses on making the organization more effective and efficient, as shown by the wheel’s hub. The wheel’s spokes make up the principles that are required to bring about continuous improvement:
• Customer focus . Customer focus is at the top of the wheel because it’s the most important principle. Your organization must be so close to its customers that you realize their present and future needs even before they do.
• Planning . Excellence doesn’t happen by accident. It requires a well thought out, well-communicated plan that’s based on a shared vision of how the organization will function and how the quality of work will improve.
• Trust. Management must trust its employees before it can earn their trust. Employees will never willingly identify and eliminate waste until they trust that management won’t eliminate their jobs as a result of their suggested improvements.
• Standardized processes. Real improvement occurs when everyone is performing an activity in the same way so that results are predictable. When different people approach the same task in many different ways, the results are difficult to control or improve.
• Process focus. While striving for continuous improvement, it’s important to focus on improving the process, not on who caused the problem. The improvement process must define what went wrong with the process that caused the problem and provide a solution to prevent that problem from recurring.
• Total participation . No one in an organization is immune from the continuous improvement process. Everyone must be involved and actively encouraged to participate. Organizations need the ideas and cooperation of all team members if they are to excel.
• Training. Training is how you maintain your human resources. It’s an investment in your organization’s future. Organizations are undergoing rapid changes in the way they operate and the way people think, talk and act. This change process must be supported by an aggressive training program that reinforces the positive changes and provides growth opportunities for all employees.
• “Us” relationships . An organization’s success, growth and rewards are based on how well everyone in it performs. The work environment can no longer be a we-and-them type of operation. The organization is us . Working together, we can make it better, make it grow and prosper. As the organization prospers, so will we all.
• Statistical thinking. We can no longer run our complex businesses by our best guess. We need hard data. There will always be some judgment involved in many final decisions, but we should be able to quantify the risks involved.
• Rewards. Rewards reinforce desired behavior and demonstrate management’s appreciation of a job well done. To accomplish the desired result, a comprehensive reward and recognition system must be developed.
Take, for example, an employee who’s worked hard for the last three months and has come up with an idea that saved the organization $1 million. Her manager walks up to her, shakes her hand and says, “That was an outstanding job. Keep up the good work, Jane.” Jane replies, “Thanks, boss, I’ll try.” But she’s thinking, “I saved the organization $1 million, and all I get is a thank you. That’s the last time I knock myself out for this organization.” There’s a time for a pat on the back, and a time for a pat on the wallet.
The improvement journey, like the wheel of fortune, begins and ends with a customer focus. Some people never start down this long road because they see no end. Others start jogging down the road and stop under a shady tree, never to reenter the race. Others get up every day, get back on the road and make real progress. These are the people who make a difference.
H. James Harrington is CEO of the Harrington Institute Inc. and chairman of the board of e-TQM College Advisory Board. He is a past president of ASQ and IAQ. He has more than 55 years of experience as a quality professional and is the author of 28 books. Visit his Web site at www.harrington-institute.com.
|
