Applying this revolutionary management strategy to drive positive change in an organization
Currently exploding onto the American business scene, the Six Sigma methodology fuels improved effectiveness and efficiency in an organization; according to General Electric's Jack Welch, it's the "most important initiative [they] have ever undertaken." Written by the consultant to GE Capital who helped implement Six Sigma at GE and GE's General Manager of e-Commerce, Making Six Sigma Last offers businesses the tools they need to make Six Sigma work for them--and cultivate long-lasting, positive results. Successful Six Sigma occurs when the technical and cultural components of change balance in an organization; this timely, comprehensive book is devoted to the cultural component of implementing Six Sigma, explaining how to manage it to maintain that balance. The authors address how to create the need for Six Sigma; diagnose the four types of resistance to Six Sigma and how to overcome them; manage the systems and structures; and lead a Six Sigma initiative. This book applies the Six Sigma approach to business operations across the organization--unlike other titles that focus on product development. Plus, it provides strategies, tactics, and tools to improve profitability by centering on the relationship between product defects and product yields, reliability, costs, cycle time, and schedule.
George Eckes (Superior, CO) is the founder and principal consultant for Eckes & Associates. His clients include GE Capital, Pfizer, Westin, Honeywell, and Volvo. Eckes has published numerous papers on the topic of performance improvement and is the author of The Six Sigma Revolution: How General Electric and Others Turned Process into Profits (0-471-38822-X) (Wiley).

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Average Customer Review: ( 15 customer reviews )
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I left GE some months ago quite frustrated with the company's application of Six Sigma. Even though all salaried employees were trained as Green Belts, even though all managers took great care to spout the proper nostrums at the proper times, nothing really changed much in how we operated.

I worked on a new product program which served more as salve to the egos of engineers than to improve our product for our customer. I and a few others fought valiantly to ensure that the voice of the customer was injected into the process, and that the design capability was measured and reported through Six Sigma scorecards. This was all deemed to be unimportant in the rush to get the product to market.

Eckes' book reveals why this was so.

Early on, he had counseled Jack Welch that Six Sigma rests on two pillars: customer satisfaction and process capability. It's quite simple: ask the customer what he wants and fine tune your process to efficiently deliver it. Thus you both increase revenue (through customer loyalty and product quality) and decrease costs (by eliminating the hidden factory and focusing only on customer CTQs). Welch being Welch, he completely ignored the former and focused on the latter, to great effect.

In 1999, Welch realized that this was a mistake, as customer after customer inquired why they didn't notice a change in GE's products and services after the Six Sigma introduction. While shareholders realized double-digit growth year after year, customers saw the same old mixed bag of products and services. Welch immediately launched a major initiative to reduce customer span and inject the voice of the customer into GE processes.

Eckes, to his credit, indulges in a bit of well-deserved "I told you so." After all, it's not often one proves the most admired CEO in the world to be wrong.

This is an excellent book covering the whys and wherefores of a Six Sigma introduction. For those of us in the trenches trying to effect lasting change in our companies, this is an indispensable resource. If you're looking for an in-depth guide to the tools employed in Six Sigma project execution, grab "Implementing Six Sigma" by Forrest Breyfogle instead.

16 of 16 found the following review helpful:

Intriquing Application for Business & Beyond!Apr 19, 2001
By Roderick Smith, Ph.D
I read the Six Sigma Revolution because of my facination with exploring ways to improve the quality of life, both as it relates to business as well as to relationships and life generally. Every now and then an author comes along who not only has technical expertise but also has both feet on the ground. George Eckes has painted a picture that illustrates not only mastery of Six Sigma content, he also exemplifies giftedness by communicating profoundly detailed concepts and principles with clarity and simplicity. And he paints his picture with splashes of fun and humor.

I believe that anyone who is committed to improving effectiveness and efficiency in their world, whether in their business or in their personal lives, can benefit significantly by reading the Six Sigma Revolution. I'm looking forward to getting a copy of his next book, Making Six Sigma Last.

22 of 24 found the following review helpful:

Balance at last!Jan 02, 2001

As a newbie to the world of Six Sigma, the first thing I did was to order every book I could off a Amazon to get a broad view of what is out there, and to (hopefully) garner enough understanding to help navigate our company through our Six Sigma initiative.

I've looked through 8 books, and Six Sigma Revolution has finally found it's way into my #1 spot. I'm ordering a copy for all of our Black Belt candidates, as I found it much more useful than the Mikel Harry book (the one that our Executive Team had us all read) and for sure, better for the typical uninitiated person than one of the $100 Six Sigma resource "Bibles" (though once I have completed the Black Belt training, I'm guessing a book like Bryfogles' will come in handy).

So if you are looking for a book that clearly explains how to set up a Six Sigma initiative (something most of the books do), while also introducing many of the Six Sigma tools (which most of the books do not) this is your book.

The other book that has impressed me is "The Six Sigma Way."

Regardless of which book you read, your still going to need to find a consultant to run the trainings and work with the executive team...but this book will help give you the big picture overview, with enough of the details to be able to deal with the consultants with more confidence (at least that has been my role in the Six Sigma initiative).

Enjoy.

22 of 26 found the following review helpful:

Six Sigma without hyperbole & mysticismNov 20, 2000

Most of the Six Sigma books seem to fall into two camps. The first camp creates a mystical, magical program that promises results on the order of GE and Motorola if you only believe. The second camp repeats the promise in the intro and maybe the first chapter then serves up a repackaged statistics 101 course (and 201 if the book weighs more than 5 pounds). This book doesn't make promises - it explains, it illuminates, and even entertains in places.

7 of 7 found the following review helpful:

Powerful and UnderstandableMar 01, 2001
By Jeffrey D. Honaker
This book was not only helpful in understanding what Six Sigma is, but how to practically implement the initiative. George Eckes takes what could be a cumbersome and difficult concept of quality improvement and makes it understandable and down right exciting. The "Six Sigma Revolution" is certainly a must read for anyone who desires to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their organization.

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