86 ◾ A Guide to Lean Six Sigma Management Skills
ere are three feedback loop situations: (1) no feedback loop, (2) special cause
only feedback loop, and (3) special and common cause feedback loop. A no feedback
loop process that does not have a feedback loop is probably doomed to deterioration
and decay (called “entropy”) due to the inability of its stakeholders to rejuvenate and
improve it based on data (metrics) from its outputs. An example of a process without
a feedback loop is a relationship between two people (manager and subordinate,
husband and wife, or buyer and seller) that contains no vehicle (feedback loop) to
discuss issues and problems with the intention of establishing a better relationship in
the future. A special cause only feedback loop process will exhibit enormous variation
in its output. is was discussed in Section 1.2.3.1 on the Funnel Experiment; see
Rules 2, 3, and 4. An example of a process with a special cause only feedback loop
can again be seen in a relationship between a boss and a subordinate, but in this case
the relationship deteriorates through a cycle of successive overreactions to problems
that are perceived as special by both members of the relationship. In fact, the prob-
lems are probably repetitive in nature, due to the structure of the relationship itself
and common causes of variation. Finally, a common and special case feedback loop
process in which special causes are resolved, and common causes are removed, will
exhibit continuous improvement of its output. For example, relationship problems
between a boss and a subordinate can be classified as either special or common;
statistical methods can be used to identify special causes and to resolve them, and to
remove common causes, thereby improving the relationship in the future.
1.2.4 Four Questions You May Ask about
Lean Six Sigma Management
Four questions you may want to ask about “Lean Six Sigma” management are:
1. Will I get more work if I improve my job?
2. Will I get fired if the improvement(s) I make eliminate my job?
3. Will I get release time from my regular job to work on Lean Six Sigma
projects?
4. Will I get a share of the financial benefits generated by my Lean Six Sigma
project efforts?
Inputs Process Outputs
Feedback Loop
Figure 1.48 Feedback loop.
The Meaning and Purpose of Work ◾ 87
ese questions are a natural reaction to the transformation defined by pursuing
Lean Six Sigma management. Transformation (change) is a difficult, soul-searching
activity that has a profound effect on the individual and the organization. It takes
courage and strength of character to involve oneself in change. Top management
must have a burning desire and personal discipline to transform its organization,
and worker bees must have the personal discipline to follow the best-practice meth-
ods developed through Lean Six Sigma projects.
Worker bees should realize that lack of commitment by top management
for transformation will kill a Lean Six Sigma effort. If transformation promises
improvement in all areas of the organization, why do all top managers not embrace
it? First, top managers may not be pro Lean Six Sigma because it is not their own
creation. Second, they may fear failure to meet the short-term goals established as
part of a Management by Objectives (MBO) system. ird, executives are reluctant
to change because they have been personally successful; the organization beneath
them may be falling apart, but as long as they continue to get raises and positive
performance appraisals, they can deny the rampant problems.
Back to the four questions listed above. Each one can be answered from the
perspective of a worker bee:
1. e answer to the first question — “Will I get more work if I improve my
job?” — has two parts, depending on the nature of your “overtime work.” If
you do no “overtime work,” then you will still be expected to put in a full
work week. However, your work will not be as pressured and stressful as it
was before the improvement (or improvements) to your job. If you do “over-
time work” for extra compensation, then you may see a dramatic reduction
in overtime hours. For some workers, this reduction is a welcome change
because of more leisure time. For other workers, this reduction is a loss of
income. One solution to this loss of income is to expand your skill set to
attract higher-paying “overtime work.” Higher-paying “overtime work” will
likely result in more “joy in work.” If you do uncompensated overtime work,
then your life is about to get much better!
2. e answer to the second question — “Will I get fired if the improvement(s) I
make eliminate my job?” — in a true Lean Six Sigma company is an emphatic
no. First, if you are an employee who understands Lean Six Sigma and has
used it to improve one or more processes, then you are very valuable. A man-
ager would be “nuts” to fire you. In a Lean Six Sigma company, labor reduc-
tions due to process improvement are accomplished using planning, patience,
and natural attrition (retires, relocates, quits, etc.), not firing the people who
are making the company more profitable.
3. e answer to the third question — “Will I get release time from my regu-
lar job to work on Lean Six Sigma projects?” — is not so clear. Some Lean
Six Sigma companies require that project work provides a reduction to your
regular work, while others do not. Regardless, if management is serious about
88 ◾ A Guide to Lean Six Sigma Management Skills
“Lean Six Sigma,” then the short-term increase in project work is worth the
long-term reduction in workload, pressure, and stress. at is, “the juice is
usually worth the squeeze.”
4. e answer to the fourth question — “Will I get a share of the financial
benefits generated by my Lean Six Sigma project efforts?” — is a function of
management’s truly adopting the theory underlying Lean Six Sigma man-
agement. e theory calls for a dramatically different view of motivation.
e current practice of management relies primarily on extrinsic motivators
(rewards and punishments) from a Management by Objectives (MBO) sys-
tem to motivate people. Usually, the financial rewards of project work are
not shared with the worker bees in a company. On the other hand, Lean
Six Sigma management promotes a balance between extrinsic motivators and
intrinsic motivators (that is, joy in work). Intrinsic motivators involve worker
bees using Lean Six Sigma methods to improve their work and being moti-
vated by the sheer pleasure of the act of work. Extrinsic motivators include
pay raises, promotions, and in some cases, profit-sharing. For a more com-
plete discussion of compensation systems in a Lean Six Sigma company, see
the next chapter of this book.
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