Chapter 1. So You Want to Do Six Sigma?

“The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.”

—Albert Einstein

You may have learned about Six Sigma from colleagues, customers, or suppliers. You may have read about how much money Motorola, AlliedSignal, General Electric (GE), or others made after implementing Six Sigma. And, because success breeds success, you may have decided to deploy Six Sigma within your own company. We certainly encourage you along this path, but with one caveat: proceed with caution.

Six Sigma is definitely not a get-rich-quick scheme; it is a business strategy and methodology that can help your organization create real and lasting improvement in performance that leads to increased customer satisfaction and an improved bottom line.

This book provides a detailed strategy for Six Sigma deployment and helps you develop a step-by-step approach, guidance that has been lacking, despite the volumes of Six Sigma literature. To set the stage, some basic background of Six Sigma is provided, along with a brief discussion of the roles managers and employees play in the process. This book assumes a basic knowledge of Six Sigma. To study Six Sigma history or tools in greater detail see the references provided. For example, Harry and Schroeder (2000), Pande, et al. (2000), and Eckes (2001) provide sound descriptions of, and convincing arguments for, Six Sigma. Similarly, Breyfogle (1999) provides a detailed treatise of the Six Sigma tools–the statistical and problem-solving methods that are applied in Six Sigma projects.