The Complete Idiot's Guide to Lean Six Sigma

The perfect prescription for any organization   

Increasingly popular with large and mid-sized companies around the world, Lean Six Sigma is the new hybridization of Six Sigma and Lean methodologies, and there is no better approach for achieving operational excellence in an organization.

But how do you implement Lean Six Sigma, and what does it entail?

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Lean Six Sigma answers this question with unprecedented clarity and turnkey elegance. Part one gives you all the background you need to understand Lean Six Sigma – what it is, where it came from, what it has done for so many organizations and what it can do for you and your company.

Parts two and three of the book give you a prescribed yet flexible roadmap to follow in selecting, enacting and realizing improvements from Lean Six Sigma projects. Within this step-by-step structure, the authors demonstrate when and how to use the many Lean Six Sigma statistics and “tools” – packing the pages with diagrams, real-life examples, templates, tips and advice. If you are a Green Belt or a Black Belt, or trainee, these two parts will be invaluable to you.

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Lean Six Sigma is the first book of its kind to integrate the Lean Six Sigma tools within a clear stepwise progression, so readers know when and how to actually apply them in their jobs. As such, this book is superior as a companion to any corporate or organizational Lean Six Sigma “deployment.”

No more complex hodgepodge

Other books about Lean and/or Six Sigma tend to provide a lot of good information, tools and statistics – but mostly in a disconnected way, not in a way that is straightforward and user friendly. This makes an already complex subject seem still complex to the neophyte reader. On the other hand, the structure and progression of this book unfolds Lean Six Sigma in a way that a reader can easily become a user, and move more quickly from knowledge to application.

Therefore, using The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Lean Six Sigma, you know why the statistics are important and where to use them, because this is made clear. You know how and when to use a Pareto Chart, or do a Stakeholder Analysis, or conduct a Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA). You not only get fully primed on all the parts and parcels of Lean Six Sigma, but you truly learn enough to become dangerous – in a good way! In a way that makes you more valuable to your organization.

Also for Lean Six Sigma leaders, not just practitioners

Just as a Lean Six Sigma practitioner follows a proven formula for process improvement, a Lean Six Sigma Leader generally follows a process for achieving organizational transformation. This is why the final part of the book focuses on what a Lean Six Sigma leader or Champion needs to know and do to be successful – again according to a detailed step-by-step process that can be followed exactly or modified to fit specific needs.

This includes:
• Identifying and selecting Lean Six Sigma projects.
• Understanding the process of organizational transformation.
• Installing an infrastructure for Lean Six Sigma deployment.
• Ensuring quantifiable performance gains are made and sustained.

Just like parts two and three show you how to implement a Lean Six Sigma project, part four of the book shows you the roadmap for implementing Lean Six Sigma on an organization-wide basis – and embeds all the necessary management tools, templates, examples and aids you’ll need within that progressive format.

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Lean Six Sigma is the smartest choice if you need a comprehensive primer, and especially if you need to actually improve a process or spread Lean Six Sigma capability throughout your company. It is the best comprehensive reference available to get you on your way to becoming a lean, mean business machine!

Neil DeCarlo is the Vice President of Publishing for Breakthrough Management Group (BMG). The co-author ofInsourcing Innovation and Six Sigma for Dummies, hes written or edited seven books and more than 200 articles on business excellence and related methodologies, and has worked for a wide range of companies, including GE and AT&T.
Breakthrough Management Group is a leading provider of training and consulting in the areas of Lean Six Sigma, Total Performance Excellence, and innovation. BMG works with leading companies around the globe to "in-source" new core competencies. Headquartered in Longmont, Colorado, BMG has a loyal clientele that exceeds 200 active businesses in biotechnology, health care, finance, telecommunications, manufacturing, energy, and other industries. The firm has more than 100 consultants and trainers located in 12 offices worldwide. For more information, visit www.bmgi.com.