Managing Six SIGMA: A Practical Guide to Understanding, Assessing, and Implementing the Strategy That Yields Bottom-Line Success

Yes, it is true as several others may notice, that Managing Six Sigma is a book that refers often to Breyfogle's much larger tome, Implementing 6 Sigma. This book touts itself as an executive guide to learning about 6 Sigma, compares itself to other quality initiatives like TQM and Demming, points out the differences and does so in executive speak. It does also make a statement that it will refer to the Implementing book so it makes no bones about that up front. When you need more information, it points you to the section in the 1200+ page Implementing guide for the details. This book, however, gives you what you need to make an informed decision of whether 6 sigma may help you and your company out. I use it as a quick reference for the larger volume and quick hits. Besides, it fits in your briefcase and you can carry it on the plane instead of the Implementing book that is way too bulky to carry around with you. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has taken any 6 sigma courses as a refresher or for someone who wants to learn more.

Breyfogle and his co-authors explain that this book was written in response to numerous requests for a book which would "help management decide if they should implement Six Sigma" and then "guide them through the process." In Breyfogle's previously published Implementing Six Sigma, he introduced Smarter Six Sigma Solutions (or S4). Were I to provide a copy of that book to the CEOs with whom I work, few (if any) would read it. Perhaps a few would pass it along for someone else to read. After that, who knows? (Many of the CEOs I know confuse dumping with delegating.) It is not damning with faint praise to suggest that this is an excellent book but one which has a much narrower focus and provides much less content than does its predecessor. "The purpose of this book is to build awareness of the wise application of Six Sigma tools and how they can be important to the `big picture.'" The authors achieve that purpose. The material is carefully organized within four Parts: Why Six Sigma (How Six Sigma Compares to Other Quality Initiatives, Six Sigma Background and Fundamentals, and Six Sigma Needs Assessment); Six Sigma Metrics (Numbers and Information, Crafting insightful Metrics, and Performance Measurement); Six Sigma Business Strategy (deployment Alternatives, Creating a Successful Six Sigma Infrastructure, Training and Implementation, and finally, Project Selection, Sizing, and Other Techniques; and Applying Six Sigma (manufacturing Applications, Service/Transactional Applications, Development Applications, and finally, Need for Creativity, Invention, and Innovation). The Glossary and References sections follow and are first-rate.Because I am a non-technician, I found the concepts and applications discussed in this book easier to grasp than those explained in its predecessor, Implementing Six Sigma. My guess (only a guess) is that the same would be true of senior-level executives who are also non-technicians. The authors quite carefully help their reader to understand how Six Sigma differs from other quality initiatives while correctly noting that Six Sigma should not replace other initiatives. Rather, it is and should be perceived as "a tactical methodology to determine the best approach to a given situation/process." In Chapter 1, they go on to observe that the success of Six Sigma "is linked to qa set of cross-functional metrics that lead to significant improvements in customer satisfaction and bottom-line benefits. Organizations do not necessarily need to use all of the measurements listed (often within typical Six Sigma programs). It is most important to choose the best set of services for a situation metrics that yield insight into a situation or process." I provide these brief excerpts to indicate the precision and clarity of the authors' writing style as well as to attract attention to several key points they emphasize.One of the book's greatest value-added benefits is provided from a series of Tables. They range from "The Ten Myths of Six

I expected greatness from this book based on the other text, "Implementing Six Sigma" (by the same author). I am asked all of the time if there is a book that Executives and Business Leaders can read to understand what Six Sigma is all about and to help determine if it is right for their organizations. Until now, I had to give them a list of books that would come close if they read them all. This is THE one. This book clearly establishes it's objectives and nails them. This book is also useful to companies that have already deployed Six Sigma. The audience will soon wish they had read this book prior to launching their own program, but can establish a roadmap to getting back on track. The book also emphasizes the selection of deployment providers and addresses trying to create and deploy a "home grown" program.

Having read a number of the latest and greatest Six Sigma books, I keep going back to this one whenever I have questions around the deployment of Six Sigma within our organization. Easy to follow and compact to boot!

Since I am on the Six Sigma deployment team for my company, I have done a lot of reading on Six Sigma in the last two months. Mr. Breyfogle, as a companion to his book Implementing Six Sigma has really created a useful consultive book that fills in the blanks for planning and deploying a six sigma program. He even shares "how to's" in the areas such as project selection and team chartering.It is concise and clear. I recommend it to anyone who is thinking about or preparing to deploy Six Sigma in their organization.