Most of the tools and concepts of sixsigma have existed for years. Then why have so few organizations achieved quality levels above 4 sigma? One reason is that the quality improvement efforts of many companies have not been linked to senior management. Unless the senior management of an organization really views quality and customer satisfaction as

If you asked most individuals who hold down a full time job working for a company, if they would like to establish their own small business, a majority of them would say sure. This might be due to the fact that they never had a small business that belonged to them to run. While numerous individuals manage to build huge companies from one small busi

We are at a very important time in history. Over the next five years, approximately 62 million Baby Boomers, who have helped form our business world for the last 20 years will be retiring. As they exit out of the workforce approximately 40 million Gen X, born between 1965 and 1977, and 72 million Generation Y, born after 1977 will fill their shoe

Most organizations will tell you that they are the best in the world at what they do. In most cases, that's more pride talking rather than reality. Over the years, I have conducted many worldwide searches for organizational best practices. Invariably, I find that most organizations are well above or well below average in each particular pr

If you had to take a guess of the most important factors that a business can impact that will increase customer relations what would you say? Most business owners can readily agree that great products, exceptional service and reasonable prices are all key factors, but if you wanted to take it a step further, putting your employees into properly se

There are a number of areas to keep your eye on as part of your succession planning activities. Top of the list has to be that as you formulate your ideas to get those people organized to be top class performers, you need to know how they are doing, right now. The most important priority, above all, is that you keep your eye on overall perfor

Many companies make it a policy to "hire from within," which is a way of saying that a person can start out on the ground floor of a company and eventually work his or her way up and possibly someday become the company's CEO. One way of keeping this process possible is by a method called "Succession Planning." Succession Planning is the way a c

To accomplish the overall objectives given to them, your 'team' must be unified and know where they fit. Above all, they need to be clear on the importance of the overall team's performance, to the final result of any project. Team Building Is Vital To Achieve Corporate Goals If your company objective is the usual one, typically increased pro

One of the most important attributes a restaurant can have besides great food, atmosphere, wine and cocktail list , is a very highly attentive trained staff. This goes without saying so why is it so few restaurants get it right out there? With the exception of the grand opening when all new staff are hired and there is an outpouring of information

A question that is often asked is "was Six Sigma developed as a competitor to the existing systems?" But in reality, this question is groundless because Six Sigma was developed independently, like every other quality management system. However, if it pays to have more than one quality management system, then why not develop another system in additi

There is no question that the automotive industry has become one of the most important commercial sectors in the world today. However, many people fail to realize all the specific elements that make up this sector. From manufacturing to consumers, there are many important steps a vehicle must travel through. In fact, one of the most important, i

Historically, checklists were simple to-do lists that served as reminders; attend the sales conference, fax or mail the contract to a customer, or distribute an employee memo. Even today, most dictionaries define a checklist as a document that serves as a reminder for a series of tasks to be completed. However, checklists have now evolved to import

Of even greater concern, however,is that the reward structure we do use in most organizations can be an obstacle to a motivated workforce and can inhibit our ability to build flexibility and foster learning. The focus of much of this research around motivation has been to identify the relative differences between the effects of intrinsic and extri

You made the Choice Increasing your company's profitability revolves around the focal point of numbers and the ability to access those numbers quickly to implement a plan to reduce internal costs while increasing project profitability. Understanding where an employee's time is spent and realigning that time as necessary to match the project a

Good managers are not born - they are made. They learn what works and what doesn't through trial and error, and it is that experience that makes them invaluable. While a college education can provide the knowledge to help with finances and marketing, job experience provides on hand training that aids with real world training. A great manager