Strategic Six SIGMA: Best Practices from the Executive Suite

by Dick Smith, Jerry Blakeslee, Richard Koonce

Real executives talk about how Six Sigma changed their organizations for the better Backed by the real-world experience of executives who successfully implemented Six Sigma, this book shows how this powerful, data-driven quality improvement methodology can improve the learning cycle and financial and corporate reporting, as well as strategic planning, customer demand issues, and more. Case studies and interviews provide real-life best practices that...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471232947
• ISBN13: 9780471232940
• Release Date: September 2002
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Excellent strategic resource

This book provides a valuable strategic framework with which to implement Six Sigma within a company today. Unlike most books on Six Sigma, which focus on the granular details of six sigma implementation, this book focuses on implementation from a strategic perspective; in other words, on how a company's top leadership team must be intimately involved in making Six Sigma work by creating an internal "climate of alignment" to make Six Sigma initiatives suceed. From my perspective, a critical resource for today's CEOs and their top leadership teams!

Excellent Six Sigma Leadership Book!

Well written from the strategic view of Six Sigma and where it fits into your existing corporate methodologies, process efforts and strategic initiatives. The center chapters of the book (3 through 5) are extremely rich in content. The PriceWaterhouse pedigree is obvious in the writing style and view point. Well done!

Steeped in practical examples and avoids statistical jargon

A lot of the Six Sigma books and articles I have read appear to assume you greatly miss your college statistics class. This book focuses on issues, ideas and examples relevant to senior management, while referencing some of the tools and techniques that will be essential to execute successfully. Let's face it -- senior executives need examples to create the sense of urgency and "what can be" through Six Sigma; there are plenty of books, consultants and training firms who can take you from that commitment through execution. I highly recommend this book for managers who want to understand why they should seriously consider Six Sigma or similar approaches (TQM, CQI, etc.) to improve their company's or business unit's effectiveness in meeting their customer's needs and efficiency vs. competitors.

Packed with Knowledge!

Thanks to endorsements from managerial heavyweights like Jack Welch, most people in business are by now familiar with Six Sigma as a process for measuring and reducing product defects. In Strategic Six Sigma, however, Dick Smith, Jerry Blakeslee and Richard Koonce demonstrate that the Six Sigma methodology can and should be applied to the highest levels of strategic planning. Simply put, the authors illustrate how the rigors of Six Sigma can improve your performance in terms of overall strategy, growth and customer satisfaction in the same way that it streamlines operations on a production floor. We...strongly recommend this book to business leaders, executives and managers, all of whom will benefit from its hands-on advice for integrating the tenets of Six Sigma into corporate strategy.