Is a 10% reduction on your Accounts Receivable enough. No, of course not. Instead, you want to make $800,000 three times as fast! This article will take you through some key ideas in disruption thinking, with links to (Lean) Six Sigma, and leadership.

Disruption Thinking and (Lean) Six Sigma

Much like Kaizen, (Lean) Six Sigma can be understood according to the following tenets:

• Know the value stream. By knowing the customer, you can identify issues early on that may affect success. By deconstructing processes to understand how they work you can decide to improve them.

• Eliminate and prevent waste. Waste causes your business to stagnate, and can ultimately lead to failure, so eliminate it where you see it. Even more effective, don’t let it accumulate in the first place, and it won’t be a problem.

• Systematic improvement. Six Sigma takes time, using accurate data, to achieve the best results, and should be used according to a systematic plan with clear goals in mind.

• Team work. Six Sigma is nothing without team work, so make sure everyone pitches in, to ensure the success of the project. Strong leadership is important to making Six Sigma and Lean process work.

With these key principles, you can become a Six Sigma pro in no time at all. But while it may seem beneficial to focus your energies on reducing your Accounts Receivable, disruption thinking is proving in many circles to be far more effective when it comes to generating revenue.

Disruption Actions

Here are some disruptive actions to help you take advantage of the market and your own business’s potential for improvement:

• Customizing your Six Sigma and continuous improvement. (Lean) Six Sigma and Kaizen are flexible methodologies, and can be manipulated to best suit the needs of your business. If your production environment doesn’t require quite the same rigorous action Kaizen offers, then slow things down to your pace. Use Six Sigma where you can to customize your improvement strategy. After all, one size doesn’t necessarily fit all.

• Does a process need to be improved, or can it be disrupted? Where most businesses will tend to stick to the standard process outline, you can do what they can’t. Disrupt the flow, break down processes and rework them from the ground up. Use Six Sigma to determine what works and what doesn’t, then make a change for the better.

• Access your deep capital. Considering the ever-soaring costs of new capital, it’s important that you not let your business waste what it already has. Often enough, we find that significant quantities of cash are trapped on many business’s balance sheets, without them even knowing about it! Use Six Sigma techniques to identify and access this extra revenue, to enrich your budget. You’ll have an added edge over your competitors, with a new stream of funds to invest, for which you are certain to see great returns!

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The Apps

TaktCalc 1.0. Vendor: John James. Released: July 26^th Price $4.99.

This useful app can help you just as much on the store floor as in the factory. Likewise, the app focuses on calculating takt time and Kanban sizes, making Lean Six Sigma implementation a whole lot easier.

Sigmalator: The Sigma Value Calculator 1.0. Vendor: TayDan Enterprises LLP. Released: August 1^st Price: $0.99.

The Sigmalator is useful for low-level project team members as well as for executive Six Sigma decisions. Additionally, it allows you to calculate sigma levels of your processes as well as the percentage of variation per million units. It can also help solve all your 1.5 sigma shift needs.

Lean Six Sigma Coach App. Vendor: Procise. Released: July 14^th 2016 (updated). Price: Free!

Recently revamped, this highly effective app uses a simplified interface for maximum ease of use, with Green Belt and Black Belt exam prep. Furthermore, the app is useful for process improvement and Lean Six Sigma implementation.

Six Sigma Process Aid & Design Patterns Process Aid. Vendor: UML. Price: Free!

UML’s invaluable app lets you calculate sigma process levels, generate histograms of data, look up methods, strategies and definitions. Similarly, it also provides useful Six Sigma tools and information.

LeanKit. Vendor: LeanKit. Price: Free!

The leading Kanban app LeanKit aims to please. Not only can it help you visualize your work and process flow (not to mention your value stream), but it effective collaboration. In addition, LeanKit ensures you make the most of Six Sigma by identifying improvement opportunities for you.

Upward Mobility’s Green Belt and Black Belt Test Prep Apps. Vendor: Upward Mobility. Price: $4.99 each.

Upward Mobility create valuable, engaging Six Sigma apps to. With hundreds of Green and Black Belt questions and useful study and test modes, this app can help you maximize project success and hone your Six Sigma training and skills.

Normal Probability App. Vendor: Normal Probability. Price: Free!

The Normal Probability app allows you to calculate critical values and probabilities on the go. With helpful tips on population standard deviation and standard normal distribution, this is ideal for either the Six Sigma student or teacher.

ProStats 1.22. Vendor: Software Engineering Inc. Released: March 9^th Price: $2.99.

Software Engineering Inc.’s brilliant app enables users to perform statistical processes at home, on the bus, or at work. It includes everything from non-parametric tests, regression analysis, histograms and box plots, plus standard deviation and p-values.

iGuides: Basics of Six Sigma 1.0. Vendor: Arctic Gerbil. Released: December 16^th Price: $2.99.

The iGuides Six Sigma app offers a great introduction to all things Six Sigma, with an overview of important tools, methods and ideas.

Go Lean 1.0. Vendor: PointAbout Inc. Released: February 3^rd Price: Free!

The GoLean app has everything you need, including Six Sigma articles, videos and press releases, as well as a useful glossary of Lean terms.

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What are the Metrics?

Within the  Six Sigma methodology, metrics tend to focus on one or a combination of three vital factors.  Namely: quality, schedule, and cost. These metrics are particularly useful as they often serve as the root drivers behind an organization’s Six Sigma transformation.

• Critical to Quality. Quality metrics (CTQs) involve measuring process performance and operational performance. One of the oft-used methods for doing this is via Process Capability Indices. This is when a process is broken down to determine if it meets the demands of the customer. 

• Critical to Schedule. Schedule metrics (CTSs) generally deal with cycle times and scheduling proficiencies and deficiencies. There are four key concepts that link to CTSs: process cycle efficiency, process lead times, process velocity, and overall equipment effectiveness. 

• Critical to Cost. Cost metrics (CTCs) calculate, render, and compare data that can inform business opportunities. These include such metrics as Net Present Value and Internal Rate of Return. They are designed to be equally critical to both schedule and quality, as cost often impacts on almost every other area of a business’s infrastructure.

How to Use Metrics to Deliver Strong Leadership

The first thing you need to know about being a good leader is how to provide meaningful direction to your team. Remember, you are someone they look to for guidance, and example, so be prepared.

One way to do this is by defining objectives in terms of your Six Sigma and/or business strategy. Demonstrate how these goals are to be met, break it down into manageable data chunks, for easy absorption. Be clear, be succinct, and your team will thank you for it. This will also help strengthen Critical to Quality metrics, in turn providing a strong picture of how their work benefits the project.

Monitoring results is another important factor. By acknowledging and recording achievements, your team will acquire a stronger sense of direction for it. By completing each goal, they will feel the project drive towards its ultimate objective. Critical to Schedule metrics will play a role here, as they can help set out effective timelines.

Moreover, drivers and processes are essential to Six Sigma, and you should identify them quickly and effectively to make your objectives actionable. Techniques such as Pareto Charts and Driver Trees can help break processes down to determine their drivers. This level of detail is important for you to be comfortable with, as your team may struggle to have faith in you as a leader, if you offer only vague advice and a basic understanding of the key issues at work. An in-depth understanding of the processes will also enable a thorough understanding of the costs involved. This will help you direct workers in line with budget goals.

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