Re: Six Sigma

["Systems" <systems@3sigma.com>]

Huzzah, huzzah, Dr A D Burns,

Just when I feel most hopeless, someone cries out, "Aha! The emperor has no 
clothes!" and hope is renewed. "Six Sigma" jargon is just more of the same 
old snake oil--no better than the latest fad diet. Actually worse. While 
American business leadership wastes time popping magic pills, the rest of 
the world is hard at work, creating methods for competing in the 21st 
century. Every day the news is filled with observations that make clear the 
dire consequences of lazy and narcissistic thinking.

There is a profound reason why Dr. Deming left his admirers with nothing in 
the way of slogans on which to hang their professional hats.

As a business consultant I used to struggle endlessly in search of a 
60-second sound bite that says what I have to offer. Years ago I asked Dr. 
Deming what I might say to grab the attention of a prospective client. 
"Nonsense", he replied, "There is no short answer. You are prepared to share 
a methodology for doing better, but you can do nothing unless he already has 
a desire to do better. Failing that, everyone loses."

Marc M. Hersch
Systems@3Sigma.com

BTW - Dr. Deming's rejection of all forms of sloganism is firmly based in 
theory. It would be filed under "A Theory of Knowledge" in is "Profound 
Knowledge" model. Read Norbert Weiner's book "The Human Use of Human Beings" 
for some interesting insights into this topic.