The "Dreaded" $10,000.00 Meetings...

An issue arises in business, where your Lean Six Sigma expert summons 20 of your best workers in a room, + Pizza, and few breaks to map out your problem process.

Everyone in the room makes $70-$80 per hour and it’s a 1-day event.  Keep in mind that while these 20 employees are huddled in a room, the progression in their work (and your shareholders’ interests) will not be met for the next day.  Employees, managers, directors and maybe even a VP are in the room.

What you are doing is very important indeed, but what comes out of it is $8,000.00 in savings.  Everyone in the room is congratulating each other on the hard work to fix one or two steps in the process, and management decides to hold more of these events soon for other offending process steps in other processes as well.

Please don’t get us wrong, we’re all about Continuous Improvement.  But, when the associated costs outweigh the savings, one must wonder why we are even there.

When assessing a process, if you are taking the time to map it, you are investing in the process.  You are investing in the people.  One would wonder, if you are here, you are mapping it, why walk away with less than optimal?  Be “all-in” so to speak.

Now, we have never been witness to the perfect process design.  Typically, Lean Six Sigma Professionals utilize DMADV (Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, Verify) to design new processes.  This is where experience comes in, with the DMADOV methodology.  It stands for Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, Optimize, Verify.  It is an essential methodology because it accounts for and allows imperfections in the design to be worked out well prior to the first pilot. 

Once the process is optimized, then we allow for Continuous Improvement.  We don’t need the $10,000.00 meetings and can be “tweaked”/”Improved”, through Kaizen events.

Originally, the Kaizen Events were supposed to be shortened 5-day DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) events, in which there is one day allocated for each phase of the DMAIC.  We say “supposed to be” for a reason.  Often it is a 1–5-hour meeting, in which “anything goes” so long as there is a solution (maybe not the right one) at the end of the day.

When performing Kaizen Events, it is important to let your Lean Six Sigma professional know well in advance, what the intent is, and what the expected outcome(s) are.  To even go through creating a charter for it. This lets your Lean Six Sigma professional assess the problem, identify tools/methodologies that would provide the most benefit to ensure you achieve the outcome you wish, or better.

As a business owner, it is important to get the most out of your meetings.  Your investments (people & process).  Our position is to invest for the long-term, rather than just the short-term.  If you are willing to spend $10,000.00 on a meeting, let’s make sure that the ROI is appropriate.  It will cost you less overall and make you more profitable for some time to come.

-Rick