The Dilemma of SIZE!

Have you seen inefficiency and waste in your company? I sure have. It has been in every company I have had the pleasure to serve, and the reasons it exists differ for every company. One common reason is as companies grow in product mix and size the organization and processes become more complex and harder to navigate. It is faster to modify and add onto an existing process to deal with change than to streamline it. This introduces inefficiency. Some companies are better than others at limiting this, but it is generally true that with size comes waste. Larger companies employ quality professionals who specialize in various disciplines. These quality experts are well trained, specialized and employed with focus. They often will have no other function than to work on gaining efficiency, and can find fantastic solutions to difficult problems through the employment of methodical approaches.

Large companies have so much complexity they have teams of experts. As a leader of these initiatives for companies, I have witnessed the insatiable thirst for developing these experts. This required setting up support systems and sponsors throughout the company, so the experts could rely on training systems, project prioritization systems, financial backing and other experts for support. Larger companies invest in these programs and expand them because the programs pay for themselves many times over.

Take for example the Six Sigma methodology. It teaches a problem solving methodology, and supports that methodology with a storage shed full of tools. Each tool has a use when solving a problem. Some tools are more general than others and can be used in a wider application of problems, while others are very specific. None of these tools are unique to the Six Sigma Methodology. They are common and can be found in many other quality methodologies. What makes six sigma stand out among other methods is its structure.

We all hear about the six sigma black belt, the hero who fixes the problem, but what you don’t hear about is the whole system that is in place to find, prioritize, and fund those projects. It isn't just about fixing a problem, but rather it is about finding and fixing the most significant problems continuously. It’s this continuous improvement that makes progress for the company and builds the reputation of six sigma.

An analogy would be comparing a construction company to a carpenter. The carpenter understands how all of the tools in the shed work, but without the architect, civil engineers and banks who give the carpenter the design, analysis, plans and money to finance his work, he will only use the tools for repairs here and there. Similarly in Six Sigma an expert in the tools (the black belt) will be inefficient in solving problems for the company without the proper support from Master Black Belts, and Champions. It's the structure that helps make the Six Sigma Program so successful.

Consider these rules of thumb for six sigma. For every 100 employees you can use 1 Black Belt. For every 10 Black Belts you can use 1 Master Black Belt. Without 10 Black Belts you really can't keep a Master Black Belt properly employed, and without the Master Black Belt functioning as a proper support structure for the Black Belts you do have, there isn't the ability to sustain the effort and make the promised progress of a Six Sigma Initiative.

This brings me to my point about the dilemma of size. It isn't that a smaller company can't benefit from a six sigma program, it's that it really isn't practical for companies under 1,000 people to take on the required structure to train and implement a full Six Sigma program.

Many smaller companies don’t realize this and they hire a single black belt to “give six sigma a try”. Naturally without the strategy, execution plan and support the results are limited. This can frustrate the management and make them give up on finding efficiency they know exists.

So how do smaller companies attain the benefits of Six Sigma if they don't need and can’t afford the full structure? How do they gain the efficiency needed to compete against larger competitors within their industry? Consider hiring a consulting company. They can serve as the support structure your company can't afford to implement. The consultant can work with you to align projects with your company goals, train your Black Belts in the use of the six sigma tools, and they can act as the Master Black Belt that coaches and mentors them through their projects. Because they have the expertise and offer this service to multiple smaller companies they can leverage the economy of scale in their training and are very affordable. Far less than what it will take to deploy the Six Sigma Program on your own.

Don't give up on continuous improvement because of poor execution, and don't throw away hundreds of thousands of dollars because you are trying to save a few thousand on consulting costs. The right consultant can help take your company to that next level, and give your company the profits you know it's entitled to.

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