I've been thinking a lot lately about resistance to change. The Rogers Adoption / Innovation curve (innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, laggards) is referenced in some form by most people involved in change management.

Now, I'm not an innovator myself. My special form of creativity doesn't manifest itself by coming up with new ideas that no one else has thought of, or completely new ways to do things. I'd tag myself as being in the early adopter or maybe early majority categories most of the time.

So it can be a stretch for me to work with the late majority or laggards. "Don't you know this will be good for you?" I ask incredulously. "Can't you see all the benefits and advantages that you will have once you've made this change?" I confess that I get very impatient sometimes.

Fortunately I have great team members that a) calm me down and prevent me from sending career-limiting emails, and b) remind me that you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Or, as the movie musical "Mary Poppins" character sings, "Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down."

(Of course, as she's singing that, she's snapping her fingers and making the children's clothes go back into the drawers without any effort on anyone's part.)

But in the real world, it's good to ask ourselves what's in it for the stakeholders, and try to see what would make the change more palatable. The trick is, it has to been seen as a value-added return even before the gains are realized. For example, a promise that the work will be easier might not be believed, even if you know it will be true.

Have you found a good way to engage stakeholders who might need a little extra encouragement to buy into a change plan? It would be most helpful if you would share your experiences!

Last year, we celebrated Bill Smith, widely known as the Father of Six Sigma, as the first inductee into iSixSigma’s Six Sigma Hall of Fame. We’re now identifying who should be the next person to join the Hall of Fame – someone who has made significant and lasting contributions in the Lean Six Sigma industry, who has consistently fueled corporate growth and shareholder value through the use of Lean Six Sigma during their career, who has commanded the respect and admiration of their peers for their extraordinary service to the industry.

Help us decide who will be inducted in the Six Sigma Hall of Fame in 2010. Submit your nomination via email to sshof(at)isixsigma.com by Nov. 30.

Inductees will be announced at the upcoming iSixSigma Live! Summit & Awards, Miami Feb. 1 – 4, 2010, along with the winners of the Largest-Breakthrough Improvement Projects, and Most Successful Lean Six Sigma Start-up or Re-energized Lean Six Sigma Program.

Dear iSixSigma Blogosphere Readers,

Back in January 2005, I started up a little blog about Six Sigma companies. It caught the eye of iSixSigma’s very own Mike Cyger and he invited me to join his growing team of forward thinking Six Sigma zealots dedicated to providing the best information about Six Sigma to the masses.

As an active user of iSixSigma since 2001, working for the company was like being a roadie for my favorite band. Living and breathing Six Sigma.

I’ve been associated with the Six Sigma industry for nearly a decade and have met some of the world’s finest people in this community. To you, I give my deepest thanks for all you have taught me. My journey to this point has been fantastic.

But alas, it is time for me to move on. I have the chance to follow a dream of mine, and I cannot let the opportunity pass me.

I will remain active with iSixSigma over the next several weeks transitioning my role. I will continue to keep up with the industry and look forward to keeping in touch with you in the future. I can be reached via LinkedIn.

Best,

Michael Marx

Visit the Cox-Box Store for 2010 Calendars and Mugs

The Cox-Box is Copyright © 2000-2009 iSixSigma LLC and Gary P. Cox – All Rights Reserved
Reproduction Without Permission Is Prohibited – Request Permission

Having recently posted my 100^th blog, I thought it would be worth-while to share my list of 100 reasons why companies should embrace Six Sigma . . .

Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers

Any questions?

There’s a definite honor in being “award-winning.” I experienced this firsthand last year when iSixSigma Magazine received editorial excellence honors. The awards provided an opportunity for us to pause and recognize the work that goes into our editorial efforts and to celebrate the accomplishments. But, as I said in my Editor’s Notes following the announcement, entering a competition is more than just a pat on the back. It also reinforces what you want to do tomorrow and the next day and the day after.

Recognition and reinforcement are just a couple of the reasons to enter the iSixSigma Live! Awards. Here are a few more reasons:

1. Just being nominated is a boost for an individual or team
2. Finalist and winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in South Beach, Fla., Feb. 3, in iSixSigma Magazine, and on iSixSigma.com.
3. This year, the awards ceremony will be accompanied by music. Think YouTube sensation, wedding entrance dance. (OK, maybe not exactly like that, but there will be fun music.)
4. The ceremony is held in conjunction with the iSixSigma Live! Summit & Awards, Feb. 1-4. You won’t want to miss the great program lineup, networking opportunities, and sunshine of South Beach.

Award categories include:

* iSixSigma's Six Sigma Hall of Fame
* Largest-Breakthrough Improvement Projects (Categories: Transactional, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Customer Service)
* Most Successful Lean Six Sigma Start-up or Re-energized Lean Six Sigma Program

Get more details on the awards categories and learn how to submit. The deadline for your chance to be “award-winning” is Nov. 30.

But don’t wait until then. The first step of the submission process is a simple form, followed by submission of a storyboard or other support materials, depending on award category. So complete the first step now, and work on your materials over the coming weeks. Good luck!

You may have seen the cover of the September/October issue of iSixSigma Magazine, featuring J.D. Sicilia and “The DoD Roundup.” The western theme continued into the DoD Breakthrough Convention, Oct. 14 to 16.

Here’s a sneak peak of the fun: Jeannine Hall, director of events, taking a hand at roping a bull. Yes, this may look like a bale of hay with plastic horns, but use your imagination, as we did, and you’ll soon be envisioning City Slickers – in suits. Note: This is not a professional photograph, but some iPhone handiwork by Mike Cyger.

Imagination was just one of the topics at the second annual event. More than 350 process improvement leaders from across the U.S. Department of Defense gathered in Lansdowne, Va., at the National Conference Center. One of my favorite facts about the DoD is that it is larger than the top five Fortune 500 companies combined. In an organization that large, building a continuous process improvement culture enterprise wide is, needless to say, no small feat.

The Breakthrough Convention is one of the ways that the Defense Department is continuing to unite its Lean Six Sigma initiative under a common vision. Presenters hailed from several of the DoD services and agencies, as well as from other federal organizations, such as the Department of Veterans Affairs.

You can get a glimpse of the photos of the presentations and networking receptions here. (And more roping photos here.)

And find out more about the DoD’s performance improvement efforts by reading “The DoD Roundup” on the iSixSigma Military Channel.

The scoring is complete and the 2009 Top 10 Best Places to Work for Six Sigma professionals is out.

Here is the Top 10 List in alphabetical order: I repeat, alphabetical order.

Cardinal Health Inc.

Computacenter AG & Co. oHG

Ecolab Inc.

McKesson Corp.

Merck & Co., Inc.

Pfizer Inc.

Piramal Healthcare Ltd.

Starwood Hotels, North America Operation

Vought Aircraft Industries Inc.

Xerox Corp.

The numbered order of this list will be revealed at an Awards ceremony and breakfast, February 3, 2010 during the iSixSigma Live! Summit and Awards in Miami. Congratulations to these companies as well as all those that participated.

There is still plenty of time to submit projects for consideration in other iSixSigma Live! Award categories:

* Best Lean Six Sigma Start-up or Re-energized program

* Largest Breakthrough Improvement Projects

* Six Sigma Hall of Fame

Visit the Cox-Box Store for 2009 Calendars and Mugs

The Cox-Box is Copyright © 2000-2009 iSixSigma LLC and Gary P. Cox – All Rights Reserved
Reproduction Without Permission Is Prohibited – Request Permission

Today’s world seems to have us all going 90 miles an hour, multi-tasking and stretching ourselves to the limit to get things done. Finding time for home, work, school, kids, parents, church, volunteering etc. has become one of our biggest challenges. Time has become a precious commodity for everyone. No one has it to waste and no one wants to wait. So what does all this have to do with W.O.W.? Everything.

What’s Needed – On Time – With Value . . . Save time for your customers by enabling efficient transactions and watch your WOW-O-Meter go off scale. How? Reduce the time waiting in line, reduce the time holding on the phone, reduce the time a customer has to wait for a delivery, and enable transactions when your customer has time. It’s all about the process. Cut out bottlenecks and things will keep moving. Eliminate defects and you won’t have to stop to fix them. Remove unneeded steps or hand-offs and you’ll be one step closer to ‘lean time’. Best of all, enable efficient transactions at a time that’s convenient to your customer and increase customer delight.

So, don’t keep your customers waiting for W.O.W. Act now!