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		<title>Six Sigma Blogs at the iSixSigma Blogosphere</title>
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		<description>Six Sigma Blogs at the iSixSigma Blogosphere</description>
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		<copyright>Copyright 2004-2009 iSixSigma</copyright>
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		<lastBuildDate>Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:43:53 -0800</lastBuildDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Farewell to iSixSigma from Founder Michael Cyger]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/farewell_to_isixsigma_from_founder_michael_cyger.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Dear iSixSigma Readers, Advertisers, Sponsors and Partners, I have notified the board of Schofield Media Group that I will be transitioning out of my role with iSixSigma during the next several months. Despite current economic conditions, iSixSigma is now a stronger company in many ways than it was just 14 months ago when Schofield Media Group acquired it.
A lot of changes have already happened during the last year, but most readers probably didnt notice. The organizational structure has been transformed to better serve customers, the staff has grown and been augmented by shared services of our parent company, costs have been aligned with current market conditions, and iSixSigma has a clear game plan for growth over the next few years.
Since its inception nine years ago, iSixSigma has become synonymous with an open community for learning about breakthrough process improvement, and is more popular than I could have ever expected. Weve expanded to a readership of more than 600,000 online and 14,000 in print (and our magazine is award winning!), programmed and organized multiple wildly-successful events, launched a marketplace, developed an industry-leading jobs board, and much more. Its clear that we have provided a platform that process improvement professionals have found useful and engaging.
I would like to thank the unbelievably competent and dedicated iSixSigma staff for their tireless devotion to the industry, and the board of Schofield Media Group for their support and guidance. I would like to thank the countless named and nameless contributors to the iSixSigma community -- through articles, blogs, presentations, forum posts, dictionary additions, press releases and event contributions. I would like to thank our sponsors, advertisers and alliance partners for their support and involvement. And last but not least, I would like to thank my wife and family for supporting my often all-consuming efforts (including frequent all-night coding binges) on iSixSigma.
So, what happens to iSixSigma? Well, iSixSigma has always been about business professionals helping business professionals -- our staff and technologies have only facilitated the exchange. It is YOUR community. That hasnt changed, and wont change. iSixSigma will continue to grow and offer more and more resources for business professionals around the world.
And whats next for me? Well, like I said, Im not disappearing overnight. There are a couple of fantastic events coming up (Energy Forum for Process Excellence and DoD CPI Symposium), to which I am contributing. My goal is to gradually make myself obsolete and ensure the team has full control of all iSixSigma areas. After that, well see what happens. I have been approached by a few people about post-iSixSigma ventures for which I feel very fortunate and grateful. My isixsigma.com email address will work for the next several months, and the best way to reach me in the future is through http://www.linkedin.com/in/cyger.
All the best,
 ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 06 Mar 2009 01:05:00 -0800</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Call for Speakers: Energy Forum for Process Excellence in Houston, May 2009]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/call_for_speakers_energy_forum_for_process_excellence_in_houston_may_2009.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Over 200 energy industry professionals will gather in Houston, Texas, May 19-22 for iSixSigma Live's premiere Energy Forum for Process Excellence, supported by Chevron, Halliburton, Hess and Marathon Oil. Here's your chance to be one of the speakers.
Click here for the speaking proposal form:http://isixsigma.com/KQ5
We're especially looking for process improvement professionals who can share their own experiences, project case studies and lessons learned. Submit a speaking proposal that will cover one of the following subjects: Oil &amp; Gas Upstream Oil &amp; Gas Downstream Power Generation Power Distribution Up &amp; Downstream Service Providers Storage Internal Operations (Supply Chain, HR, IT, etc.) Business Process Management
Nominate yourself, a boss or a client. Again, here's the link to the speaking proposal form: http://isixsigma.com/KQ5(Deadline: February 6, 2009) ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 19 Jan 2009 12:15:24 -0800</pubDate>
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		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: iSixSigma Live Summit '09 Update - Reception &amp; Keynote]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/isixsigma_live_summit_09_update_reception_amp_keynote.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[iSixSigma Live Summit '09 Update - Reception &amp; KeynoteTrump International Beach ResortMiami, Florida
5:30-7:30 P.M., Tuesday, January 13, 2009Six Sigma Wine Tasting and Welcome ReceptionHosted by Six Sigma WineryOpen to All Summit Attendees
11:30 A.M., Wednesday, January 14, 2009Mr. Kaj AhlmannKeynote: "Six Sigma and Wine: Art or Science?"Founder, Six Sigma Ranch, Vineyards and WineryFormer Chairman, President and CEO, GE Capital Employers Reinsurance Corporation
iSixSigma Live! is pleased to announce that Kaj Ahlmann will be giving a keynote address at the upcoming iSixSigma Live! Summit '09 in Miami, Florida. In addition, Mr. Ahlmann's winery - Six Sigma Ranch, Vineyards and Winery - will be hosting the welcome reception on Tuesday, January 13.
Kaj's professional life led to a career in reinsurance, most notably as Chairman and CEO of Employer's Reinsurance Corporation and a member of the Board of Directors for GE's Capital Services. The management practice of Six Sigma became the standard by which Kaj ensured a consistently high quality both in his corporate life and in his transition to grape growing and winemaking.
In 1999, Kaj and his wife, Else, purchased 4,300 acres in Lake County, California, where they work to create a sustainable ranch with vineyards nestled into nature. In 2005, Kaj constructed Six Sigma Winery on the ranch, including a barrel cave and state of the art winery equipment.
For complete conference information visit the iSixSigma Live! web site by going to:http://www.isixsigmalive.com]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 25 Nov 2008 17:25:10 -0800</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Photos of iSixSigma Live! Denver]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/photos_of_isixsigma_live_denver.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[
Jeannine Hall and I returned home from the wild night out in Denver last night. The Social and Networking Party in downtown Denver was a success: people met, mingled, ate, drank and made new friends. Over 100 Denver-ites registered for this event, and we hope to have even more the next time. Thanks to our host, BMGI, we had a fantastic meeting space -- their beautiful training facility in the Tabor Center.
You can view the slideshow of the Denver Live! event here. (Press the "fast" link in the upper left hand corner to speed up the pace.)
The Party featured interesting people, fantastic conversations, an open bar, a lavish appetizer buffet, music, and a raffle (books, Minitab garb, BMG elearning, a $100 gift certificate to the iSixSigma Store, and much more). No one left disappointed -- even if they didnt win a door prize, everyone walked away with an iSixSigma Live! goodie bag full of sponsor offers, tschochkes, coupons and discounts.
Thanks to everyone in the local area who came out, and thanks to all our wonderful sponsors for taking part in this fantastic event:



View the full photo gallery here: http://photos.isixsigma.com/photos/swfpopup.mg?AlbumID=6070505&amp;AlbumKey=zCVhY
Visit iSixSigma Live! and view our upcoming event calendar.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 26 Sep 2008 14:24:50 -0800</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: iSixSigma Live! Denver - 2 Spots Remaining]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/isixsigma_live_denver_2_spots_remaining.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[If you live in the Denver, Colorado, area or are planning to be in town next Thursday, 9/25, be sure to make your way over to the Tabor Center for the iSixSigma Live! Social and Networking Party in Denver. Only 2 RSVP spots remain, so dont delay -- sign up today.
Our first Social and Networking Party in Seattle was talked about for weeks after the event. Were still receiving email requests to hold the next event -- and as soon as we get past the DoD Breakthrough Convention that iSixSigma Live has been hired to organize, we will! The photo archive from Seattle can be seen here.
This iSixSigma Live! event will unite and strengthen the Denver-area community of business process improvement leaders at all levels.
This social and networking party is an after-work social event for all Denver area quality professionals. We will have appetizers, an open bar, music, events and the most exciting change agents from leading Denver-based organizations. This is the one local event you dont want to miss!
Attendees will include anyone involved or interested in process improvement. This includes current and aspiring Six Sigma professionals (Green Belts, Black Belts, Master Black Belts, Champions, Deployment Leaders, etc.), Lean experts, transformation leaders, continuous improvement professionals, Kaizen leaders, business process management managers, process excellence managers, students  you get the idea. Just remember, this is a social and networking party for change leaders and business professionals; so leave your catapults and control charts at home!
See whos already signed up to attend!
Our wonderful sponsors for this Social and Networking event include:



Come meet, greet, chat and ask all those questions youve been meaning to ask these Six Sigma providers all these years!]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 19 Sep 2008 10:50:05 -0800</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: iSixSigma Live! Seattle Video]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/isixsigma_live_seattle_video.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[If you haven't had a chance to view our latest video of the iSixSigma Live! Social and Networking Party in Seattle, here's your chance:
 
If you attended, be sure to forward this page to your friends and ask them to see if they can spot you! :)
The photo gallery from iSixSigma Live! Seattle is also available.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 12 Sep 2008 11:07:34 -0800</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Houston, TX Lean and Six Sigma Pros Unite!]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/houston_tx_lean_and_six_sigma_pros_unite.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[There will be a Lean and Six Sigma meeting in Houston, TX, on Thursday, September 18, 2008 at 5:30 PM. Tom Tatevasion of Cameron will host the event. Tom will provide an overview of the group, a tour of the Cameron Compression Systems facility, and discuss their Lean Six Sigma program.
If you live in Houston and are practicing Lean or Six Sigma, you do not want to miss this event.
To learn more:
Join the iSixSigma Network on LinkedIn
Learn more about this learning and networking event]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press&nbsp;,&nbsp;General&nbsp;,&nbsp;Lean]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 05 Sep 2008 17:10:11 -0800</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Save $700 With iSixSigma Live Pre-Agenda Rate]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/save_700_with_isixsigma_live_pre_agenda_rate.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[You already know that the iSixSigma community is strong -- over 500,000. You may have heard that weve launched a conference division. What you may not have heard is that our upcoming January conference will be unlike any other you have attended. Outstanding content. Prestigious keynotes. Unrivaled networking and community. Register today to get your ticket to the "must-attend" Lean Six Sigma leadership event of the year and save up to $700.00.
All Access Pass holders will receive:

Three and a half days of cutting-edge sessions, keynotes and Q&amp;A time for deep discussions.
A comfortable, intimate setting that promotes networking with speakers and fellow conference participants.
Access to all speaker presentations, including worksheets, PowerPoints and other session materials.
All conference meal functions and refreshment breaks.
Access to our two evening networking receptions, and the classic car museum tour.
Access to our Solutions Pavilion and Learning Sessions, showcasing the products and services that will drive your business growth.
Best practices for deploying and implementing Lean Six Sigma at any organizational maturity level. 
You can register with confidence...heres why:

Our reputation: The iSixSigma Live programming team includes the sharpest minds in Six Sigma. Together, iSixSigma Founder Michael Cyger and CSSBB Director of Events Jeannine Hall have moderated Six Sigma discussions, published on luminaries and educated generations of Six Sigma professionals. They bring with them the full support of iSixSigma.com and iSixSigma Magazine editors, research manager and program managers.
Our mission: iSixSigma was founded by successful Six Sigma professionals from corporate America. We understand how businesses run. And we understand the role that Six Sigma must play. Our mission is to help corporations run smarter, faster and cheaper using Six Sigma. We are invested in the success of our readers and conference attendees.
Our history: We have been fostering community, connecting a network of individuals and educating Six Sigma professionals around the world since 2000. Our core competency is content. While others may have been producing conferences for almost as long, our conferences will be different. We have designed them from the ground-up with real attendee VOC and CTQs.
Be recognized for your breakthrough results: As part of the iSixSigma Live! Summit and Awards, iSixSigma will recognize companies and individuals who have successfully achieved breakthrough results. Finalists will be given an opportunity to showcase their project/deployment in front of 300 Lean Six Sigma practitioners from around the world. 
Award categories include:

iSixSigmas Six Sigma Hall of Fame
iSixSigmas Best Places to Work 
Largest Breakthrough Improvement Projects 
Most Successful Lean Six Sigma Start-up or Re-energized Lean Six Sigma Program
Deadlines to enter are coming up! For more information on award categories and entry requirements, visit: http://live.isixsigma.com/awards/default.html.  Register or call 1.877.474.9744Dont delay. Sign up today at the pre-agenda rate and take advantage of huge savings.
Register Today -- You will be confident with your decision! ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press&nbsp;,&nbsp;iSixSigma Live Events]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 19 Jul 2008 11:13:19 -0800</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Looking for iSixSigma Live 2009 Summit Sessions and Ideas (And Speakers)]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/looking_for_isixsigma_live_2009_summit_sessions_and_ideas_and_speakers.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Ive received a few requests from people interested in presenting at our upcoming premiere iSixSigma Live Summit. Who doesnt want to get to warm Miami during January 2009, stick their toes in the sand, enjoy the luxury of Trump Internationals five-star hotel and resort, learn more than you have in two days since you started learning Six Sigma, and network with the finest 300 business professionals in the world?
Its easy to present at our upcoming Summit: suggest a great session. Do that and you have an excellent chance to present.
You can learn more and pitch a session idea here. Presentations/sessions will be accepted through June 30, and then well finish the agenda. After that, well have some additional speaker openings posted. But the best way in is to suggest a killer session before someone else submits the same one!
I look forward to working with you on this conference!
Best regards,Mike
P.S. I think there is tremendous value in sitting back for a moment and thinking over the last 12 month's results. Its astonishing how many lessons you learn that you forget later in your regular work cycle.
I truly believe that every process improvement professional has learned at least one significant lesson this year that will benefit others, if you only tell it. Heres your platform to share your test results with the community -- and also to be recognized for the breakthrough results youve delivered. (Did I mention that every presenter receives a free pass to the main conference? Thats a $2,200 value! And there are other perks that youre going to LOVE.)]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press&nbsp;,&nbsp;iSixSigma Live Events]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 16 May 2008 16:43:03 -0800</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: iSixSigma Live Seattle]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/isixsigma_live_seattle.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[ View the Full Gallery
Last Thursday, May 1st, was iSixSigmas very first live event from our new division, iSixSigma Live! It was a Social &amp; Networking Party held in Seattle, Washington -- and it was phenomenal!
Over 130 Seattle Six Sigma and quality professionals converged on Rock Bottom Brewery in Bellevue. We rented out the entire top floor of the brewery ("top of the rock") and had a great time. Upon entering, attendees received their name tags and a networking activity which guaranteed they met tens of new people during the event.
The Party featured interesting people, fantastic conversations, an open bar, a lavish appetizer buffet, billiards, music, and a raffle (autographed books, iSixSigma garb, and an iPod Video graciously donated by Instantis). No one left disappointed -- even if they didnt win a door prize, everyone walked away with an iSixSigma Live! goodie bag full of sponsor offers, tschochkes, coupons and discounts.
The emails are still pouring in:

"There were so many people there I found I had a great opportunity to reach out and make new contacts as well as catch up with former acquaintances." -- David, Philips Medical Systems
"I was looking for Movers and Shakers in the local 6 Sigma community, Michael Cyger and iSixSigma provided the place, and the FUN just started from there." -- Greg, Harnish Group
"I was pleasantly surprised to see that attendance was much higher than I expected. The event was well organized and it provided exactly what advertised. A chance to meet other six sigma professionals in a social event. Good job. Ill definitely will be attending future iSixSigma events." -- Gerry, Calypso Medical Technologies
"It was really easy to meet people. Everybody had a lot in common, including a passion for organizational excellence through Lean Six Sigma. All you had to ask was "where do you work and what projects are you working on?" This would result in 20+ minutes of great conversation that included valuable knowledge and lessons learned. I would like the next mixer sooner than Sept/Oct." -- Larry, FAA
"This is a great opportunity to meet fellow process improvement professionals, learn about industry happenings and even connect on job opportunities. Plus it is just a lot of fun." -- Michael, The Natural Intelligence Group
"I cant wait for the next event. When will it be? Not soon enough!"
"Thank you so much for arranging such a fun and meaningful event. I cannot wait for the next opportunity."
"I really enjoyed the party last night. How often do you have them in Seattle? Thanks!"
"Nicely done and thanks for getting us all together."
I cant wait for the next Social &amp; Networking Party! Thanks to everyone in the local area who came out, and thanks to all our wonderful sponsors for taking part in this fantastic event.

View the full photo gallery here: http://photos.isixsigma.com/gallery/4829650_qzHYF]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press&nbsp;,&nbsp;iSixSigma Live Events]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 05 May 2008 03:08:06 -0800</pubDate>
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		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: iSixSigma Salary Survey Webcast Recording -- Coming Soon]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/isixsigma_salary_survey_webcast_recording_coming_soon.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Ive received a decent number of emails and calls from people who wanted to see our premiere webcast, but couldnt attend for one reason or another. Rest assured, we will be releasing a recorded version of the webcast soon. Were still finalizing the recording, landing page, etc. Stay tuned to the iSixSigma Blogosphere for an update.
(By the way, we topped out at more than 1,000 registrants for our first-ever webcast! Everyone that registered -- thanks for making the premiere iSixSigma webcast a blockbuster.)]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press&nbsp;,&nbsp;General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 07 Mar 2008 09:45:37 -0800</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Joseph M. Juran 1904-2008]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/joseph_m_juran_1904_2008.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Many of you have recently heard about the tremendous loss to the Quality profession. There is a press release from Juran Institute and a forum discussion.
I had an email forwarded to me from the leaders of the Joseph M. Juran Center for Leadership in Quality. Below is the email:



 
 February 29, 2008   Dear Friends:   It is with great sadness that we learned today that Dr. Joseph M. Juran passed away on February 28, 2008, of natural causes. He was 103 years old and was physically and mentally active until his death.   The Juran family has decided at this time not to conduct a service. The Juran Institute will prepare to hold a service for Dr. Juran in conjunction with the annual ASQ Congress in the spring.   During the past century, Joseph M. Juran put forth a vision for a world made better through a commitment to quality. The Joseph M. Juran Center for Leadership in Quality owes a debt of gratitude to Dr. Juran for his role and support in developing the academic foundation needed for his vision. In 1998, Dr. Juran transferred the Juran Foundation and its assets to the University of Minnesota. With this additional support and recognition, the University of Minnesotas Quality Leadership Centerrenamed the Joseph M. Juran Centerhas served as a resource to leaders, scholars and students of quality. Most significantly, Dr. Jurans support allowed the Center to create a fellowship program for doctoral students conducting research in quality. Over the last 10 years, the Center has named nearly 50 Juran Fellows who represent a dozen leading research universities and many fields and disciplines.   In addition to the foundation, Dr. Juran also transferred his professional memorabilia and papers to the University of Minnesota. The memorabilia includes more than 100 framed plaques, trophies and medals, including the Order of the Sacred Treasure, which was conferred upon Dr. Juran in 1981 by the Emperor of Japan for Dr. Jurans development of quality control in Japan and the facilitation of friendship between the United States and Japan.   In Dr. Jurans autobiography, The Architect of Quality, he says that the Center has undertaken an ambitious initiative to stimulate formation of a national movement toward leadership in quality. In Dr. Jurans memory, we need to recommit ourselves with renewed vigor for all of the things he valued and worked so hard for all of his life.   Sincerely,   Kingshuk K. Sinha Carlson Family Foundation Professor Director, Joseph M. Juran Center for Leadership in Quality   Jim Buckman Executive Director Joseph M. Juran Center for Leadership in Quality]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General&nbsp;,&nbsp;History]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 03 Mar 2008 17:28:38 -0800</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: 850+ Registered So Far -- iSixSigma's Premiere Webcast]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/850_registered_so_far_isixsigmas_premiere_webcast.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[In a previous post I mentioned that our webcast tomorrow was heading for a record. Well, as of this morning we're up to 850 registrants. If you haven't registered, please do so immediately!
http://goto.spotfire.com/isixsigmawc/
Michael Marx, our research manager, will be going over the 5th Annual iSixSigma Global Six Sigma Salary Survey and highlighting some very interesting market trends, insights and facts. It will be one of the best hours you'll spend this week.
See you online!]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 03 Mar 2008 08:13:09 -0800</pubDate>
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		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Largest Six Sigma Webcast in History?]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/largest_six_sigma_webcast_in_history.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Well, we might be getting close to the largest Six Sigma Webcast in history!
If you havent seen Michael Marxs previous post, iSixSigma is planning our premiere webcast event next Tuesday, March 4. It will be given by Michael (research manager for iSixSigma and iSixSigma Magazine) and feature his insights and explanations for salaries around the world, at all levels within a Six Sigma organization.
If youre thinking about Six Sigma as a career, already doing Six Sigma as a belt, running Six Sigma and developing or managing a team -- this will definitely be an event you WONT want to miss.
Sign up for the webcast here.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 29 Feb 2008 09:31:19 -0800</pubDate>
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		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Schofield Media Group Announces Acquisition of CTQ Media, iSixSigma]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/schofield_media_group_announces_acquisition_of_ctq_media_isixsigma.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I am pleased and excited to announce that CTQ Media, owner of the publishing brands including iSixSigma, Real Innovation, BPM Enterprise and Sourcingmag, is on the verge of a new era of growth and expansion. This is because we have just been acquired by Schofield Media Group, a leading international business-to-business media company (http://www.ctqmedia.com/news_080131a.asp).
Not only do I want to tell you the news, I also want to thank you for your support during the past seven years. We have grown from a small, single website into a multifaceted business, with the world's leading online Six Sigma site and print magazine, the leading innovation website, a research division, a jobs board and recruiting service, and other enterprises.
Also, I want to assure you that the important things are not changing: our commitment to our readers, customers and advertisers remains absolute. While I am no longer the owner, I am still intimately involved in the company's operations going forward. Even more importantly, the same great team that has been operating all components of the businesses is still on the job. That means we have the same staff, contractors and contributors. Plus, our commitment to continually improving our products and services is stronger than ever.
What has changed is that we now have more resources and support for carrying out our current work, as well as exploring new ventures to expand and help those in our communities improve their business execution.
I will provide more details as we move into this new and exciting phase of our growth. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any ideas, concerns or comments.
Sincerely,
 ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 05 Feb 2008 18:03:38 -0800</pubDate>
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		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Cox-Box Calendars Almost Sold Out!]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/cox_box_calendars_almost_sold_out.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[If you havent secured your own 2008 Cox-Box Wall Calendar, it may be too late. Get them now at https://store.isixsigma.com/calendar/
]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 26 Nov 2007 22:59:16 -0800</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Minitab -- The Video and Soundtrack]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/minitab_the_video_and_soundtrack.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Yes, the Six Sigma community has its own cartoon strip. We even have our share of corporate M&amp;A excitment with recent acquisitions (Accenture and Oracle). But where are the good old fashioned MTV music and videos for the Six Sigma community?
If you love mullets and buck-teeth, you're going to love "The MiniTab Song" by Billy Bob and Willy.


]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 19 Sep 2007 23:24:15 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Net Promoter Score - Call for Speakers]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/net_promoter_score_call_for_speakers.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[If your company is like iSixSigma, youve probably read about Net Promoter Score (NPS) and thought it was a very cool topic. (For those of you who havent, you can read our iSixSigma Magazine cover story "Are Your Customers Promoting You...Or Do You Have to Do It Yourself?" in the Nov/Dec 2006 issue.) Net Promoter is a customer loyalty metric and methodology that organizations like GE, Intuit, Charles Schwab and Experian are using to gather Voice of the Customer and drive profitable growth by focusing on the customer.
For the better part of two decades, the mantra of "customer satisfaction" has been driven into the minds of Six Sigma practitioners around the globe. Make sure you improve customer satisfaction, theyve been told, and youll reap the rewards in terms of profits and growth. Now a new breed of customer metrics is winning plaudits, and NPS is at the forefront.
If you have implemented NPS -- with or without Six Sigma -- and want to network with other business leaders on the topic, theres a call for papers for the Net Promoter Conference in Miami in January 2008. If you are selected to present, you'll receive a complimentary conference registration as part of your speaker package.
Good luck. I hope to attend and hear your story!]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Customer Satisfaction]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 05 Sep 2007 22:33:38 -0800</pubDate>
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		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Will Medicare Force Hospitals to Go Six Sigma?]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/will_medicare_force_hospitals_to_go_six_sigma.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I was driving to pick up my daughter from school yesterday when a story on National Public Radio (NPR) caught my attention. I only heard the end of the segment on the radio, but from what I could tell Medicare was forcing hospitals to change the way they do business by not paying for certain medical procedures.
Heres the full story:
Starting in October 2008, Medicare will cease to compensate hospitals for treating patients having at least eight conditions, including common hospital-acquired infections, blatant surgical errors, and injuries that result from a fall. The reasoning is that these are not the primary reasons patients came to the hospital in the first place. Instead, these are a result of coming to the hospital (yes, going to a hospital can be detrimental to your health) and Medicare is essentially saying: "Your hospital processes are broken. Fix them. Were not paying for your errors any longer."
Why is this so significant? According to Julie Rovner of NPR, Medicare (which is a federal program) "pays about 40 percent of the nations annual hospital bills." This is going to significantly cut in the funding of almost every hospital in the United States.
Within the news story Nancy Foster - who is in charge of quality and patient safety issues for the American Hospital Association - is quoted as saying, "People may wake up in the middle of the night, need to use the restroom, not remember that the nurse instructed them to call for help first - or think they were OK, go to stand up and find out that the surgery they had has weakened them so that they are unable to support their own weight and fall to the floor and be injured. No one wants that to happen. We just dont have a perfect strategy to prevent it."
I beg to differ with Ms. Foster. The fact remains that falls can be proactively prevented in hospitals. Fortune 1000 companies have entire organizations devoted to worker safety (typically under the Environment Health and Safety umbrella), and employees in this function have the sole purpose to prevent worker injuries. What is measured can be improved. Why cant the same thing be done for patients within hospitals? It can.
Searching iSixSigma Healthcare revealed at least one example speaking to this point. In "Strategies for Improving Patient Safety in the Hospital" Carolyn Pexton describes how Charleston Area Medical Center (CAMC) took their post-operative surgical infection process sigma from 0 (yes, thats zero; defects per million opportunities of 660,828) to 2.86, thereby improving their process by 91 percent. This is cause for a celebration and the results shared with as many other healthcare organizations as possible.
Should all hospitals go Six Sigma? Lucian Leape of the Harvard School of Public Health comments: "Its clear that progress in patient safety has relied on altruism. Its been largely accomplished by good people trying to do the right thing. And what were seeing is that that hasnt gotten as far enough, and now well go to what really stings in our society - which is money."
To me, its clear that Six Sigma - tied to the hospitals operating budget - is the answer. What has been done until now has not worked. Its time for a change.
The January/February 2008 issue of iSixSigma Magazine will feature 3 of the top ten healthcare organizations in the United States, and how implementing Six Sigma is improving patient safety and results. If youre not signed up for a subscription, take $5 off and sign up today. It could be a matter of life and death. :
A quick search of NPR.org revealed the story in detail which, if you work for a healthcare provider or healthcare providers are your customers, is a great read:http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=13872687
The audio can be heard at by clicking the  icon at the top of the page. Its worth a listen.
Press Release: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Announces Payment Reforms for Inpatient Hospital Services in 2008]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Healthcare&nbsp;,&nbsp;Leadership&nbsp;,&nbsp;Management]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 23 Aug 2007 13:18:19 -0800</pubDate>
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		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Nardelli Back On Top]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/nardelli_back_on_top.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[It didn't take long for Robert (Bob) Nardelli to land on his feet...You've all probably heard by now, Bob Nardelli has been picked to run Chrysler.
For those of you that may have forgotten or were not aware of all the details:

Bob Nardelli came from GE, where he started in 1971. In 1995 he was promoted to president and CEO of Power Systems when yours truly was there. Under his leadership, GE Power Systems grew from $6 billion to $15 billion, and earnings grew 60-70%. 
In 2000 when Jack Welch named Jeffrey Immelt as CEO of GE, Bob Nardelli left (as did the other three-way competitor for the top-GE job, Jim McNerney) to head up Home Depot, succeeding co-founder Arthur Blank.
Bob Nardelli's intentions were to use his GE-learned management style and systems to turn around Home Depot. But Home Depot was a 20 year old company with falling sales and stock performance. It ran out of growth in the U.S., and lacked an automated purchasing system. It was a 1980s company in the 2000s. 
Under pressure of shareholders at annual meetings and elsewhere, and complaints about Nardelli's pay package (which the company agreed to and was in his employment contract), Bob Nardelli resigned on Jan. 3, 2007.
Many people questioned whether Nardelli's failure to turn around Home Depot was a death knell for Six Sigma, a process improvement program (probably one of many GE management programs implemented while at Home Depot) Nardelli championed. In my opinion, anyone who has been in business understands that one program does not make or break a great company. It can, however -- as in the case of Six Sigma, help people use a structured methodology to solve real-world problems and fix them so they don't happen again.
But on to the big news: Cerberus Capital Management LP, who bought an 80.1% stake from DaimlerChrysler AG in exchange for investing $5 billion in Chrysler and $1 billion in its financing unit, has named Nardelli as chairman and CEO of its Chrysler unit.
Nardelli has to deal with sweeping changes in the auto industry, tough negotiations with the United Auto Workers union, and to close a $30-an-hour labor-cost gap with the U.S. operations of competitor Toyota. But the move to the top position of Chrysler, unlike Home Depot, puts him in a private company without the pressure of public shareholders. Nardelli's pay -- $1 per year base salary -- is tied to equity and performance of the company. What matters most to Cerberus are the results.
It's rumored that Nardelli's experience at GE is one of the main reasons Cerberus wanted him. Many of Cerberus's advisors are ex-GE, and according to the Wall Street Journal it's also rumored that Cerberus is a strong believer in Six Sigma (that would make at least two private equity firms reaping big rewards by implementing Six Sigma at acquired companies).
So, will Bob Nardelli be successful in turning around Chrysler and part of the U.S. automotive industry? Time will tell. What's clear to me at Cerberus is that running a company more efficiently can be accomplished with Six Sigma. What remains to be seen is how it will be used at Chrysler. That's the exciting part.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press&nbsp;,&nbsp;Leadership]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 07 Aug 2007 11:27:45 -0800</pubDate>
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		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Durable and Great]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/durable_and_great.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The following is the Open Mike column from the July/August 2007 issue of iSixSigma Magazine, entitled "Durable and Great."
During the last 50 years, companies around the world have focused on operational excellence - the near-flawless execution of business processes. The pursuit of process excellence has evolved through various structured forms, from TQM to Six Sigma to Lean Six Sigma. These methods have helped companies drive ever-higher levels of performance.  
But a singular concentration on operational excellence only helps a company execute existing processes "better, faster and cheaper," a phrase coined by former General Electric Co. (GE) CEO Jack Welch. Granted, an improvement can be breakthrough in nature. However, today more and more CEOs are recognizing that they also must focus time and resources on innovation - the successful development and launch of new products or services (not merely variations of current ones) that grow revenue and produce higher margins. 
Of course, innovation cannot be pursued in and of itself. Innovation is the complement to operational excellence in the equation to create what Intuit Inc. President and CEO Steve Bennett calls "durable and great" companies. As Bennett described in a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, some companies are good at execution, which allows them to be "durable." Other companies are good at innovation, which allows them to be "great." To be both is his aspiration for Intuit. Perhaps more executives should have the same goal for their organization. 
Companies that are likely to be acknowledged as both durable and great include many of the brand names we have come to recognize for consistently delivering high-quality and innovative products and services: Intel Corp., Sony Corp., Apple Inc., Dell Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and GE. These companies benefit from disciplined processes, from product concept, to design, to production and distribution.
Like any business imperative, innovation depends on planning, strategy and execution. It requires and deserves the same rigor and diligent attention to process details as Lean Six Sigma has brought to operational excellence. Design for Six Sigma, the Six Sigma counterpart for developing something new, is one way to go about it. Companies must adopt such specific methods for generating innovation - and resist relying on the inspired, but erratic, genius of a few people.
Adding rigor or structure to the process of innovation, however, does not have to mean burdensome bureaucracy. Nor does it mean creativity is stifled. In a recent exercise in creativity, Mark Dziersk, an instructor at Northwestern University's engineering design center, gave his students 30 seconds to write down 15 ways a cat and a refrigerator are alike. Many students were paralyzed by the task. Dziersk then continued the exercise by adding just a bit of organization. He asked students to group into teams of three and try again. The results were strikingly different: Students identified many similarities between the pet and the appliance - they purr; they both hate water; often they're black or white. A simple structure was all that was needed to unleash the students' creativity.
Your CEO will tell you that the business must innovate to continue to grow. This is what you can tell your CEO: Taking a page from operational excellence initiatives like Lean Six Sigma will make innovation more successful because they enable companies to execute the great ideas of the organization - and to do it better, faster and cheaper.
During the next 50 years, companies will focus on structured innovation as the way to roll out new products and services. To what degree your company can shine in both operational excellence and innovation will determine how durable and great it will be.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Management]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 27 Jun 2007 08:24:16 -0800</pubDate>
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		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: iSixSigma is Hiring! Sales Manager and Recruiter]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/isixsigma_is_hiring_sales_manager_and_recruiter.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Yes, we're hiring again!  We actually have two new open positions.  
We're looking for a sales manager to lead our sales effort for iSixSigma (including iSixSigma.com, iSixSigma Magazine), BPM Enterprise (bpmenterprise.com) and Real Innovation (realinnovation.com):http://jobs.isixsigma.com/preferred.asp?ID=8034
We're also looking to expand our recruiting service, helping to place the best Six Sigma candidates at the Six Sigma deployments around the world:http://jobs.isixsigma.com/preferred.asp?ID=8035
We run a geographically dispersed organization and pride ourselves on being results oriented, not "face time" oriented. The right candidates will enjoy great benefits and a flexible work-life balance.
If the one of the jobs sounds exciting, be sure to send in your application. If you want to chat about it, drop me a line at http://www.isixsigma.com/mc. ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 23 Jun 2007 13:34:15 -0800</pubDate>
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		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: ISSSP Wake Up To Life Hike, ISSSP LC 2007]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/isssp_wake_up_to_life_hike_isssp_lc_2007.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[5:15 am: Ive always heard that the wake up to life is an experience not to be missed. People I spoke to last night at the Grand Evening went on and on about the sunrise, the moon set and the desert scenery. They even said they were going to show up *again* this morning to do the hike. Now, at 5:15 am, after getting my full 3 hours of sleep, the irony to "wake up to life" is not lost on me.
It is dark and I am without my coffee. More importantly, it appears all the people who said they were going to do the hike again this morning are seemingly missing from the bus, including our own Jessica Harper.
5:35: Our guide told us some interesting tidbits on the drive to Pinnacle Peak. Were in the Sonoran Desert, Phoenix is 5th largest city in the US, and the city has been growing by 40 percent a year since 1990 while most cities are in the 14 percent annual growth rate (not sure if thats an average across every city in the US or of just major cities...just quoting what the guide said). It also takes 30 years to grow a cactus arm.
5:50: Ok, I found Jessica and everyone else that said they were coming. In the early morning light (or my haze), I couldnt see as clearly.
6:20: Ken, a native American Apache, met us on the trail and told us about Arizona and the Scottsdale history. It was a great break from the hike, and very interesting to learn more about the beautiful desert.
6:45: End of hike. What a glorious hike. Now Im awake and alive. Prasad Raje, CEO of Instantis, championed both days of hikes and those that were lucky enough to take one of the spots (space is limited and they are taken *very* quickly) on both days had perfect weather. Snacks and water throughout highlighted ISSSPS AND Instantiss attention to detail and customer delight throughout.
Rob Tripp from Six Sigma Advantage loading the bus
Our ride was about 25 minutes to Pinnacle Peak
Sonora desert

The hike begins
Jessica Harper from iSixSigma enjoying the views

Ken performing a native American song, accompanied by Jessica Harper]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 09 May 2007 09:38:07 -0800</pubDate>
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		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Grand Evening, ISSSP LC 2007]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/grand_evening_isssp_lc_2007.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Its closing in on 1:00 am and right about now Im thinking my earlier commitment to hike Pinnacle Peak is appearing very silly. The bus leaves the hotel at 5:15 am. This is the second time Ive typed this blog posting, and yes, even those of us in Internet-land mess up and lose entire postings by hitting the wrong key on our computer. Argh. My earlier posting was much funnier...Im going to bed! :)
I met a lot of great people today -- the networking was terrific at this event, as always, and Im walking out of the second day of the conference with some great ideas for articles and cover stories for both iSixSigma.com and iSixSigma Magazine. 
Tonight was the ISSSP Grand Evening which is a time for all the guests to get together, share a cocktail, some good food and great conversation. Entertainment was provided by "Dueling Pianos" (see pictures below), and a good time was had by all.
After about 10 minutes wrestling with my Treo, which is acting as my camera for the event, I was able to destroy incriminating photos and download the embarrassing ones (for others) to my computer. Sorry for the low resolution...the lighting was low. I hope you enjoy. Additional pictures may make it into this post at a later date.
Michael Marx and Jessica Harper, both from iSixSigma
Michael Pestorius from sanofi-aventis, and wife Cara
Me and Vanessa Lovatt from IQPC
Jeannette Kesmarki from ISSSP, the first to get on the dance floor(this year yet again)
"Dueling Pianos" were definitely entertaining
Jens Hansen from Microsoft, pleading for his song request
Becky Silver from Expedia, Jessica Harper and Jens Hansen.Are those smiles of success with respect to their request?
A really bad YMCA imitation by Six Sigma professionals
Me, Roxanne OBrasky, president of ISSSP, and our emcee for the evening
JP Mulley from Minitab, Larry Goldman from Oracle, and Jeff Ozarski from YMCA-fame
The "Minitab table"
Unidentified and Rob Tripp from Six Sigma Advantage
A good time was had by all, (especially Becky)]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 09 May 2007 01:50:07 -0800</pubDate>
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		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: ISSSP Valuable Connections at the Outback Oasis]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/isssp_valuable_connections_at_the_outback_oasis.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Last evening, about 100 of Six Sigmas finest went up to the Arizona hills to the Outback Oasis for some R&amp;R after a full day of conference workshops. It was a great day for learning, and it was topped off with 80 degree F weather and cloudless skies. Roxanne OBrasky, president of ISSSP, and her team never fails to host a terrific social and networking event and the party was true to form.








More pictures to come soon!]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 08 May 2007 19:13:51 -0800</pubDate>
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		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Larry Goldman on Simulation, ISSSP LC 2007]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/larry_goldman_on_simulation_isssp_lc_2007.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Im at the ISSSP Leadership Conference with Jessica Harper, managing editor of iSixSigma Magazine and Michael Marx, our resident research manager and blogger-extrordinairre. The weather is beautiful - definitely not as green as Seattle, but the sun is glorious.
Im sitting in a presentation by Larry Goldman of Crystal Ball (of Hyperion and Oracle acquisition-fame) entitled "Running Six Sigma Projects When You Have Limited or No Data." [PDF 436KB] I forgot my digital camera (of course) so throughout the conference youre going to have to settle for the low resolution camera pics on my Treo phone unless Im sitting next to Michael Marx.
The purpose of this presentation is how you can run Six Sigma projects with no data. What? Sounds like Larry might be sweltering under this Arizona heat, but in fact hes talking about Monte Carlo simulation and process models that you can create. He provided an example from a company called Misys where a process can take up to three years. Using Crystal Ball they were able to develop a model, simulate it and be able to optimize their process within hours, delivering improved service to the customer immediately.
Where can you apply simulation? 

Product and process design 
Project management 
System design
Larry then went through a full example of a loan process simulation. 91 hours was the base case to process a loan -- with a standard deviation of 40 hours. Looking at the sensitivity analysis you can see a certain step represents 68.7% of all variability in cycle time. There were two other delays, but basically the simulation told you enough to go speak to the document verification process to tackle the biggest issue. A separate inventory optimization with uncertain demand example was presented as well.
If you would like to learn more about simulation, you can read an article written by Dirk Jordan of Motorola published a few weeks ago on iSixSigma and entitled "Using Monte Carlo Simulation as Process Control Aid." If you havent taken a look at simulation as a tool for your Black Belts toolbox, you should. I used simulation when I was at GE working on my first Green Belt project and it was instrumental to the improvement and savings of the project.
Check in later for an update on the Valuable Connections Reception at The Outback Oasis where Ill be debating the pros and cons of modeling and simulating an automotive assembly line with a Poisson distribution after Ive had a couple of drinks. ;)]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Conferences]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 07 May 2007 16:59:03 -0800</pubDate>
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		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: A Leader to Follow]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/a_leader_to_follow.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The following is the Open Mike column from the May/June 2007 issue of iSixSigma Magazine, entitled "Getting Ahead in Business with Six Sigma."
Attending the IQPC Six Sigma Summit in January, I was excited to hear the keynote speaker, and I wondered what Gen. Colin Powell could teach Six Sigma professionals about leadership. He had a lot to offer.
As both soldier and statesman, Powell was a leader in the highest echelons  a four-star Army general, National Security Advisor, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Secretary of State. He is an imposing figure.
Yet the more I heard from this impressive leader, the more I realized that in many ways Powell is just like any one of us. Of course, in his position what was at stake was often a life-or-death issue  a point made painfully clear to him early in his military career by a superior officer.
Powell was running off to guard an atomic canon, he said, when he realized he had lost his pistol. He radioed to his company commander and turned himself in. The commander instructed him to complete the mission and report back. Later, the officer told Powell the pistol had been found by some kids. They managed to get it off safety and fired it, the commander said. Heres your pistol. Be more careful and never let that happen again.
Powell still remembers how devastated he was. Upon inspecting his pistol, however, he realized that it was, in fact, not fired. His commanding officer had concocted a story to scare Powell and ingrain  not just explain  the importance of monitoring his weapon.
Can you imagine what your business equivalent might be? Could you offer a lesson to your direct reports that was so effective they would recount it years later? Leaders need to make the lessons they impart powerful and personal so team members can internalize them and not repeat mistakes.
Powell told the audience that in some cases the purpose of lessons is to set the tone, to send messages that are proactive. He described his preparation  soon after becoming secretary of state  for a meeting that was to include the president, the vice president and the chiefs of staff. One of the topics was a report-out of activities in a certain part of the world. Powell made a point to select an action officer to make the report rather than the commanding officer. Asking the person in the lowest position opens up the lines of communication, he explained. 
Powell knew the action officer would tell everyone in his barracks about the assignment, and everyone would help him gather the appropriate data, create the report and rehearse the presentation. He would be bringing his team together.
Powell also knew that as soon as the action officer had given the report, he would go back to his office and exclaim to everyone, Boy, did I tell him! It would be clear that Powell considers all the data, not just the data that filters up from his direct reports. That one story about his leadership style lived on until the end of his days in office and was a vivid example of how he wanted his staff to act.
My goal as a leader is to set the goal, set the mission, but then to empower the follower to achieve it, he said. Six Sigma must empower followers to do a good job.
So the next time you need to rally your troops  to get your employees to follow your direction and achieve the strategic goals you set forth  think about the leadership example of Colin Powell. Even without four stars on your shoulders, you can promote greatness in your team. ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Leadership]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 07 May 2007 03:13:24 -0800</pubDate>
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		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: ISSSP Six Sigma Leadership Conference: Warm Scottsdale, Here We Come!]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/isssp_six_sigma_leadership_conference_warm_scottsdale_here_we_come.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Jessica Harper (managing editor of iSixSigma Magazine), Michael Marx (iSixSigma's research manager) and I will be in warm Scottsdale, Arizona, May 7-10. If you're looking to escape the weather and be (almost) guaranteed warm days and sunny skies, then consider joining us in Scottsdale for the ISSSP Six Sigma Leadership Conference.
This year I vowed to myself to climb Pinnacle Peak in the morning, before the conference begins one of the two days. Yes, this is my fourth year attending and I have yet to do it but this year will be different. If you see me in the bars late at night, remind me of this vow, please.
Here's what I like about the ISSSP Leadership conference (besides the weather):

It's put on by -- in my opinion -- the finest Six Sigma membership organization in the world.
The speakers come from companies with excellent programs, so you not only hear from companies who have "been there and seen that" but you have plenty of opportunities to network with them so when you return to the office you have your own support group you can call upon.
The entire ISSSP team cares deeply about you as a member and will go beyond expectations to help you with your program.
Tons of people are already registered: Wells Fargo, Ameriprise Financial, Mount Sinai Hospital, Unifords Technologies, Bombardier, The Timken Company, Hess, SKF, Ventana, Eastman Chemical, Liberty Mutual, Sara Lee, Seagate, and many, many more. Check out the full list of attendees.
This is your opportunity to attend their Leadership Conference, and if you're not a member learn more about the benefits ISSSP provides. ISSSP is an alliance partner of iSixSigma, and they have offered us special pricing to our readers. Click here and learn how to save up to $1,000 on pricing. Go ahead and register. Then let me know because I'd like to meet you in person at the event.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 20 Apr 2007 10:34:31 -0800</pubDate>
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		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma In Small Business]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/six_sigma_in_small_business.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[This could be you!
Are you a small or medium-sized business thats seen great results with Six Sigma or process improvement tools? Do you rely on "Six Sigma thinking" to improve the customer experience?
Were looking for a company that would be an inspiration to other small and medium-sized businesses to feature in an article in iSixSigma Magazine and on the cover. Think you deserve the honor? Are you:

a company with less than $100 million in revenue a year? 
experiencing revenue growth as a result of your approach to quality? 
prepared to share specific examples of improved processes that have delivered tangible results, whether financial or otherwise?
If so, send an email to the editors of iSixSigma Magazine. Tell us the size of your company, your revenue growth, and an example of a process you have improved.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 12 Apr 2007 15:41:46 -0800</pubDate>
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		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Free &quot;Lean for Dummies&quot; Book]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/free_lean_for_dummies_book.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Wiley Publishing, Inc. was kind enough to send me a few copies of the new Lean for Dummies book ($14.95 on Amazon.com), hot off the presses. Its written by Natalie J. Sayer and Bruce Williams, two lean and Six Sigma practitioners and experts. Billed as "the simple, continuous improvement approach transforming organizations of all sizes worldwide," this book will provide both a great read and useful compendium of tools and process.
Want a Free Book? *Offer* - Answer a Trivia QuestionI have three extra copies of this book. For the first three people to email me the following information, Ill mail you out a complimentary copy of the book:

Full name, 
Company name, 
Your title, 
Mailing address, and 
Correct answer to this question: Name the three common types of waste, in Japanese, and define each waste type.
I will update this page with the names, company names and titles of the first two people. And of course the answer. We wont do anything with your contact information except mail you the book.
[UPDATE 4/12/07 9:15 AM PST]
Congratulations to the following winners, who correctly identified the three types of waste, in Japanese, and their definitions:


Crystal Crosby, a Management Analyst in the Executive Office of the President

Ramesh Pondhe, an Operations Improvement Engineer with Susquehanna Health

Kathy Sharp, a Quality Systems Resource Leader with Invista
Bonus!If youre looking for a book about innovation (Business Innovation in the 21st Century, written by another Six Sigma expert -- Praveen Gupta) be sure to click over to the Real Innovation Commentary. Katie Barry, editor of Real Innovation and The TRIZ Journal is giving that book away...but hurry!
From the book description on Amazon:



    
 

The Business Innovation book provides a unique framework for institutionalizing innovation in business organizations for developing new products, processes, or solutions. Unique features -- Easy to learn powerful new framework for innovation; Types of innovation: Fundament, Platform, Derivative, and Variation; Strategic management of Innovation; Practical measures of innovation.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 11 Apr 2007 11:01:16 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Free Lean Six Sigma Pocket Toolbook]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/free_lean_six_sigma_pocket_toolbook.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I was cleaning up my office today and found two extra copies of The Lean Six Sigma Pocket Toolbook written by Michael George, David Rowlands, Mark Price and John Maxey of George Group, published by McGraw-Hill. Its rated 5 out of 5 on Amazon.com and is a great compendium of every Lean Six Sigma tool available.
Want a Free Book? *Offer* - Answer a Trivia QuestionI have two copies of this book. For the first two people to email me the following information, Ill mail you out a complimentary copy of the book: 

Full name, 
Company name, 
Your title, 
Mailing address, and 
Correct answer to this question: What is the title of the very first article published by iSixSigma.com on May 26, 2000?
I will update this page with the names, company names and titles of the first two people. And of course the answer. We wont do anything with your contact information except mail you the book. 
[Update 10:52 AM] Wow, Great Response!Congratulations to:


Sean Schubert, a Development Engineer at Sanford Corp.

Sushil Bharatan, an R&amp;D Engineer at Freescale Semiconductor
Your books are mailing out this week.
For those of you interested in learning how Sean and Sushil figured out the answer to the trivia question, you can view the entire archive of iSixSigma.com published articles online. Then just select the year 2000, the first year of publication, and scroll to the very bottom.
Keep reading the iSixSigma Blogosphere, Im going to work on cleaning out the library next week.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 28 Mar 2007 06:12:41 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: RFID Six Sigma Quality of Service Guarantee]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/rfid_six_sigma_quality_of_service_guarantee.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[TAGSYS has announced what they are billing as the RFID industry's first quality of service guarantee for pharmaceutical manufacturers. This new guarantee -- what TAGSYS is calling the "Six Sigma Performance Program" -- promises fewer than four failures in one million read opportunities in the item-level track-and-trace process. Read their entire Six Sigma guarantee.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 26 Mar 2007 21:38:51 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Lonmin Six Sigma, Looking for Benchmarking Visit]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/lonmin_six_sigma_looking_for_benchmarking_visit.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[We have a fantastic issue of iSixSigma Magazine coming up in May. The cover story is about Lonmin, a primary producer of platinum group metals. They focus on discovery, acquisition, development and marketing of minerals and metals.
The short story goes like this: Prior to Brad Mills becoming CEO, the quality of life for Lonmin workers in South Africa was not good. They would go miles underground to work the mines, and some would not return. Ill leave the details for the magazine article. After changing top leadership and implementing Six Sigma as a way to deliver benefits for both the business and lives of workers, Bishop Desmond Tutu (1984 Nobel Peace Prize) visits and declares that the improvements hes seen are what hes been talking about for years. Quite an endorsement, to say the least. And their Six Sigma financial benefits are staggering as well. (Did I mention that were telling the whole story in the upcoming May/June issue of iSixSigma Magazine?)
Now a team of about five MBBs and MBB candidates are visiting the Chicago area April 30 through May 3. They are willing to present their deployment and results in return for a visit to a Six Sigma deployment in the Chicago area. Interested in sharing? Contact me and let me know your company name and your contact information. Ill hook you up.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 20 Mar 2007 15:27:29 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Hitachi Plasma TVs and Kaizen]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/hitachi_plasma_tvs_and_kaizen.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Hitachi is running a series of advertisements in the Wall Street Journal focusing on their plasma TV technology capabilities. In todays issue (March 13, 2007, p. A16), their ad talks about kaizen:




    
 

No matter where in the world theyre made, Hitachi plasma TVs have one trait in common: Theyre the product of kaizen, the Japanese concept of continuous improvement -- a concept that guides the efforts of every Hitachi employee.
Watch kaizen in action at Hitachis television production facility, where a better way to work is helping bring a better plasma TV to market.
Watch Video, click the "Thinking Thin" option.
The "kaizen part" comes 4:14 into the 5 minute video. While its great that Hitachi is focusing on kaizen -- and they promote the concept in a major marketing campaign -- the video leaves this reader wishing they had put in more information in their video. What do you think?]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press&nbsp;,&nbsp;Computers &amp; Electronics]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Mar 2007 14:22:35 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Virtually Stat Free Six Sigma]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/virtually_stat_free_six_sigma.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Praveen Gupta, President of Accelper Consulting, sent me a few copies of his new book entitled Virtually Stat Free Six Sigma. (Thanks for the reference to iSixSigma.com in the first chapter, Praveen!) Subtitled "Focusing on Intent for Quick Results," this book dives into the biggest problems facing most companies and what tools are most likely to help solve them. 
As Praveen and co-author Arvin Sri write, "Experience teaches us that most of the tools use din solving problems are simple and easy to learn. Even when statistics are needed, people often get mired in the technique instead of laearning how to benefit from its application."
While this blog post is not intended to be a "book review," I do appreciate the fact that:

There are a lot of statistical tools to learn in Six Sigma, and 
Without knowing Six Sigma inside and out (or having a MBB or BB coach), its hard to figure out which statistical tools might help solve a problem
This book may help guide you in the right direction.
Want a Free Book? *Offer*I have five extra copies of this book. For the first five people to email me the following information, Ill mail you out a complimentary copy of the book: full name, company name, title, mailing address. I will update this page with the names, company names and titles of the first five people. We wont do anything with your contact information except mail you the book.
Congratulations to the following recipients for reading the iSixSigma Blogosphere and being quick to make a request:

Nilakanta Srinivasan Janakiraman, Delivery Lead at Bank of America
Irving Bartlett, Head of Central Services at The Galleria
Conor Noonan, NPI Quality Project Engineer at Molex
Ramesh Pondhe, Operations Improvement Engineer at Susquehanna Health
Doug Gallant, Process Improvement Leader at Cavendish Farms
Your complimentary books will be mailed out next week. For those of you that didnt win, keep reading as other books will be given away soon.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Management]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 08 Mar 2007 10:00:05 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: iSixSigma Alert: Fraudulent Emails &amp; Telephone Calls]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/isixsigma_alert_fraudulent_emails_amp_telephone_calls.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[We have recently become aware of fraudulent emails and telephone calls from a person claiming to be from iSixSigma which was sent to multiple people, including some of our readers.
The fraudulent email, which was sent by Aditi Raisurana and may be personally addressed, tells recipients that iSixSigma is "in the process of promoting our services and launching our magazine in India." The email may identify multiple locations. The fraudulent email continues, "we would like to know the details (name, designation and contact numbers, if possible) of all professionals (senior and middle level) from [Company Name] who we could invite for our launch party and also who we could get it touch with to attend our seminars, write columns for our magazine, etc."
Please be aware of the following information should you receive this email:

The fraudulent email is NOT from iSixSigma. In one case it was sent from a Google mail address (gmail.com), and not from an isixsigma.com email address.
iSixSigma does NOT solicit personally identifiable information about you or your colleagues via email or telephone. Nor does any reputable company.
iSixSigma is aggressively taking action to stop this activity. 
If you receive a fraudulent email purporting to be from iSixSigma, forward it with full "header" information to http://www.isixsigma-magazine.com/help.asp?ToDo=contact&amp;o=mc. Instructions on obtaining header information can be found at: http://www.spamcop.com/help_with_headers/.
We apologize for this inconvenience and welcome any comments or questions you may have regarding this issue.
Best regards,
Michael CygerFounder, iSixSigma ]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 02 Mar 2007 17:31:47 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Oracle to Acquire Hyperion, Owner of Crystal Ball]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/oracle_to_acquire_hyperion_owner_of_crystal_ball.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[It seems that no sooner does Hyperion start the transition from the acquisition of Decisioneering to the process of integrating Crystal Ball with their products, when Hyperion announces that *theyve* now been acquired by Oracle! The deal is in cash for $52.00 per share, or approximately $3.3 billion.
In an email I received today from Jim Franklin, former CEO of Decisioneering and now VP, General Manager of Hyperion, Jim writes:

The acquisition of Hyperion extends Oracles business intelligence product strategy. Customers are increasingly using performance management and business intelligence together. Hyperion provides best-in-class performance management software to over 12,000 customers worldwide, including 91 of the Fortune 100. Hyperion will add complementary products to Oracles leading business intelligence offerings, including a leading open enterprise planning system, financial consolidation products, and a powerful multi-source OLAP server.
On their website, Oracles CEO Larry Ellison is quoted as saying, "Hyperions EPM software coupled with Oracles Business Intelligence (BI) tools and analytic applications form an end-to-end performance management system that includes planning, budgeting, consolidation, operational analytics and compliance reporting."
For those of you unfamiliar with Crystal Ball, it is Microsoft Excel-based software for risk analysis, simulation and optimization. Im sure Crystal Ball will play a growing and pivotal role in the planning and operational analytics areas.
Hyperion press release: Oracle To Acquire Enterprise Performance Management Leader HyperionOracle press release: Oracle Buys Enterprise Performance Management Leader Hyperion]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 02 Mar 2007 17:14:43 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Hyperion to Acquire Decisioneering]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/hyperion_to_acquire_decisioneering.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[ 
Some of the biggest news to be announced yesterday and circulated around the IQPC Six Sigma Summit in Miami is that Hyperion is acquiring Decisioneering. For those of you not aware of Hyperion, they are one of the leading enterprise-wide BPM (business performance management) software applications in the world.
As the press release on Decisioneerings site announces, Crystal Ball software will become a business unit of Hyperion and the product will continue to be developed in the now-Decisioneering headquarters in Denver, Colorado.
My contacts are very excited about this acquisition, as it appears strategic in nature. Hyperion and Decisioneering share a host of customers, and adding the simulation and decision-assistance capabilities of Crystal Ball to Hyperions suite of financial and business performance management software will benefit everyone involved.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 24 Jan 2007 06:23:41 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Dilbert on the Fusion of Lean and Six Sigma]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/dilbert_on_the_fusion_of_lean_and_six_sigma.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Hes at it again. But this time I laughed out loud, Im sorry to report. 
What are your thoughts?]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 19 Jan 2007 15:44:17 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Sad News for the Six Sigma Community]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/sad_news_for_the_six_sigma_community.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Paula Parmeter, a Six Sigma advocate and pioneer, recently passed away. Everyone that knew Paula is tremendously saddened. Below is a tribute, written by Ilona Kirzhner.




   


iSixSigma has been nice enough to allow us to pay a Six Sigma Tribute to Paula (Feldman) Parmeter.
 
In my knowledge of Six Sigma consultancies, practitioners, trainers, and leaders, there are few who have managed to make a substantive contribution to the field.  I am quite saddened to inform you that one of those contributors has passed away.  Paula died on December 29, 2006 at her home in Thatcher, Arizona.  She will be incredibly and deeply missed not only by her family and friends, but by her business colleagues, peers, and most notably, her clients.  Although she is not with us any more, her contributions to streamlining the process by which an organization creates a sustainable Six Sigma Deployment, called Initialization, are truly important and unique.
In order to understand Paulas contributions, one must understand the origins of the Initialization process. During the AlliedSignal rollout in 1994, ProSupport Inc. was retained to handle all of the logistics and coordination of their Six Sigma deployment.  Initially, the task at hand was not fully understood.  A Six Sigma 1-800 help line was established and communicated to all the members of the Six Sigma community.  Instructions were clear; call with ANY questions.  As you might expect, the phones rang off the hook.  Black Belts called with questions about how to track savings.  Finance reps called with questions about how to calculate hard versus soft savings.  Champions called with questions about project selection and tracking guidelines.  HR called with questions about Black Belt compensation.  IT reps called with questions about Minitab, and so on.  All of the questions were accumulated, categorized by function, and were slowly used to facilitate Allied through developing the necessary answers.  Eventually, a manual process was created through which key functional business leaders of any organization, called the core team, would come together BEFORE the first belt was trained to understand the questions and customize the answers to meet the needs of their unique business.  This process was called Initialization and was (and still is) the first and most important step to any scalable Six Sigma deployment.  The core teams output from an Initialization process was the Six Sigma Handbook, or the one stop shop of all Six Sigma governance related procedures, policies and guidelines.  Unfortunately, this process took three to six months to implement and required tedious manual revision control and communication of the latest governance documents.
Paulas contribution was to bring the dated highly manual Initialization process and the corresponding handbook into the 21st century.  Paula not only revolutionized the entire Initialization process, but she also incorporated the ability for a core team to customize, apply revision control, and deliver the handbook completely and totally on an organizations intranet at an extraordinary pace.  Information on a Six Sigma deployment and its supporting infrastructure would no longer be only available to individuals within Six Sigma circles.  Instead, it could be partially or entirely added to an organizations internal and external website readily communicating its Six Sigma program and progress through Paulas all new eHandbook.  She took a three to six month process down to a four day facilitated workshop.  She took several 3-inch binders full of templates and best practices down to an organized, updated, rev-controlled, and highly efficient library of customizable documents, all available online through the corporate intranet.
Subsequently, Paula, single-handedly led dozens of organizations and core teams through the modernized Initialization process, including Tamko, Standard Register, Siemens, and countless others.  To this day, I would estimate there are fewer than ten individuals in the world that have led such Six Sigma infrastructure building events completely on their own.  Her facilitation workshops created the best Six Sigma governance systems out there.  If you happen to have been fortunate enough to know Paula, this would come as no surprise.  Because she performed her job, as she lived her life, with incredible integrity, commitment, passion, and strength.  She touched many lives, both professionally and personally, and we will all miss her dearly.
I welcome anyone who knew Paula to say a few words regarding your knowledge of her contribution to six sigma and to your particular organization.
Sincerely,
Ilona KirzhnerCofounder and Former COO of Breakthrough Management Group Inc.Paulas Friend, Peer, Colleague, and Former Employer
]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[History]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 18 Jan 2007 21:52:14 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Get Me to Warm Miami]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/get_me_to_warm_miami.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I dont know about the rest of you, but Im starting to feel a little "winterized" already (or is that "non-winterized"?). The Seattle rainy season has hit multiple records this season and Im looking forward to a break later this month by visiting warm -- and hopefully dry -- Miami for the IQPC Six Sigma Summit.
Im bringing with me a couple of iSixSigma team members:

Michael Marx, our resident expert on "The Six Sigma Scoop on the Fortune 500 and Global 500." Watch for Michael as hell no doubt be taking photographs and podcasting. Hell also be blogging throughout the conference, so be sure to visit the Blogosphere (or better yet, sign-up for the newsletter or RSS feeds) that week for an update on the festivities and activities.
Jessica Harper, our newest team member and managing editor of iSixSigma Magazine. As a seasoned editor of a business periodical, Jessica will be learning the "lay of the Six Sigma land," meeting plenty of practitioners and also enjoying some well-deserved sunshine (shes a fellow Seattleite).
So, for your 15 minutes of fame during or after the event, these are the two people to watch out for. If you want to try to identify us at the event, here are our pictures. Jessica is "incognito" until we can get a photograph up. Find Michael or me and we can always point you to Jessica at the event.
Im also looking forward to the Awards Ceremony Tuesday night. I had the honor to judge one of the categories and there are some phenomenal Six Sigma projects in the running this year. iSixSigma Blogosphere is proud to sponsor the award for Best Six Sigma Project in Government, and iSixSigma Magazine is proud to sponsor the award for Best Six Sigma Project in Financial Services.
Im not sure who is emceeing the Awards, but last year Steve Walter (listen to a podcast with Steve Walter from 2006) did a fantastic job. Who would have thought a Fortune 100 practitioner could be a stand-up comedian? Of course we all know that there is plenty of comedic material within Six Sigma! 
Also, if you havent registered you can save 10% by using the iSixSigma code: "isix" (sans quotes), click-thru here. See you in warm Miami!]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 09 Jan 2007 10:32:30 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Dilbert on Six Sigma and Innovation]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/dilbert_on_six_sigma_and_innovation.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Dilbert and his pointy haired boss tackled two topics that are near and dear to my heart: Six Sigma and innovation. In one fell swooop, he reduced both topics to buzz words and hype. While Im sure there are many people who may agree with Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert, Im hoping this site has a few things to say in rebuttal. 
What are your thoughts?]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sun, 26 Nov 2006 20:22:12 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: What is Real Innovation?]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/what_is_real_innovation.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Is it related to design for Six Sigma? Is it TRIZ? Is it that guy in the corner cube who has 50 patents and tons of papers piled on his desk high enough to obscure anybodys view as they walk by?
It could be all of those things, but in addition to those its the name of CTQ Medias new portal (sister portal to iSixSigma) focused on systematic innovation. Its brand new and just launched. It still has that "new website smell" to it...help us break it in!
I hope you get a chance to visit in the upcoming days. Consider signing up for the Real Innovation weekly newsletter that will begin next week. Some of the articles that are already published include:

Using Innovation to Address Unmet Customer Needs
Axiomatic Innovation: Creativity as an Exact Science
How to Select an Innovation Approach for Problem Solving
If you have an innovation initiative at your organization, please share the link with your colleagues. And if youd like to become an instant celebrity, send us your articles for publishing at http://www.realinnovation.com/submit/.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 16 Nov 2006 17:06:40 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma Project Selection]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/six_sigma_project_selection.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I spent the afternoon with the North West Quality Forum (NWQF). Today's meeting took place on the Microsoft campus in Redmond, Washington, just North East of Seattle. It was my first time to Redmond, besides my house-hunting trip to the Seattle area a couple of years ago.
The NWQF is a group of Seattle-based deployment leaders that get together every other month to discuss their Six Sigma and Lean initiatives. Today's session was focused on project selection. Boeing, Washington Mutual, InfoSpace and iSixSigma presented their project selection processes. (iSixSigma presented the IDX process from the March/April 2005 issue of iSixSigma Magazine.)
Although the project selection processes varied in scope and detail, most of the presentations included the following key points:

Start with and understand your business strategy
Determine areas of the business that drive the strategy (the big Ys)
Scope potential projects in written form, quantifying the opportunity
Prioritize the list of approved projects]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Methodology]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 08 Nov 2006 23:39:49 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: iSixSigma Magazine Six Sigma Project Tracking Software Review]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/isixsigma_magazine_six_sigma_project_tracking_software_review.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Some vendors have recently expressed concerns about the review of project tracking software programs that was published in the November/December 2006 issue of iSixSigma Magazine. I would like to share with you a statement regarding this article that will be published in the January/February 2007 issue. It was written by magazine editor Erin Ducceschi, and I fully concur with it. Additionally, I have invited all vendors who were reviewed to submit a letter to the editor for publication in the same issue. I also invite our readership to share their thoughts on the article. The letter should be 250 words or less and must be sent to editor (at) isixsigma-magazine (dot) com by Friday, Nov. 10.
Vendors are concerned that the article notes an "overall evaluation" and this constitutes a product endorsement by iSixSigma Magazine. I disagree since iSixSigma has always had a policy against product endorsements. It remains in effect and we continue to work hard to enforce it. But that does not mean we cannot publish product reviews by well-qualified, independent Six Sigma practitioners. We feel such reviews are valuable to our readers.
The specific issue is in the table on the last page page of the article. The table has an "overall evaluation" which is a compilation of all the assessments of each program feature evaluated (e.g., customization, dashboard, etc.) which also are provided in the table. Each feature was given equal weight in importance, so whether we had included an overall evaluation in the table or not, any reasonable reader would have reached the same conclusion by simply adding up the "program features" ratings.
Frankly, I dont think the overall evaluation is really very important. The needs of individual businesses differ, so as practitioners process the information described in the entire article they will give the appropriate weight to the required features for their Six Sigma deployment. The decision to select a software provider, or not, will be based on their unique needs.
Letter from the Editor of iSixSigma Magazine, Erin Ducceschi
Voice your opinion. Send a letter to the editor or post a comment.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 06 Nov 2006 08:20:05 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: The TRIZ Journal Joins CTQ Media!]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/the_triz_journal_joins_ctq_media.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The TRIZ Journal (www.triz-journal.com) is now a division of CTQ Media LLC (www.ctqmedia.com) and a channel under www.realinnovation.com (which will launch November 15th). TRIZ - a Russian acronym meaning the theory of inventive problem solving - is, as the full name suggests, a systematic methodology for solving problems that call for creativity and innovation. The methodology was developed in Russia and continues to gain popularity throughout the rest of the world. We strongly feel that TRIZ will grow in reach and power in the coming years as more people learn about its potential. Companies like GE, Samsung, Procter &amp; Gamble, Ford Motor Company, Boeing, Philips Semiconductors and LG Electronics already use TRIZ for innovation.

The TRIZ Journal has published articles and case studies online for 10 years - an impressive length of time for the Internet's short history. It's the number one title on the Internet for TRIZ-related content. Feel free to take a look now, but in early 2007 we will be relaunching the site with a new design.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 02 Nov 2006 08:57:50 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: ASQ to iSixSigma: Cease and Desist]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/asq_to_isixsigma_cease_and_desist.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The American Society for Quality had an attorney send iSixSigma a cease and desist letter the other day for an article iSixSigma published back in 2001.
In the article, Charles Waxer wrote, "ASQ only started offering certification a year or so ago." This was in fact true in 2001, but since we don't include a dateline in our articles (because most of our content is "evergreen," in other words, not effected by time),  it appeared as though we were saying that was the current situation. Obviously, I was disappointed with the error and the article was quickly corrected.
This isn't the first time that iSixSigma has been asked to modify some information we've published and it probably won't be the last. Our editorial team works hard to investigate, determine and publish correct information. And, because we know that from time to time data does become outdated, links become broken and content requires updating, we are always reviewing our content.
So why am I writing this blog entry? It's not as much the notification of the problem as it is the manner in which we were notified. ASQ involved their legal representative when a simple, friendly contact would have served the same purpose. Couldn't find my phone number or email address? Try searching the ASQ  membership directory. I've been there since 1999.
As a member of ASQ, the letter from their attorney bothered me on another level. I pay dues to ASQ for access to membership benefits like resources and information, to drive continued professional development, and to improve the resources ASQ provides to the quality community.
I do not pay dues to ASQ so that they can be wasted on trivial issues, such as paying an attorney to handle a matter that could have been resolved by a simple phone call.
One can only imagine how many emails, meetings and telephone calls culminated in that letter to iSixSigma from ASQ's attorney? If another issue like this should ever occur, I would invite ASQ to try reaching out - business professional to business professional - with a simple, friendly request. If they do, I'll appreciate them for helping improve our site and for not wasting my dues.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Leadership]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 10 Oct 2006 03:29:32 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: From Good to Great Six Sigma]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/from_good_to_great_six_sigma.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I attended the IQPC Lean Six Sigma West Summit in Las Vegas from September 27-29, along with fellow blogger Michael Marx and the rest of the CTQ Media team. On Wednesday I gave a presentation entitled "From Good to Great Six Sigma: 5 Imperatives for Making the Leap." Many delegates who attended the presentation asked for a reference copy of my presentation, as it wasn't included on the conference CD. It can be viewed by clicking the screen-shot below.

As with any presentation, most of the value lies not within the words and graphics that are on each slide but with the associated verbal presentation, examples and stories. I hope to be able to give this presentation to you someday in person.
The idea behind the presentation is simple: In the national bestseller Good to Great, author Jim Collins tackles the question, "how can good companies, mediocre companies, even bad companies achieve enduring greatness?" What are the universal distinguishing characteristics that cause a company to go from good to great?
As a parallel to the Good to Great research, iSixSigma Magazine began research in 2004 to understand what makes a great Six Sigma initiative. We continue to research new areas that differentiate great from good in every issue. We have analyzed data from thousands of respondents at companies of all sizes on topics as varied as leadership, financial performance, innovation, project selection and customer centricity.
I've been honored to be asked to attend a few company conferences and make this presentation. The great news is that this presentation continues to evolve, as does the research that we conduct daily, so it should continue to be fresh and interesting.
I hope to meet you at an upcoming IQPC conference. If you have availability, a couple of us will be at the IQPC 8th Annual Six Sigma Summit in Miami January 22 - 25, 2007. Use code ISIX and safe 10% when you book.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Management]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 09 Oct 2006 10:58:16 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: iSixSigma Discussion Forum Upgrade]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/isixsigma_discussion_forum_upgrade.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Thank you to everyone who contributes thoughts, suggestions and comments to iSixSigma on how we can improve what we provide. Were constantly making improvements to our technologies as a result.
Our Discussion Forum is a popular Six Sigma-related destination on the Internet. Since our inception in May 2000, weve had about 94,000 postings. People have both become popular and been flamed as a result of the iSixSigma Discussion Forum. Friendships have been made, and old spats have been settled. Its a wonderful yet challenging community, all rolled into one place.
Today, we made a couple of improvements to the iSixSigma Discussion Forum:

We now index the entire discussion forum. Prior to today, we only indexed the most recent 75,000 or so posts, with the idea that many topics are revisited over time and/or become outdated. Well, many readers have set us straight. All information is useful. Our index now includes all information.
Queries can now be done by "Posted by" name. Prior to today, if the persons name wasnt in the body of the posting, you couldnt find them.
So lets say that you remember a posting by "Heebeegeebee BB" from months ago, but you didnt bookmark it at the time. Now just type in "Heebeegeebee" (sans quotes) into the search box (upper right hand corner of the main iSixSigma site) and select to search against the "Discussion Forum." Youll find all 654 posts referencing or written by Heebeegeebee BB. Want to read Heebees posts in reverse chronological order? Click the [ Sort by Date ] option at the top of the screen.

So what kind of fun stuff can we find out, now that we have access to all 94,000 posts? Well...as of today, a search on the discussion forum for:

Mike Carnell turns up 4,014 posts
Certification turns up 3,447 posts
Minitab turns up 3,296 posts
Shift turns up 2,425 posts (1.5 shift is close at 1,305 posts)
What else can you find? Post your comments.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 17 Aug 2006 01:25:27 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Choose Your Ideal Speaker for the Six Sigma Summit]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/choose_your_ideal_speaker_for_the_six_sigma_summit.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Who would you like to hear speak at the IQPC 8th Annual Six Sigma Summit in Miami?  Heres you chance to be heard.  Please take this short --one question-- survey and choose your ideal speaker for the event in January next year.
To participate in the survey follow this link: http://www.isixsigma.com/miamikeynote07]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press&nbsp;,&nbsp;Conferences&nbsp;,&nbsp;General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 03 Aug 2006 13:24:49 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma and Innovation]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/six_sigma_and_innovation.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The latest issue of Harvard Business Review features an interview with Jeff Immelt, chairman and CEO of GE. Its an interesting article because after years of growth through acquisition, GE has now shifted their roadmap to that of organic growth. As part of the roadmap, Jeff Immelt lists innovation as one of the six key initiatives that are going to drive GE to grow organically two to three times faster than world GDP.
Im personally interested in hearing what companies are doing to drive innovation. If you or someone you know is working in a research and development (R&amp;D) role, or has as one of their job description responsibilities -- to drive innovation within your organization -- Id like to spend 10 minutes on the telephone with them. Please contact me to chat or recommend someone that I should speak to: michael (at) isixsigma dot com.
I look forward to sharing the learnings of my discussions very soon on this blog.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Management&nbsp;,&nbsp;Methodology]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 07 Jun 2006 21:21:03 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: The Future of Six Sigma]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/the_future_of_six_sigma.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Im heading off to the ISSSP 7th Annual Six Sigma Leadership Conference next week (May 16-19) in Scottsdale, Arizona. Michael Marx, our research manager, will also be attending. (Its not too late to attend if you live in the area or want to book a last minute ticket. Use code LCISSDISC for a $1,499 ticket. Ive also heard that the Millennium and Copthorne down the street has rooms for $99 -- thanks Darian.)
At the event, one of my tasks will be to gather feedback from practitioners and consultants on "the future of Six Sigma" -- which will be our focus of the November/December 2006 issue of iSixSigma Magazine. Im having lunch with Dr. Mikel Harry, as well as meeting with other visionaries, consulting CEOs and practitioners at the event. Im not just limiting the discussion to a focus on Six Sigma, but rather focusing on the future of business and determining how Six Sigma will relate. For instance, I read that The World is Flat but at the same time hear from Dian Schaffhauser (managing director of Sourcingmag.com, sister company to iSixSigma.com...see Dians summary on her trip to China) that China is not ready to support the hype that weve been hearing for months within the US.
If youre going to be at the event, please do look for me. Id love to speak with you about the future of business and the future of Six Sigma. Whether youre attending or not, please post a comment and let me know what you think is the future of business and how Six Sigma relates.
Hope to see you in the desert,Mike]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 11 May 2006 13:15:13 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: World's Youngest iSixSigma Magazine Reader]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/worlds_youngest_isixsigma_magazine_reader.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Pictured at right: Liam Atwood (8 months old), iSixSigma Magazines youngest reader.
Thanks, Jon, for passing along the picture.
I cant tell you what Mia did with her copy...well, perhaps over drinks ;). See you at the ISSSP Leadership Conference in May.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 19 Apr 2006 00:29:35 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Leadership Imperative]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/leadership_imperative.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The following is The Last Word from the March/April 2006 issue of iSixSigma Magazine, entitled "Getting Ahead in Business with Six Sigma."
Operational excellence does not come easy, whether in America's heartland or on the streets of New York City. It takes leaders who are willing to make changes. 
Despite the breakthrough improvements made by for-profit companies around the world, many not-for-profit organizations, including city governments, still put out fires on a day-to-day basis, instead of preventing fires by improving the way they do business.
I can understand why: Carrying out daily activities can be all consuming. If every person had to spend time improving a process, rather than actually doing it, activities would build up in a queue, delaying their execution. Court cases would wait to be processed, sanitation needs would go unmet, and roads would not be kept in good repair. None of that is acceptable, of course, but it emphasizes the importance of routine duties.
On the other hand, imagine if we drove our car for months, even years, without proper servicing - didn't change the oil, maintain proper tire inflation or tune the engine - because we were too busy doing our routine activities. What if we didn't take the time every so often to ensure our car's expected performance? Gradually, the car would not run as well and require more fuel to go the same distance. Eventually, it would stop running.
Most business operations - including those of city government - require similar attention to maintain efficiency.  But unlike servicing a car, a business "tune-up" can drive improvements in performance beyond the operation's initial capabilities.  
I recently had the honor of meeting Rudy Giuliani, mayor of New York from 1994 to 2002, at the IQPC Six Sigma Summit. In his keynote address to more than 500 delegates from around the world, Giuliani provided leadership lessons learned through his wide experience as a lawyer in private practice, as a U.S. attorney in the Department of Justice, and as the head of one of the largest cities in the world:

"There are really two things that make an effective leader: philosophy and process. Some people have great ideas, but they don't ever accomplish them. Some people are enormously efficient, but they have no ideas. If you can put the two things together, having good ideas and goals, and being practical enough to know how to achieve them, then you can be very effective as a leader."
In introducing Giuliani, Daniel Quinn, president and CEO of Aon Management Consulting/Rath &amp; Strong noted, "The ability to measure performance accurately is critical to any organization looking to improve efficiency and ensure success. Rudy believes a system of measurement motivates employees and decision-makers alike. Accountability enables leaders to identify problems more effectively and make solutions pervasive throughout an organization."
Giuliani emphasized that an organization cannot improve unless it is willing to change. "To be a leader, you have to be willing to do something different. You have to be willing to change something." 
Both Giuliani and the mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana, Graham Richard, made changes that dramatically improved their cities. Whether or not you use Six Sigma as the basis of your measurement and improvement system, as the City of Fort Wayne now does, great leadership requires a vision and a process for improvement. 
Six Sigma provides a philosophy, a roadmap and a toolset. For more than 10 years, private businesses have been proving Six Sigma works. Now is the time for government to partner with private businesses to provide breakthrough improvements that benefit every citizen. 
It is an imperative for our tomorrow; it is an imperative for leadership today.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Leadership]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 23 Mar 2006 11:06:36 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma Salary Reality Check]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/six_sigma_salary_reality_check.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Its that time of the year again. The time of year when we all do a reality check on the job market -- or more specifically -- on the salaries of Six Sigma Black Belts, Master Black Belts, Champions and Deployment Leaders. With now being the time of year when yearly bonus checks are being distributed around corporate America, its the perfect time to figure out if you should be looking for your next challenge within, or outside of, your current organization.
This years iSixSigma Global Six Sigma Salary Survey features the largest quantity of Six Sigma practitioners ever recorded. But the salary survey can only be found in the March/April 2006 issue of iSixSigma Magazine, so be sure to either sign up or request a free trial issue.
And this year we finally settled the question plaguing tens of thousands of aspiring Six Sigma Black Belts around the world: Does Six Sigma certification make an appreciable difference in your salary? We added a couple of fields to our data collection process, and now we can determine what type of certification respondents have, as well as who granted the certification (a company like GE or Motorola, a Six Sigma consulting company, ASQ, etc.).]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Management]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sun, 05 Feb 2006 10:34:10 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Or at Least Align, Manage and Execute Projects?]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/who_wants_to_be_a_millionaire_or_at_least_align_manage_and_execute_projects.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Im at the IQPC Six Sigma Summit and Awards Conference in Miami, Florida. The conference kicks off Tuesday morning with speakers from Regal Beloit, Bank of America and Delphi Corporation, and the morning general session culminates with Roy Templin, who is the chief financial officer of Whirlpool, and Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of New York.
I also had the opportunity to puruse the exhibition hall, which is packed with the whos who of the Six Sigma industry. In the exhibition hall I had the opportunity to "become a millionaire." Alright, maybe not a millionaire exactly...
i-Solutions, a provider of provider of enterprise software solutions for the management of business programs such as Six Sigma, has the "millionaire" equivalent for Six Sigma. It involves putting on a golf green. In similar fashion to Who Wants to be a Millionaire, a participant can walk away at any point and keep the prizes accumulated to that point.
Contestants in the golfing game may win prizes corresponding to the number of successful consecutive putts sunk in accordance with the following prize table. Prize amounts listed are not cumulative. Im told that all prizes include implementation, training and support.
#tt { BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse}#tt TD { BORDER-RIGHT: #6ad9ff 1px solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; BORDER-TOP: #6ad9ff 1px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 2px; FONT: bold 12px arial; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; BORDER-LEFT: #6ad9ff 1px solid; COLOR: white; PADDING-TOP: 2px; BORDER-BOTTOM: #6ad9ff 1px solid; TEXT-ALIGN: center}#tt .tc { BACKGROUND-COLOR: #202053}




PRIZE TABLE 

Putt 
Correct Answeri-Nexus Seats 

1 
10 

2 
25  

3 
50  

4 
75  

5 
100 

6 
250 

7 
500 

8 
1000 

9 
2500 

10 
Unlimited 
If a participant misses a putt at any point, they do not win any i-Nexus seats or training.
I believe that I have captured the rules and prizes correctly, but do not guarantee them. Please visit the exhibition if youre attending the conference or in the Miami, Florida area, and stop by the i-Solutions booth to try out your golfing skills and learn rule details. You may just end up winning the tools your organization needs to align, manage and execute your project portfolio.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 23 Jan 2006 23:20:29 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: CPOE: Six Sigma for Healthcare?]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/cpoe_six_sigma_for_healthcare.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Today I learned about a new program thats being used in healthcare organizations. It gives me great hope that something significant is on the horizon. Its called Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) and the many healthcare professionals that read this site probably know about it already -- but Ill share what I learned for the benefit of everyone else.
CPOE is a computer application that allows physicians to enter orders for patient prescriptions and tests, rather than on paper (usually in illegible writing). This alone would amount to nothing more than simple workflow automation, but CPOE goes well beyond replacing paper orders with electronic ones. It has many features that a seasoned Lean or Six Sigma practitioner would be pleased to hear about.
By comparing orders against known standards for prescription doses, drug interactions, patient allergies and treatment procedures, it provides the ability to flag problems much more quickly and efficiently allowing a new level of security screening for patient health.
Benefits achieved from CPOE include: 
Less paper, filing and storage 
Reduction of medication errors, the largest single cause of medical errors in hospitals 
Reduction of costs through avoided adverse events 
Recommended best practices in patient health care 
Shorter hospital lengths of stay

So whats the bad news, you ask? Very few hospitals have implemented CPOE. According to Will Weider, CIO of Affinity Health Systems, only .08% of American community hospitals have implemented CPOE.I look forward to learning more about CPOE. If any iSixSigma readers have had the opportunity to work on or with a CPOE system, please post your comments and thoughts. Readers can learn more about CPOE at CPOE.org.
]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Management]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 19 Jan 2006 03:52:43 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: The Power of Community]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/the_power_of_community.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The following is The Last Word from the January/February 2006 issue of iSixSigma Magazine, entitled "When Business is Personal."
Nearly everyone I meet who is associated with Six Sigma has one thing in common: They are avid learners. Theyve taken the theme of continuous improvement to heart, applying it to their personal knowledge and skills as much as to the performance of their business processes.
These people are interested in any field or discipline that will help them do their job better, and theyre not afraid to integrate another methodology under the Six Sigma umbrella. They attend training events and seminars to broaden their expertise. Many read voraciously to keep plugged in. But even more than training or reading, most of these practitioners thrive on learning from each other. They are eager for stories about companies that are doing Six Sigma and what theyve experienced along the way. They want to hear how others have dealt with poorly shaped charters, fractious team members, designing a process from scratch and listening to the critical needs of customers.
To succeed at Six Sigma, you have to be open to learning and dedicated to capturing and sharing lessons learned. How efficient can any company be if every team has to reinvent the best way to document a process or run a team meeting?
This recognition of the power of sharing is what has contributed to the success of iSixSigma.com over the past five years. The Internet portal is all about the open exchange of ideas and information. Its based on the power of community  a worldwide community of people who share an interest in Six Sigma and are eager to learn more about it and to share their own knowledge.
Now we are expanding the community. CTQ Media (the parent company of iSixSigma, started by the same team that founded iSixSigma.com) has launched two new information portals. Like iSixSigma, they deal with critical business areas where the sharing and exchange of ideas can be especially beneficial  outsourcing and business process management.
I learned firsthand about outsourcing while at GE Capital. One of my Black Belts led a Six Sigma project to improve accounts receivable, which included an effort to evaluate whether the process could be further improved if it were outsourced to an accounting center in India.
With rigorous financial, process and risk analyses completed, the outsourcing operation appeared to be headed for success. But within three months of the switch, it became clear that the project was not delivering the results expected. This (rather painful) experience taught me that doing outsourcing well  and in a way that ensures a seamless customer experience  is a lot harder than one might think, and includes more factors than Six Sigma alone can address.
I had a similar experience in business process management (BPM). When GE Capital tried to implement Six Sigma in 1995, some functional areas immediately had difficulty. They were trying to improve processes they not only had never documented, but did not even fully understand. Our best course of action at the time was to take a step back and implement process management.
Only after understanding all our core processes were we able to move forward with the same Six Sigma pace and vigor that the GE manufacturingbased organizations had started with.
If your company is considering outsourcing, visit our new portal Sourcingmag (www.sourcingmag.com).  It is dedicated to helping business professionals determine whether they could benefit from outsourcing, and how to effectively implement and manage an outsourced relationship.
If you want to get involved with business process management, visit BPM Enterprise (www.bpmenterprise.com). There you will find articles, tools and resources to help you transform your organization by implementing customer-centric processes and measurement systems.
Join our wider community of business excellence. With iSixSigma, Sourcingmag and BPM Enterprise, the community has the power to help you grow professionally in 2006 and deliver impressive results to your business and customers.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 11 Jan 2006 08:46:38 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: G.I. Jack - Sigma 6?]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/gi_jack_sigma_6.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I love the iSixSigma discussion forum not just for the knowledge sharing that goes on between experts and those needing advice around the world, but also for the trend spotting. In recent days The Independent, and many subsequent television news shows, have reported how Pope Benedict XVI has created a stir in the Vatican (and in the fashion world) for wearing red Prada shoes. Well, today Im happy to report that I believe the iSixSigma discussion forum has led to a recent new piece found in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and Im sure some degree of "buzz" will continue in corporate America.
Todays (Nov. 19, 2005) WSJ Personal Finance section page B3 reported "The latest iteration of Americas favorite plastic patriot is G.I. Joe: Sigma 6, an ultramodern soldier equipped with the best gear that the military (or parents) can buy."
The story ends saying that the marketing team at Hasbro Inc. didnt even recognize that the brainstormed name that they chose was a reverse name of Six Sigma, the business management methodology revolutionizing companies for the past 20 years. Billy Lagor, director of marketing for G.I. Joe said, "We brainstormed a lot of names that had a cool tech feel and tested them with kids."
Congratulations to Lee for notifying us of the new toy at 4:52 AM on Nov. 14, 2005.
Did Gene Colter, the author of the WSJ story, hear about the connection of Six Sigma and Sigma 6 from the iSixSigma discussion forum? Only time will tell. Gene, let me know when you read this post.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press&nbsp;,&nbsp;General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 19 Nov 2005 14:42:59 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Improving Sales Effectiveness]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/improving_sales_effectiveness.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The Last Word from the November/December 2005 issue of iSixSigma Magazine, entitled "Starting-up Six Sigma."
In the early 1990s, the CEO of a large chemical company told his sales managers that they had to start sharing ideas, documenting their processes, and defining a best practice that would make all the salespeople as effective as their best person.
You can probably guess that this directive didn't go over well. The most successful salespeople were very protective of their methods. They were paid on commission and were promoted based on internal competition, so where was the incentive for them to focus on process improvement and share their secrets with co-workers?
The sales function has commonly been regarded as special and therefore exempt from scientific analysis. (Which may explain why iSixSigma research shows that only 28 percent of companies are applying Six Sigma strategies to sales.) But this "special" status is something that any company interested in growth can no longer indulge. The fact is that sales and marketing are processes just like any other business process. They can be riddled with inefficiency, and hindered by variation. And they can be measured and improved. 
GE began using Six Sigma to improve sales effectiveness in the fifth year of its Six Sigma journey, which began in 1995. "We found that Six Sigma isn't only for engineers," said Jack Welch, then CEO of GE. "Regional sales managers can use it to improve forecast reliability, pricing strategies or pricing variation."
Similarly, DuPont started Six Sigma in 2000 and began applying it to revenue growth initiatives in year two. "Six Sigma brought a new focus on the voice of the customer. Customer input is valuable in driving research development, product development, and applications," said Don Linsenmann, DuPont vice president and corporate champion-Six Sigma.
Bombardier, one of the world's leading manufacturers of planes and trains, is now in its ninth year of implementing Six Sigma. The company initially targeted areas that were easily measured and improved: cash flow, cost reduction, cost improvement, cost avoidance and efficiency improvement. Today, however, many of Bombardier's projects are focused on increasing sales volume and sales margin.
Despite these successes, resistance to Six Sigma in sales and marketing is common. Typical attitudes are:

The sales process is an art, not a science.
Salespeople should be in the customer's office selling the product, not anywhere else.
We'll increase sales by having more salespeople.
We'd do a better job selling if (insert other department name here) gives us better (products, services, leads, etc.).
When faced with these attitudes, you can talk about processes and teamwork until you're blue in the face without convincing a single sales or marketing person. Instead, get a few members of the sales staff together and have them walk through the steps they go through when making a sales call. Let them discover common steps (arranged in a process map) and where there are differences. Then challenge them to figure out whether and how the "differences" in actions make a difference in sales effectiveness. Tell them they have to show you data to support their conclusions, and boom!  You have your first Six Sigma project. 
Projects related to sales and marketing are as diverse as: advertising/communication improvement, branding effectiveness, channel effectiveness, client relationship management, lead management, new market development, new product or service introduction, pricing process improvement, and sales effectiveness.
If your business is struggling, your sales and marketing staff may regard being challenged to improve processes as a distraction. If your business is doing well, they'll be even less receptive to change. Don't let that stop you. Savvy business leaders know that Six Sigma is an imperative when a business is doing poorly. And using it under good conditions is one of the best ways to ensure continued growth.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Leadership]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 18 Nov 2005 01:17:30 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: The Financial Return of Individual Six Sigma Projects, as Told by Jack Welch]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/the_financial_return_of_individual_six_sigma_projects_as_told_by_jack_welch.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Last week I attended the IQPC Lean Six Sigma Summit West in Las Vegas, Nevada (USA), as did fellow bloggers Michael Marx and Dian Schaffhauser. As with the last conference Jack Welch spoke at, he was an enjoyable and inspirational speaker with hard-hitting, results-focused advice.
This blog entry will highlight some of Jack Welchs comments from Wednesday, October 26, 2005 on the topic of financial savings through Six Sigma. Below are Jack Welchs exact comments from the question and answer session.
What is noteworthy about the following quotes is that they clearly display the value of individual Six Sigma projects as a deployment and leadership team matures. In the beginning of a deployment, individual projects are of paramount importance to showing early success and motivating employees -- converting as many "nay-sayers" to support Six Sigma as possible. But as the deployment matures, business leaders must find ways to use Six Sigma that go beyond individual projects.
I leave you with words of wisdom from one of Americas greatest CEOs, Jack Welch:

Without the early project by project results, you wouldnt make the sale.
Initiallythe projects counted a lot. However, if I added up all the financial savings of the projects at GE it would have added up to the gross national product of the USA. Is our share improving. If so, I wouldnt have cared how the individual projects were going.
Over time as our cash flows and margins improved, thats what we looked at. Savings were coming in different forms. We just believed that in doing [Six Sigma] we were going to get better, not by adding up all those projects.
We gained 4.5 points in operating marginbut Id never try to add it up one by one [project by project]. You can go nuts doing that.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Management]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 31 Oct 2005 06:00:00 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: The Value of ASQ]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/the_value_of_asq.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I just received my ASQWire email today. The email includes a summary of whats going on at the American Society for Quality (ASQ), and is sent to members. One of the stories caught my eye and I thought it had a fascinating title, "Have you calculated your ASQ membership worth?" It encouraged me to visit the Value Assessment page to complete the calculation, and I was interested because as a Six Sigma and business professional I have often questioned the value that ASQ provides. Many (and I agree) contend that ASQ is more focused on the business of Quality, than the quality of business.
After a good five minutes trying to figure out my membership number and password, I was finally signed in and looking forward to determining the value of my $119 per year membership.
The first page gave a short introduction on how their assessment worked. It presented the following example:

"For example, lets say you recently learned how to create control charts at your local section meeting. When you used this new learning to create a control chart at your work, you were able to save your company $2,000 over the next five years. The annual, sustainable dollar value would be $400 ($2,000 divided by 5 years) which you received as an ASQ member."
Needless to say, I was under-whelmed at the significance of such a calculation example, but I was willing to persevere and give the tool a fair shake to determine the value of my membership dollars.
The next screen presented a list of benefits that ASQ believes members receive. They included:

Access to My ASQ (members-only Web site)
Certification
Quality Progress magazine
ASQ journals and publications
Discounts
Networking opportunities
Conferences, courses, and meetings
Sections
Forums and Divisions
Network/Communities
Peer Support/Mentoring
Credibility with your customers
And I was asked to put a value to each of them. I wasnt sure if I should specify an annual benefit or a five year benefit, as presented in the example on the explanation page - there were no instructions. So I assumed a yearly benefit, gave a $25 value to a yearly subscription to Quality Progress magazine and called it done. I would have liked to give a value to something else - anything else - but I dont use any of the other "benefits."
So I pressed the calculate now button and prepared to have my socks knocked off. Why not? ASQ has been working hard to justify the value of their membership for a year nowI believe they call it "The Case for Quality." It is my opinion that ASQ has the ostensible purpose of defining the "value of Quality," but their real goal is to justify the cost of ASQ. Why? Ill go into that on another blog entry, but lets return to the calculator.
The final results of the calculator were as follows:

Your average membership value is $25. 
97 members completed this survey. Their average membership value is $2199. 
If you have any questions or comments, please e-mail the ASQ Market Research Administrator at [email address removed].
A flurry of questions and thoughts came to me as I thought about how I just spent the past 10 minutes:

Seriously? The only calculation involved was to average the monetary values I provided on an ASQ-provided benefit list?
Only 97 people had completed the calculation, but thats to be expected since the email was just mailed announcing it.
The average membership value is suspiciously close to the example provided ($2000 for learning control charts at a section meeting). I wonder how many ASQ employees completed the assessment first.
I cant believe someone (hopefully only one, and not a team) spent time to conceptualize, design, program, test and market these three web pages.
I guess now I know why my annual ASQ membership value is $25 but Im charged $120.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 19 Oct 2005 21:56:44 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Best Black Belts]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/best_black_belts.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[
Do You Know One?
Do you know a special Black Belt deserving of recognition? Someone who gets outstanding results using their own skills, and at the same time fully involves the people who work with thema Black Belt who brings talent, integrity and good humor to the workplace?
Introduce iSixSigma to a great Black Belt in your business, and we will introduce that Black Belt to our readers.
In 2006, iSixSigma Magazine plans to spotlight the Best Black Belts anywhere on the globe. In each issue, we will feature one such person, sharing the things that illustrate their unique abilities.
How You Can Nominate A Black Belt for This Honor
Its simple. Just email our editorial team at BestBlackBelts @ iSixSigma-Magazine.com and tell us:1. The name, phone number, email address and employer of your nominee.2. No more than 200 words explaining why this person is one of the Best Black Belts (examples and anecdotal evidence welcome).3. Your name, phone number and email address.
Heres the Payoff
If your nominee is selected, besides the recognition, they will get a certificate suitable for framing and a one-year subscription/extension to iSixSigma Magazine. For nominating them, you also will get a one-year subscription/extension.
Tell Us About Someone Great Today!
]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Leadership]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 14 Oct 2005 01:12:15 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: iSixSigma Internet Explorer Toolbar Announced]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/isixsigma_internet_explorer_toolbar_announced.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[iSixSigma announced today the beta release of the iSixSigma Toolbar. 

With the toolbar installed on your Internet Explorer browser, you will be able to instantly search against the tens of thousands of pages of content that have been written and collected over the past 5+ years. You will also be able to search against specific areas of iSixSigma, including: articles, blogs, dictionary terms, the discussion forum and news.
We consider this iSixSigma Toolbar release a step forward in our mission to provide instant access to the best Six Sigma information available on the Internet. For business professionals interested in learning about Six Sigma and related process improvement methodologies and topics, we hope this toolbar puts them closer to their knowledge goals.
The iSixSigma Toolbar can be downloaded at http://www.isixsigma.com/toolbar/.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 07 Oct 2005 13:07:39 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: The Six Sigma eLearning-Training Obfuscation]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/the_six_sigma_elearning_training_obfuscation.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Have you taken an eLearning course in the past?Do you offer eLearning training through your consulting company?Have you researched eLearning options in the past?We want to hear from you.
iSixSigma is preparing to research eLearning options available within the Six Sigma industry. For this study, were defining eLearning as: 
"Any learning that utilizes a network (LAN, WAN or Internet) for delivery, interaction, or facilitation." (http://cai.au.edu/concept/glossary.html)
Our purpose is not to argue for or against eLearning as an appropriate learning option. It is to help those searching for eLearning decipher the multitude of options available and select the best one for themselves -- a task made difficult by the multitude of available training variables and the various ways companies describe them.
iSixSigma needs your help shaping the research questions. Below youll find a proposed list of the attributes of eLearning we plan on including in the study. Wed like you to tell us:

What, if any, attributes are missing from the list below 
What, if any ,options are missing from a given attribute 
Your thoughts on how we should shape or conduct the research 
Id prefer it if youd share your input via posting a comment to this blog entry so others may see what you have to say (and lead to a constructive progression of thought). But please do feel free to email me also.
Attributes
Type of Training (select one)
Completely online
Hybrid online and in-person

Delivery Architecture (select one)
Asynchronous (Self-paced) - Full content as web-pages in interactive format.
Asynchronous (Self-paced) - PowerPoint-based. Audio or Video laid on top of PowerPoint presentation.
Asynchronous (Self-paced) - Textbook based, supplemented with online reading guide, exercises, and/or discussion forum
Synchronous (Scheduled) - Instructor-led live webinars

Instructor Support (select one)
Immediate support (online chat, telephone, in-person)
Delayed support (email, discussion boards)

Instructor Support Channels (select all that apply)
Bulletin board/discussion forum
In-person
Online chat
Telephone

Data Analysis Software (select all that apply)
Hand calculations
Minitab
JMP
SigmaXL
Excel templates
Other software application
None

Interactive Practice Exercises Using Macromedia Flash (select one)
Included
Not included

Knowledge Tests (select one)
Required for progressing
Not required for progressing

Knowledge Tests Throughout Training (select one)
Less than one per phase
One per phase
More than one per phase

Hours of eLearning Instruction (enter whole number)
Number of hours, not including testing or project time

Video Hours (enter whole number)
Number of hours

Use of Video (enter whole number)
Ratio of video hours per total hours of class

Use of Audio (calculated)
Ratio of video hours per total hours of class
Is a text transcription available for audio portion of class?

Requirement to Partially or Fully Read Books
List book titles

Corporate Customers (enter list)
List Corporate customers purchasing more than 50 seats

Search Capability (select one)
Full search
Partial search
No search

Operating Systems Supported (select all that apply)
Linux
Mac OS 
Solaris
SunOS
Unix
Windows

Browsers Supported (select all that apply)
Internet Explorer
Mozilla 
Netscape
Opera

Sample Course to Try? (select one)
Yes
No

Course Credit From University (text field)
List university names

Certification Option (select one)
Yes
No

Criteria for Certification (specify)
Course completion required?
Number of projects completed?
Other criteria?

Pricing (enter US dollar)
Cost per course

Terms of Use (enter whole number)
How many days is course available to student

Will Your Company Allow iSixSigma to Independently Verify Information About Your Course? (select one)
Yes
No]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Management]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 25 Aug 2005 15:50:42 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Six Sigma Bed and Breakfast]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/six_sigma_bed_and_breakfast.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[It does not matter how small the business, Six Sigma can help improve any process. Even a niche bed and breakfast business can profit from Six Sigma principles. Case in point:
Al ODonnell, who runs a Six Sigma program for Southern Clay Products in Gonzales, Texas, USA, wrote us this note.
"My wife owns the Boothe House Bed and Breakfast in Gonzales. Like every bed and breakfast, we have our specialties. At the Boothe House it is food. We make sure we continually explore the delighters for our guests. This has proved valuable in referrals. One of the first delighters my wife offered was a sweet snack in the evening. This is something most bed and breakfasts do not do without a charge. We are careful to pick snacks that will please most of the people and, of course, gathering that data over time. The interesting thing about delighters is that they are delighters on the initial visits, but for repeat customers the delighters quickly become one dimensional needs and in some cases become must be needs. We continue to try to create delighters. They truly improve our bottom line."]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Management]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 11 Aug 2005 11:15:01 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Local Leadership Forum]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/local_leadership_forum.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I had the pleasure of being invited to the Northwest Quality Forum on Wednesday (3 Aug 2005). Its an informal group of like-minded peers (deployment champions and regional leaders) in the Seattle area that get together every other month to discuss Six Sigma, Lean, management, leadership, change management and related issues faced by their organizations. Participating companies include: Amazon, Boeing, Expedia, Honeywell, Macys, Microsoft, Starwood, Sheraton, Sterling Savings Bank, and Washington Mutual.
I gave a presentation entitled "Why CEOs Cant Afford to Ignore Six Sigma," which is the Power Point presentation that followed from the article I wrote for Executive Decision magazine a few months ago. I added information to the presentation since weve completed more research after the article was written -- information like the financial benefits associated with Design for Six Sigma projects by company size and some ROI calculations.
After my presentation, the majority of the meeting was spent discussing a list of agenda topics (e.g. customizing a program, training, roles/structure, project selection, communication, etc.) for about 20 minutes a piece. The open dialogue that took place on general deployment issues was spirited, sometimes passionate, and definitely interesting. Ideas were shared, success (and failure) stories were told, and everyone walked away with some new ideas and closer ties to others in the local community. Its a great opportunity to get together -- face to face -- with peers, and not have any associated travel and living expenses.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 05 Aug 2005 11:31:23 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: iSixSigma in Executive Decision Magazine]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/isixsigma_in_executive_decision_magazine.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[If you get Executive Decision magazine, check the recent issue (July/August 2005) on page 35 (article: "Dont Let Company Growth Stall: Innovation is the key factor in charting a course of long-term sustained growth").]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 26 Jul 2005 17:04:30 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Coffee Variation and Six Sigma Espresso Pours]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/coffee_variation_and_six_sigma_espresso_pours.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[All well trained Six Sigma professionals know that variation is the root of all evil - at least with respect to the customer experience. I understand this all too well myself. I usually experience it when it is least appreciated - in the early morning.Many nights I find myself up late programming some new feature on iSixSigma (yes, I do a bit of coding in addition to the many other hats I wear). Finishing a coding session at 3 or 4 a.m. leaves me a little bleary eyed in the morning after I drop my daughter off at school. Its then that I want to enjoy a well deserved, full-bodied espresso that I can savor while perusing the Journal before my workday begins.Unfortunately, my serene and enjoyable experience is all too often abruptly interrupted when I take my first sip and realize that its: 

Too hot 
Too cold 
Too bitter 
Too weak 
(Fill in the blank)
Starbucks - the epitome of standardized-yet-customizable coffee alternatives - should understand this better than anyone else, but I consistently find variation in my mochas from shop to shop and barista to barista. Recently Ive been frequenting a local "mom and pop" haunt dubbed "Your Neighborhood Coffee House," but find that without Sally (the quickest and most reliable barista Ive experienced in years) its lacking in the consistency I require.It shouldnt be that hard to understand the factors involved in delivering consistently enjoyable espresso. Surely baristas can be trained to measure process variables and to control them within tolerances.Last week I vacationed with my wifes sister and family who live in Anchorage, Alaska (USA). Every morning my sister-in-law Laurel was kind enough to offer espressos. Four days into the trip I realized that I had yet to have a bad pour. Intrigued by the concept of coffee variation (or lack thereof), I decided to do a little research on the subject.I learned that there are plenty of other coffee geeks in the world besides Kim Bruce (I still feel badly that Starbucks is closing your Torrefazione, Kim) - and now me - who care a great deal about their brew. I also learned that in contrast to the well-known "6Ms" (Machines, Methods, Materials, Measurements, Mother Nature and Manpower) that are used to categorize potential root causes of a problem on a fishbone diagram, the coffee geeks have their own categories called "four Ms" (in Italian): 

Mano delloperatore (hand of the operator) 
Macinadosatore (grinder-doser) 
Miscela (blend) 
Macchina espresso (espresso machine).
Although your local Starbucks barista may lack the knowledge and expertise of their Italian counterparts, myriad issues should be racing through their minds while pouring your espresso: blend quality, grind fineness and volume, distribution, tamp, water temperature and pressure, extraction time and volume, blonding, channeling, cremaand we havent even begun to talk about what the barista does with the milk and foam (or what Laurel and her husband Ryan refer to as "fluff")!All of this newfound knowledge led me to think one thing: design of experiments (of course). Im hoping to write my own standard operating procedure for the ultimate espresso and someday begin the experiment with my very own "Miss Silvia" (see picture, right) soon. The product description has already started me thinking about what factors to test: Keep in mind that time, temperature and volume of the shot are important factors for a good espresso Miss Silvia also offers a place on top for pre-heating the cups for a better tasting espresso.Six Sigma espresso pours? Now thats my idea of delighting the customer. Bottoms up.Related Links:
Rancilio Silvia (aka "Miss Silvia")
Procedure for Slashing Miss Silvia Warm-up Times by Over 50%
Perfecting the Naked Extraction
CoffeeGeeks.com]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 20 Jul 2005 22:00:00 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Race Day Singlets/T-Shirts and Fast Times: Causation or Correlation?]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/race_day_singlets_t_shirts_and_fast_times_causation_or_correlation.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Yesterday I ran my second 5 kilometer running race in about 7 years, causing me to contemplate the difference between causation and correlation. It was Bear Paw 5K Classic in Eagle River, Alaska (USA), the last day of my week vacation in Anchorage. Eagle River is a small town about 20 minutes north of Anchorage. My sister-in-law suggested I run it, practically driving me to Skinny Raven Sports (the local running/athletic store) to register, so we (my wife, her sister, our daughter and our daughters two cousins) could spend the day at the race, parade, renaissance festival and associated activities.
Come Saturday morning, however, one of my nieces had an upset stomach, and my wife and her sister were exhausted from spending hours waiting for the new Harry Potter book to be released at midnight the night prior. My sister-in-law, Laurel, had subsequently pulled an "all-nighter" reading the entire book and finishing just minutes before we were supposed to leave for the race.
Needless to say, I left for the race alone. But I was looking forward to it as it was the second 5K race I had run in years. When my wife and I moved to Connecticut to work for GE Capital, work took over my life and I had little time for running and racing. I used to enjoy races as a way to test my fitness, build motivation and get in some speed work, so Im trying that tactic again for getting back in shape. The week prior I ran the July 4th Bainbridge Island, WA (USA) 5K in a time of 21 minutes and 32 seconds so I was hoping for a RPR (recent personal record...my all-time PR is a 16:30 -- many, many years ago -- and now Im just happy when I dont get a stomach cramp during the run!).
(Here comes the causation and correlation thought). As I lined up at the starting line, I had thought I should get close to the front of the race so I wouldnt be trampled in the stampede at the start of the race. As I looked around I noticed that there was a difference in the way those at the front of the pack and those further back were dressed. Those in the front were wearing only racing singlets while many of those further back wore the race day t-shirts (the free t-shirts you get when you register for the race).
Assuming that those in the front were the "fast" racers (myself excluded), I couldnt help but think: could racing singlets cause the "fast" runners to run fast? Or conversely, could race-day t-shirts cause those runners further back at the starting line to run slower? Or was it just a correlation (some relationship) between the factors? -- like perhaps those who run fast usually want to ensure that theyre wearing a form fitting, breatheable racing top versus a cotton t-shirt?
Truth be told, if racing singlets or a lack of race-day t-shirts really caused people to run faster, I would have finished much faster than my 19:59 final time. Instead, I finished with a small stomach cramp and in second place to Harry Potter.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sun, 17 Jul 2005 17:41:00 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Are All Six Sigma Deployment Models Equal?]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/are_all_six_sigma_deployment_models_equal.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Do all Six Sigma deployment models return the same results  proportionally  to the resources and time invested? The topic of deployment models can be a thorny issue among Six Sigma practitioners. Many claim that the best model is to initiate a Six Sigma program from the "top-down" (ala GEs Jack Welch, who mandated that every person would be Six Sigma-trained and many would be certified). Others argue that equally enviable results can be obtained from "middle-out" or "bottom-up" deployment models.
On June 28, 2005, I had the opportunity, along with Michael Marx, to hear both William Swanson, chairman and CEO of Raytheon, and Timothy Tyson, president and CEO of Valeant Pharmaceuticals, at the ISSSP Leadership Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA. Listening to these articulate business leaders, it became clear that a "top-down" approach to deploying Six Sigma has significant merit. Both set a clear vision and defined strategy for their businesses, and are committed to using Lean Six Sigma to execute. They allocate resources, plan well, complete projects tied to their strategy, expect results and reward accomplishments. They aggressively tackle any roadblocks because they believe Six Sigma will help achieve their ultimate business goals and objectives. This type of deployment is the typical Jack Welch or Larry Bossidy model that led to success at both GE and AlliedSignal, respectively. It takes significant resources, but can often achieve payback within 12 months and return two to three percent of revenue per year (Cyger, Michael [2005]. The Missing Link? Why CEOs Cant Afford to Ignore Six Sigma. Executive Decision, 40-49).
At the leadership conference I also had the pleasure of speaking with Jens Hansen, director of continuous improvement at Microsoft. Jens described a Microsoft culture of creativity dominated by engineers and programmers where "top-down" initiatives are anything but the norm. Instead, the continuous improvement team at Microsoft focuses on specific and strategic areas for improvement. Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer is unlikely to ever mandate Six Sigma training for the entire organization, but key leaders in strategic roles have experienced the value of Six Sigma in their organization. Terry Burton, consultant and author, would define this type of deployment model as "scaleable" where building blocks of a whole deployment are assembled in such a manner as to transition the organization to a Six Sigma culture at a manageable pace and scope. I call this deployment model "middle-out." Because it is usually initiated by leaders within one to three organizational layers of the CEO who have credibility, budget authority and the drive for the type of improvement Six Sigma can deliver, this model, too, has the potential to achieve very good results.
The last type of deployment model works from the grassroots or "bottom-up" within an organization  starting with the employees working on the line or in the process itself. These efforts are typically isolated from any political or top-level support. They often take the form of a single group of employees attending Black Belt training, or a small team assigned to Six Sigma efforts within a division or business unit. The results vary greatly depending on how well the project is tied to the business imperatives. Historically, the failure of many grass-roots TQM or continuous improvement efforts to achieve permanence does not bode well for this deployment model.
Perhaps the question of deployment models is not which one is right or wrong, but which one provides the optimal results given the current business conditions, industry environment and corporate culture. For Jack Welch in 1995, a maximum financial benefit in the shortest time period possible was a requirement of doing business. Return on investment was achieved quickly and benefits accelerated every year, but it required a culture that embraced rapid change. William Swanson and Timothy Tyson would most likely agree.
Experts may debate the model issue, but one thing everyone agrees on is that the main purpose of a Six Sigma deployment is to achieve financial results. Which returns us to the opening question: do all Six Sigma deployment models return the same results  proportionally  to the resources and time invested? Six Sigma teaches us to go get data before we make a decision. I think Ill do the same and work with the iSixSigma editorial team to determine when we might be able to schedule this type of research  although I have a hypothesis on what the results will show. In the meantime, do your own research, understand your unique business culture and environment, and make the choice that fits your needs. Let me know how you make out.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Methodology]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 14 Jul 2005 22:00:00 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: iSixSigma Blogosphere: Now Accepting Bloggers]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/isixsigma_blogosphere_now_accepting_bloggers.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Michael Marx and I had a discussion yesterday about the opening of the recently launched iSixSigma Blogosphere to additional bloggers. Whats amazing is not that we came to a similar conclusion, but that the entire conversation took place through instant messaging, or IM. (Since Im in Alaska this week on vacation I find that the family lets me get away with IMing much more than telephone calls.)
While we both agreed that providing a voice to those who have something useful to say is the desired end result of the iSixSigma Blogosphere, we dont have the resources to allow everyone to sign up and begin blogging. Nor do we have the ability to review all blog posts for inappropriate content (its a full time job just moderating the discussion forums). As a result, we have decided to create three simple rules that potential bloggers must abide by, and to solicit interest from potential bloggers.
Blogs hosted by the iSixSigma Blogosphere must meet the following three rules:

Blogs must not promote products, services or businesses. The iSixSigma Blogosphere is not a medium for business, product or service promotion.
The blog should be focused on management, leadership, methodology or other Six Sigma related topics. The purpose of the blogs is to share thought, knowledge and expertise on business related subjects.
The blog must be professional. Inappropriate content will not be tolerated.
If you are interested in having your own blog on the iSixSigma Blogosphere and being promoted to the largest community of business professionals in the world focused on Six Sigma (350,000+ unique readers per month and counting), please send your interest to blogs (at) isixsigma.com. Please indicate the type of topics you are interested in writing about.
We look forward to hearing from (or IMing with) you soon.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 12 Jul 2005 03:00:00 -0800</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: The Other Six Sigma: DFSS]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/the_other_six_sigma_dfss.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The Last Word from the July/August 2005 issue of iSixSigma Magazine, entitled "Designing for Perfection: Six Stories of Innovation with Six Sigma."
One of my pet peeves is when people refer to Six Sigma as a cost-cutting or productivity methodology. That definition tells only half of the story, focusing on the DMAIC improvement methodology and completely ignoring the method by which new products and services are identified, conceptualized and delivered  Design for Six Sigma (DFSS).
It's easy to see why this happens. People equate Six Sigma with DMAIC because DMAIC is employed far more often. Companies may strive for continuous improvement, but they're not as willing to take the leap to develop something entirely new. They apply DMAIC to problems and happily report the benefits attained. That's what gets the attention, both within an industry and in the media.
So how does DFSS fit in when DMAIC is doing so much for companies by increasing productivity and improving existing products worldwide? It's simple. Designing new products and processes that will delight customers leads to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty, generates higher profit margins, and even may elevate a company to a "market leadership" position.
Management guru Peter Drucker once noted, "The only definition of a leader is someone who has followers." That holds true in every business marketplace. But how can a company become recognized as a leader by both its customers and its competitors? The answer is found in a single, nuanced word: innovation.
Innovation is the act of introducing something new, whether it's a simple idea or a complex solution. Innovation is "cutting edge," the "latest thing." When innovative products and services are introduced, a common reaction is, "Now why didn't we think of that?" Take, for instance, 3M's Post-it notes. A simple idea, they allow people to attach reminders, to-do lists or schedules to a variety of surfaces, increasing the attention the notes receive.
At the other end of the spectrum are innovations like the GE Healthcare LightSpeed CT scanner, introduced in 2001. This diagnostic tool captures multiple images of a patient's anatomy simultaneously, at a speed six times faster than traditional single-slice scanners. When speed is of the essence, being able to make a more conclusive diagnosis can make a life-saving difference. GE became a market leader in medical imaging not by incrementally improving their products, but by taking large, innovative steps using DFSS.
Innovation can happen sporadically  without the use of any formal methodology  and still result in business success and market leadership. But is that the way any of us want our companies to be run? Is that haphazard type of operation one that shareholders will appreciate? Developing a systematic way to launch new products and processes can help a company become a sustainable market leader.
So the next time someone boasts about their costsaving Six Sigma deployment, be sure to ask them why they're not growing their revenue with Design for Six Sigma.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Methodology]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 20 Jun 2005 00:40:00 -0800</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: My Pet Peeves About Six Sigma]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/my_pet_peeves_about_six_sigma.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The following items recur too frequently in my daily activities. I submit them as "pet peeves" to raise awareness of them. OK, lets be honest  venting helps me too.
Pet Peeve 1: People who are more concerned with obtaining a Six Sigma certification than with what the newly acquired skills will allow them to deliver to their organization.
We work to deliver value to our business and to the customers of our business. The result of doing this well is professional growth. Shouldnt business professionals get their priorities straight?
Pet Peeve 2: Six Sigma being equated to or viewed as little more than TQM.
To the uninitiated, Six Sigma and TQM may appear similar since many tools overlap. Others view Six Sigma as an evolution of TQM. I agree that Six Sigma has evolved from much of the work of TQM and many great minds. But for those who think theres no difference, I submit that there may be no difference between the process capability of their thinking and that of our tree-dwelling ancestors. As Mikel Harry states, "We need to focus on the quality of business, not the business of quality." Lets evolve together.
Pet Peeve 3: Describing Six Sigma as solely a cost-cutting or productivity enhancement strategy does not tell the whole story.
Design for Six Sigma (DFSS)  what I like to call "the other Six Sigma"  can produce the same order of magnitude in financial benefits as DMAIC (as seen in the July/August research of iSixSigma Magazine). But it also provides the ability for an organization to change and innovate, and become a market leader.
Pet Peeve 4: If I receive one more email asking if Six Sigma can apply to business processes other than manufacturing, I may yell.
Lets recite the following together: 

Businesses produce products and/or services for sale. 
Products and services are produced through a set of processes. 
A process is a series of activities that use inputs, add value and produce an output. 
Although individual steps vary from process to process, any set of process steps can be defined, measured, analyzed, improved and controlled (Six Sigma). 
Six Sigma can apply to any product or service because they are produced by processes.
Pet Peeve 5: Ive gone past the point of yelling when I receive questions like "What is Six Sigma?" or "How do I learn Six Sigma?"
Now I just shake my head slowly to myself. The entire iSixSigma editorial team has worked diligently for five-plus years creating the finest set of resources available for understanding Six Sigma. We even created a "New to Six Sigma" page that is in a visible location of every page, and we have a state of the art search technology on the website.
When it comes to learning Six Sigma, I can only say that people learn in different manners. Some can read a book and go implement effectively. Others may be able to take an online course and be ready. Like many others, I prefer to learn in the traditional college/university manner  in a live classrooms and interactively with the teachers and other students. How you learn and what is required for you to learn Six Sigma depends on many factors including your educational background, business proficiency, leadership skills, culture change skills, project management, team leadership, conflict negotiation, etc.
I reserve the right to add more pet peeves as I see fit. The views expressed in this column are entirely mine and not those of iSixSigma.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 03 Jun 2005 19:01:41 -0800</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: iSixSigma is Giving Away Six iPods, Part 2]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/isixsigma_is_giving_away_six_ipods_part_2.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The remaining three iPod Shuffles were given away to three deserving individuals wearing iSixSigma buttons today. We ordered over 500 buttons, and if I hadn't grabbed a pack of 20 from the box they all would have been given away. Thanks to Frank and Erin (our editors for the iSixSigma.com and iSixSigma Magazine, respectively) for planning an enormously successful promotion. Reprints of our first magazine issue's Black Belt return on investment were flying off the tables today.Enough of the summary, here are today's winners:From left to right:Bill Hathaway, President of MoreSteam.com | iPod Winner Jaye Omberg, Senior Manager of Performance Excellence for Lockheed Martin | Frank Ducceschi, Editor of iSixSigma.com From left to right:Erin Ducceschi, Editor of iSixSigma Magazine | iPod Winner Curtis Jensen, Director of Quality and Regulatory for Iomed | Paula Parmeter from Breakthrough Management GroupFrom left to right:Kathi Swagerty from Air Academy Associates | iPod Winner Venkat Pentela, Management Systems Coordinator for Gerdau Ameristeel | Michael Cyger, Publisher of iSixSigma]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 17 May 2005 19:39:57 -0800</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: iSixSigma is Giving Away Six iPods, Part 1]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/isixsigma_is_giving_away_six_ipods_part_1.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Air Academy Associates graciously shared their booth with iSixSigma Magazine at the ASQ World Quality Conference, May 16-18. A few customers and alliance partners also displayed iSixSigma Magazine reprints. Thank you to everyone!The process for winner selection was pretty simple: wear a button, win an iPod Shuffle (if we see you wearing your button at the designated times). Hundreds of people were wearing buttons around the conference, and three more are to be given away tomorrow. Check back tomorrow for the latest set of winners.For those of you not familiar with the iPod shuffle, just ask your kids to explain how they work.And the first three winners are...From left to right:Dr. Rick Murrow, President of Air Academy Associates | iPod Winner Kathryn Lopez, TriWest Healthcare Alliance | Erin Ducceschi, Editor of iSixSigma Magazine From left to right:Kim Bruce, Director of Marketing for George Group | Frank Ducceschi, Editor of iSixSigma.com | iPod Winner David Lamprecht, Masterfoods USAFrom left to right:Michael Cyger, Publisher of iSixSigma | iPod Winner Dr. Linda Long, University of Cincinnati | Jeff Ozarski, Six Sigma Coordinator for Minitab]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Mon, 16 May 2005 18:55:36 -0800</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: &quot;Why CEO's Can't Afford to Ignore Six Sigma&quot;]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/why_ceos_cant_afford_to_ignore_six_sigma.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[If you get Executive Decision magazine, check the recent issue (May/June 2005) on page 40 (article: "The Missing Link?: Why CEOs Cant Afford to Ignore Six Sigma").]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Buzz/Press]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 06 May 2005 10:22:12 -0800</pubDate>
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		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Payday for Employees and Companies]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/payday_for_employees_and_companies.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[It's clear that Six Sigma pays. This issue's Benchmarking feature (iSixSigma Magazine, May/June 2005) presents a positive picture of the average annual salaries of Six Sigma professionals around the world. Black Belt and Master Black Belt salaries increased 5.4 and 5.3 percent respectively since last year  climbing to $74,000 and $98,000. In the United States, the averages are $98,000 and $108,000. What is more impressive is that the highest salaries for these positions are up to double the averages.Numbers like those can, and do, encourage students, employees in other fields and those who already aspire to be quality professionals to give a Six Sigma career a closer look. This is good news not only for prospective employees, but perhaps surprisingly, for employers also.Anyone who has been involved in the rollout of a Six Sigma deployment understands the importance of anticipating and addressing organizational resistance. A typical strategy to reduce resistance in a business is to bring the employees with highest potential into Six Sigma roles. By choosing to assume the challenges of a Black Belt or Master Black Belt position, these individuals substantiate the importance of the initiative. Their choice encourages other employees to make similar choices in support of Six Sigma. Further, recruiting high-performing employees into the roles demonstrates management's commitment to the program.What does this have to do with Six Sigma salaries? Well, recruiting top employees, particularly into new and broader roles, means paying top salaries.Although Six Sigma is technically a quality program, Belts take on a wider array of responsibilities than professionals from the traditional quality field. Six Sigma Belts not only solve problems, they lead, coach, manage conflict, mentor, motivate and influence at all levels of the organization. They work in every function, from the finance department, to the sales force, to the shop floor, to the back office. And Six Sigma Belts tie their actions directly to the top and bottom lines of their organization's financial statements.The result is that companies are saving money and growing with Six Sigma. In a past issue of iSixSigma Magazine, we calculated the average hard financial benefit from a Six Sigma Black Belt project to be $188,000 ("BB Return on Investment," January/February 2005). This number does not take into account any "soft" savings, such as customer satisfaction improvements or risk mitigation.Assuming most Black Belts can accomplish three to five projects per year, a single Black Belt can conservatively return more than $500,000 to an average company. What CEO wouldn't be interested in a five-to-one return on investment?It is clear that Six Sigma is a payday not just for Black Belts and Master Black Belts, but also for the companies that employ them and the shareholders to whom those companies are accountable.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Management]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sun, 01 May 2005 07:00:00 -0800</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Give Them Their Own Forum]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/give_them_their_own_forum.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Thousands of people per year use the "Make a Suggestion" box found on every iSixSigma.com page. We love it because it provides a tremendous amount of new ideas for us to think about, prioritize and develop. Keep them coming.Every once in a while we'll receive a suggestion like, "There seem to be a large number of posts coming from people in XYZ geographic region. Why don't you give them their own discussion forum?"Rest assured that we track the discussion forum closely and have a policy to dedicate new discussion forums to topics as interest indicates. There are a few factors that come into play when we are reviewing an area for potential launch of a new forum: 1) there is enough interest (determined from posts and from server activity files from that region, 2) there are enough experts on the application of Six Sigma from that geographic region, and 3) we can tie content (new articles) to that discussion to help spawn creative thought and innovative application to that area.Please continue to make suggestions to us. We do appreciate them. But I will also ask that if newbie questions continue to arise from a certain geographic location, that we all be inclusive and help to educate rather than disregard due to poor English communication skills. You never know the friendships you'll build by lending a helping hand every once in a while. A good deed never goes unnoticed.]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Wed, 02 Mar 2005 08:35:43 -0800</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: The Cox-Box Cartoon and Blog]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/the_cox_box_cartoon_and_blog.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[The Cox-Box, Six Sigma Guy, and associated characters are the brainchild and creative outlet of Rookie Six Sigma Black Belt Gary Cox. Gary has combined his passion for drawing cartoons with his newly acquired Six Sigma experiences through the characters and tales in The Cox-Box. The situations, characters and bureaucracy are all hypothetical and any similarities to actual deployments or people are coincidental. You are encouraged and welcome to share you comments and Black Belt experiences with him.
A new, unpublished Cox-Box cartoon can be found in every issue of iSixSigma Magazine. Subscribe today for the most recent and colorized updates on Six Sigma Guys daily activities.
Welcome, Gary!
Read The Cox-Box]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[The Cox-Box]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 01 Mar 2005 10:00:00 -0800</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: What's This Blog-Thing About, Anyway?]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/whats_this_blog_thing_about_anyway.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[As my previous blog described, this is the location that I will be posting thoughts, rants and anything else that I have time to post. Everything you read here will be written by me, Michael Cyger, and it reflects my unique perspective of this Six Sigma community that I've helped build and foster since 2000.Who are you?I'm first and foremost a Six Sigma practitioner. I was at GE as a "regular" employee when Six Sigma was deployed by Jack. Like a Vin Diesel movie, it was fast and furious as Jack saw the tremendous benefits Six Sigma could achieve and he was in a hurry to extract as much waste as possible. I saw colleagues and good friends start their journey as black and master black belts. It was an exciting and frightenting time, all rolled into one. Change is always hard no matter what organization you're a part of.Why start iSixSigma.com?Having left GE to work on a deployment at Citigroup during the Internet boom, I quickly understood how difficult it was to implement Six Sigma outside a company like GE. Without the tools, templates, online wizards, and tens of experienced professionals to draw from, a Six Sigma program can often experience hurdles that were easier to jump at a company like GE. It quickly became my mission to help other companies implement Six Sigma faster, better and cheaper -- borrowing from Jack's catch phrase -- than they would otherwise be able to accomplish. Hence,  iSixSigma was born .If you're completely wrong, how can I let you know?Excellent question. The beauty about opinions is that everyone has one, or at least it's my opinion that they should. There's a comment button associated with each of my posts. Use it. Tell me where I'm on base; tell me where I'm off base. I appreciate a thoughtful and constructive comment or counter-point, and you're likely to get some good attention in my counter-counter-argument that goes here or in the  Magazine .]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 01 Mar 2005 07:04:05 -0800</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: When Jack Talks, People Listen]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/when_jack_talks_people_listen.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[At the recent IQPC Six Sigma Summit Six Sigma conference, the auditorium was packed to standing room only with executives and practitioners there to hear a question and answer session with Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric. Many delegates I spoke with said they registered for the conference just for the chance to hear Mr. Welch speak.Was the message that Jack brought worth all this fuss? In a word, yes.Showing that retirement from GE has only strengthened his belief in Six Sigmas potential, Jack stressed that the customer-focused methodology demands maximum dedication. He credits his own "maniacal" devotion for most of the Six Sigma success GE experienced on his watch.During the course of the morning session, Jack shared thoughts ranging from how Six Sigma will manifest itself at GE in the future to Six Sigma as a leadership development program to how to get employees off the proverbial fence. 

In describing GE today, led by current CEO Jeffrey Immelt, Jack said that the "new frontier" is not necessarily a new methodology that will replace Six Sigma, but a new way of operating business. "By 2007," he noted, "half of GEs players will have been Black Belts. Once you get to that level, its in the blood." 
On Six Sigma as a quality methodology, Jack said: gIts a leadership tool as much as a quality program...it develops better thinking. When its wasted on less than desirable people, its a waste. Youre missing something if youre not creating leaders." 
"Business is about winning, and winning is about fielding the best team," Jack said when he addressed a question about how to get "disbelievers" involved and supporting the program. It was clear that Jack thinks building the best team involves training the entire organization with a consistent problem solving methodology. 
When asked if it is possible to get all "employees off the fence" and into the Six Sigma game, Jack answered, "Sure you can. You need to show them whats in it for them. It could show up in job security for people in unions. Peoples first reaction to Six Sigma is that its a cost reduction program. No, its about improving our responsiveness to customers. Six Sigma is about being better at serving customers. If [our actions] dont show up in the customers faces, [we havent] done a lot for job security." 
When one delegate asked how much of GEs market capitalization was due in whole or in part to the Six Sigma program that Jack so vigorously promoted, his answer was candid and to the point: "Who knows? Operating margin went from 10 to 16 percent. We had massive improvements in op margin. I really didnt care and dont know."Jack Welch is one of the most recognizable and most lauded business figures in the world. His passion for Six Sigma and the business transformations he led are legend. For those of us in the quality profession, Jacks achievements at GE represent the best of what is possible. His natural business instincts combined with the wisdom gained from 20 years at the helm of one of the largest companies in the world make Mr. Welch a compelling proponent of Six Sigma.So when Jack speaks, we listen.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Leadership]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Tue, 01 Mar 2005 07:00:00 -0800</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Starting a Blog]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/starting_a_blog.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I've spoken to the iSixSigma editorial staff about creating a blog and received mixed reviews. On one hand, I would personally like to start a conversation with others that doesn't have to be proofed, edited, or polished before printing. My staff, on the other hand, is probably cringing at the idea of allowing unedited content (especially my content) to be published without review.The beauty of my personal blog is that when something crosses my desk that I particularly enjoy or dislike, I have an informal and instantaneous outlet to express my thoughts. Others then have the ability to support or constructively offer differing opinions. The difference between this medium and the  iSixSigma Forums  is that this space is moderated by me. Anyone can post their own comments to anything I write, but I do require them to be respectful and thoughtful.Welcome to the premiere post of the iSixSigma Blogosphere.]]></description>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Thu, 24 Feb 2005 21:39:02 -0800</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: Getting Straight on Goals - Six Sigma Certification and Results]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/getting_straight_on_goals_six_sigma_certification_and_results.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I have often noticed a disparity between the objectives of CXOs (C-level and top executives) and those of aspiring Six Sigma professionals. Look at your company's goals for 2005. CXOs almost always express them in terms of financial targets for revenue growth, expense reduction or net income enhancement.In contrast, ask any ambitious Six Sigma professional what their annual individual goals are, and you could hear an entirely different story: improve their business acumen, complete a personal development course or attain Black Belt certification.With the best intentions, a Black Belt might see his or her goals as being aligned with the company's. After all, being more effective in your role certainly contributes to the well-being of the organization. But just what is being more effective? Is it working longer hours? Or is it working smarter, instead of harder? Working smarter might require learning the use of new tools and methodologies. Perhaps that training course offered by an outside organization would be a good idea.A diligent Black Belt soon discovers that some learning institutions have implemented Six Sigma "certifications" to help measure the competencies of individuals they are training. Would it be better for the company if our Black Belt had an official validation of Six Sigma expertise  certification?It is easy to see how the aspiration of being more effective at work can be usurped by the easily quantified goal of obtaining certification. All too often on the iSixSigma discussion forums ( isixsigma.com/226 ), I see individuals far too focused on certification. While I believe certification has its place in the careers of Six Sigma professionals, what really matters for practitioners and the company are the business results.As you set individual goals for yourself for 2005, I challenge you to list specific measurable goals that tie directly to your company's big Ys  the overriding metrics that your CXOs talk about at every employee meeting.Apply the familiar Y=f(x) transfer function ( isixsigma.com/227 ) to your annual personal goal-setting. If your company's and CXOs' goals are to grow revenues by $Ya or reduce expenses by $Yb, then you should be listing the specific financial goals $Xa and $Xb of your Black Belt projects that  when delivered this year  will directly help your organization meet its goals.If certification is on the agenda this year, use it to determine how its requirements can benefit your business objectives, and how you can apply that training to impact your company's bottom line. Certification must be the means to an end, not the end itself.The achievement of Six Sigma certification can add to your professional status. But over the long-term, employers understand when judging the value of quality professionals, more is required than a stamp of approval. In the end, it is your record of achieving business results that will advance your career and fulfill your personal and professional goals.Happy New Opportunities, everyone! I wish you a rewarding 2005.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Leadership]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 01 Jan 2005 07:00:00 -0800</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: About Blogger: Michael Cyger]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/about_blogger_michael_cyger.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Michael Cyger is founder and past chairman of CTQ Media and iSixSigma.
Michael Cyger is an entrepreneur, businessman, speaker, and author who has spent his professional life turning passions into profitability. From 2000-2008, he reversed traditional publishing pathways by exploiting the burgeoning interest in Internet communities and his personal dedication to flawless business execution through Six Sigma. His start-up company, CTQ Media, began by launching iSixSigma.com, an online portal that now attracts more than 600,000 unique visitors each month. That site offers the largest online job portal focused on process improvement. The flagship, award-winning print publication, iSixSigma Magazine, reached more than 14,000 paid business professionals with each issue. Michael also launched iSixSigma Live!, the in-person events division of iSixSigma, producing and organizing events for hundreds of people and organizations, including the Department of Defense.
Before becoming a successful entrepreneur, Michael was employed by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, GE Power Systems, GE Capital Commercial Equipment Finance, GE Capital Corporate and Citigroup. He was trained in many of GEs leadership and management courses at the Crotonville Learning Center and is a graduate of the prestigious GE Edison Engineering Program. He also consulted for Internet high-flyer About.com.
In January 2008, Michael sold CTQ Media to Schofield Media Group, a London-based international media company backed by private equity firm Veronis Suhler Stevenson. He continues to consult, coach executives and helps staff some of the most dynamic organizations in the world. His background and ability to customize presentations with life stories, real-world business experience and research into relevant trends worldwide makes him an oft-requested speaker. He has been a regular columnist and contributor to both Executive Decision Magazine and iSixSigma Magazine, and is the founding publisher of both iSixSigma.com and iSixSigma Magazine.
Michael can be reached through Linkedin.com.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[Blogger Bios]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Sat, 01 Jan 2005 03:22:36 -0800</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Six Sigma Blogs: iSixSigma Blogosphere Help]]></title>
			<link>http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/isixsigma_blogosphere_help.html</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Welcome to iSixSigma Blogosphere Help, a collection of help documents for those posting to the Blogosphere. Search through our collection with Article Search (above) or just browse through the categories (to the left). If you cant find what you need here, post a comment to this Help section and well do what we can to get it answered as soon as possible.
You can also reach us by emailing blogs (at) isixsigma.com.]]></description>
			
			<author><![CDATA[Michael Cyger]]></author>
			
			<category>
			<![CDATA[General]]>
			</category>
			<pubDate>Fri, 31 Dec 2004 23:00:00 -0800</pubDate>
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	</channel>
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