The essence of Six Sigma

If one would ask about the essence of Six Sigma, it would be not to jump to conclusions but observe the process first and listen to the data.

Is the process really broken? Is this a real problem? Should we do something about this? Or are we just facing natural process variation?

Wherever we see numbers change, our Western filosofy leads to action and reaction. Stock price down, we buy more or sell the stock. Increase of the unemployment number, we get worried about a looming recession. Less Profit. Down goes our bonus or we re-organize the department.

Six Sigma teaches that instead of over-reacting, we should first ask 5 times Why? Do we really face a problem? Do we understand the root cause? And more important, can we fix the problem?

Six Sigma theory shows that only predictable processes can be improved. You can only fix what already works. And something that works is predictable and understood.

Where there is no standard, there can be no improvement.