by Steve Ouellette

What purpose, if any, does Six Sigma serve in economic downturns? Full disclosure: I teach and consult in Six Sigma and related areas, and you’re reading this article because you’re interested in Six Sigma, so we may not be the most objective people to assess this, but in this article, I will do my best to find the truth.

I remember when I was working as an engineer for a company that made aluminum for aerospace and commercial applications. One of the apparently inevitable downturns in aerospace was occurring and the company was looking to cut costs, critically eyeing headcounts. At the same time, there was a consulting team training and implementing the technology that would one day be called Six Sigma.

Of course the talk around the table in the lab revolved around the uncertainty of the times, and sooner or later someone would begin to complain that the company was spending enough money on consultants each year to avoid laying off four full-time employees. I was torn in what I thought. On the one hand I was a recent hire, and thus first in line for the chopping block, but on the other, I also knew that the benefits the company and employees were accruing from what the consultants had to teach us was enormous.

Well, I survived that round and the ones after it (once due to the generous sacrifice of a coworker on sabbatical who requested to be laid off rather than one of the active engineers). It really wasn’t until I began consulting that I could form a more data-based opinion.

Let me start out by saying that, except in rare circumstances, my experience is that headcount reduction ends up costing a company far more in the long term than it saves them in the short term (and analyses by researchers Kim Cameron and Wayne Cascio seem to confirm my observations). Headcount reduction should be the last recourse for a company, not the first. In fact, for many companies, employee costs are pretty minimal compared to other costs. This is even worse when companies use the faux-fair “across the board” layoffs mantra. When looking across the company, does anyone really think that all departments contribute equally to profit? If not, then why should layoffs be evenly distributed?

No, across-the-board layoffs in the interest of fairness isn’t fair, it’s only a symbol of management taking an easy out when what’s called for is a more difficult assessment of where profit is generated or supported, and where it isn’t. Remarkably, managers make layoff decisions without this type of information. And, by the way, decisions about layoffs are generally made by the people who made the decisions that are now leading to layoffs.

Managers outside of Dilbert aren’t evil people and I know layoff decisions can be personally devastating for those who have to make them. But doing an across-the-board layoff in the absence of data on each department’s contribution of profit, strikes me as a pretty random way to try to save a company.

I often wonder what businesses would be like if we could place the past, present, and future value of our employees on the balance sheet. As it is, when managers make cuts it looks like a net positive, when we all know that there’s a real cost that isn’t accounted for in the numbers. Armed with this data wouldn’t we be even more loath to fire our coworkers?

Layoffs are a prime indicator of poor strategic planning and policy deployment. (Read my article on policy deployment for more on that.) Not so much that the strategic plan should have accounted for an unexpected economic downturn, but that if you have done a good job of deploying your resources to achieve a strategic plan, you know what layoffs will cost you in your long-term competitiveness. Because everyone is working on something related to achieving your plan for business success, anyone you lay off means that portion of the plan won’t be completed, thus throwing into doubt your business’ ability to succeed.

I won’t deny that layoffs may be needed when companies have a real misalignment between how they are staffed and their strategic vision. But this is a conscious decision made regardless of economic crises, not because of them.

When confronted with a difficult situation, I like to question the premise behind it. So, is it possible that your people, rather than threaten it, can actually enhance your company’s viability?

Consider what the common reaction is to bad economic times. “We have to circle the wagons, cut out the fat, stop the bleeding…” All of these bad metaphors point to retrenchment, and frequently the issues that are left behind are related to understanding and improving the process. What if all your competitors were digging in while your business plowed forward? (Yikes, another bad metaphor!) Where would that leave your company when the economy turned around again? Perhaps companies should consider difficult economic times as a challenge with opportunities for process improvement, as opposed to a challenge to shrink your way to success?

The benefits of working on improving your business process are clear. Understanding and improving your processes leads to lower costs through reduction of inspection, scrap, rework, waste, and errors. This is the area where lean and Six Sigma are designed to function. Improving your meta-processes, such as strategic planning and policy deployment, product or process design, capital provision and validation, and continuous improvement, lead to even greater savings through cost avoidance. These are areas where define, measure, analyze, improve, control (DMAIC) is less helpful, but other technologies, such as business performance excellence, design for Six Sigma, statistical start-up, and daily management exist to show the way.

When times are hard, forward-looking companies should take those people who might otherwise be laid off and invest their time and expertise in understanding and improving the business, so that when times turn around the business is positioned to take advantage of the better business climate. If times stay bad for a while, at least the business is becoming more efficient so as to minimize the effect on its workforce.

When I talk to people about all these improvement activities in good times, they say something like, “Where am I going to get all the manpower to learn how to do business right? I barely have enough to do business as messed up as we do!” Well, maybe this is an opportunity to take those well-trained, experienced, and hard-working “most important resources” and continue to have the business benefit from them, instead of turning them away into the labor pool of our competitors.

And keep them on not just to do Six Sigma. The limitation of Six Sigma, a problem-solving technique that uses advanced statistics, is that it is, by its nature, limited to a relatively small cadre of Black Belts—maybe 5 percent of a company. And (dirty secret here) it should be limited to a few, because you don’t want a large proportion of your workforce fixing problems, you want them avoiding problems and running the processes that make you money. However, Six Sigma gives the impression that improvement is concentrated only in the anointed few. What do the other 95 percent work on? If we also include the other areas that can be improved that I listed above, then understanding and improving the business, reducing and avoiding costs, saving the business becomes goals to which everyone can contribute.

So I guess I want you to have your cake and eat it too, while your competitors eat ashes. Don’t lay off people that you could be using to save your company more money than they get in salary and benefits. If you can, when the economy turns around you will be ready to aggressively expand in your market, while your timid competitors are still trying to figure out how to uncircle their wagons with half the people they used to circle them.

Take a background in engineering and higher education, combine with expertise in ethical decision making, statistical design and analysis, survey design, process management, strategic planning, policy deployment, and business performance excellence, add a touch of humor and irreverence…the result? Steve Ouellette, the Six Sigma Heretic™, who helps facilitate fundamental change within organizations to help them greatly improve their profitability.

by D.J. Vanas

Before Europeans arrived on the shores of North America, our Native peoples had a vibrant, robust economy not based on a currency or coin of the realm – but on trade and barter. Buffalo robes were traded for pipestone, pipestone for turquoise and turquoise for corn. It was one great stock exchange with piecemeal trade routes running from Alaska down through South America. These were all seen as good trades.

Remember the scene in Dances with Wolves where Kevin Costner traded his hat for a knife, albeit unwillingly. What did the Indian guy say once the exchange was made? You got it – good trade.

In a very real sense, our entire lives work this way, constantly making decisions to give up something of value in return for something else. Unlike our ancestors, we don’t walk or canoe the fruits of our collecting or hunting to exchange for value in return. Rather, we give up our time and energy to gain success in business, we sacrifice hang out time with friends for academic achievement, or give up high-calorie foods to gain a lighter body weight.

Unfortunately, the reverse of this is true as well. Sometimes we settle for bad trades. We surrender opportunities to move forward in exchange for endless hours in front of the TV (or on Facebook) or joining the “water cooler team” at work and spending time gossiping or complaining.

What could a person get in exchange for sacrificing just 30 minutes a day in front of TV? (that adds up to three and a half hours a week) Perhaps they could spend more time with family, go back to school, pursue a hobby, work on financial investments, get more sleep, read, take a walk, meditate, etc. All of these seem like good trades. What could you get?

The really big achievements require really big sacrifices – but at the end of the day, these are the ones that become landscape-shapers on our journey. For instance, I’ve never met a single person who thought the money, time and sacrifice to get a college degree weren’t worth it. And again, on the other hand, frivolous uses of time will reap frivolous results. Life is a great exchange that is open 24 hours a day for our entire existence and is always returning to us in results what we put forward in time, effort, choices and actions.

A critical key to success is the awareness of this dynamic and the ability to be disciplined enough to make decisions at will so you indeed receive a good trade.

A motivated entrepreneur, author, and professional speaker, D.J. Vanas started Native Discovery Inc. in May of 1999 to “build the warriors to tomorrow…today.” D.J. uses traditional warrior concepts and colorful wisdom found in Native American culture to inspire others to achieve their best in life, school, and career. For the past decade, D.J. has used his dynamic programs to build warriors in 49 states and internationally to over 3,000 audiences at organizations such as IBM, NASA and hundreds of tribal communities, governments and schools.

by Don Cooper, The Sales Heretic™

Great presentation skills are a powerful asset for a salesperson. Lousy presentation skills are a serious liability. Even if you have the best product, service, delivery, warranty and price, a poor sales presentation can shatter your prospect’s confidence in your company, causing them to run in the other direction.

If your presentation skills suck—or aren’t as stellar as you’d like them to be—use some of these strategies to get them up to snuff.

1. Study others
Watch and listen carefully to people who are great presenters. Pay close attention to what they do and how they do it. Notice also what they don’t do. Take detailed notes whenever possible. And if appropriate, ask them for advice.

2. Read books
There are hundreds of books on presentation skills. Browse your favorite book store or Amazon.com. Cash flow a little tight at the moment? Hit your local library.

3. Invest in audio or video programs
Audio training programs allow you to learn while you drive, bike or roller blade. They also enable you to hear examples of good presentation techniques. Video programs go a step further and show you examples of effective presentation visuals.

4. Practice
No amount of reading, listening or watching will make you a better presenter unless you practice. To be a better speaker, you need to speak. As much as possible, as often as possible. Build practice time into your schedule.

5. Get peer feedback
It helps to practice in front of a live audience. Especially if that audience contains other experienced presenters. Ask your colleagues, bosses and anybody else who has a stake in your sales success to listen to you and critique you.

6. Videotape yourself
Get feedback from your toughest critic: yourself. Record yourself and watch the video. You’ll be amazed, impressed and horrified by what you see.

7. Join Toastmasters
If you’re not familiar with Toastmasters International, it’s a non-profit organization with thousands of clubs around the world. You can develop your presentation skills at your own pace, in a supportive environment. For more details and to find a club near you, visit www.toastmasters.org.

8. Hire a coach
A presentation skills coach is a significant investment, but it can produce massive dividends quickly. A coach can identify your biggest problem areas and help you correct them fast. Because of the immediate impact coaching can make on your sales, your company may pay the tab. If not, your investment is still tax-deductible. And well worth it.

I’ve seen enough sales presentations to know that many—if not most—salespeople don’t do them well. Which means sharpening your skills can give you a huge edge over your competitors. Don’t risk another sales with a sub-par presentation. Boost your skills and you’ll boost your sales.

By combining his sales expertise and performance skills with intensive research, Don Cooper delivers programs that are industry and even company specific. So audience members get unique insights and practical, relevant tools they can use immediately to increase their sales—which is why Don is typically the highest-rated speaker at conferences and why his corporate clients bring him back again and again.

by Ashley Andrus

“Mighty oaks from little acorns grow.”
14th Century Proverb, Oxford Dictionary of Quotations

The Society for HR Management recently reported that expected hiring levels for May 2010 “could reach levels not seen since 2007″ and that this “spring fling” has led to increased difficulty in hiring qualified candidates.

In conjunction with the increased hiring many organizations will be implementing in coming months, we can also expect many current employees will take the opportunity to job hunt actively as the economy continues to improve and new opportunities open up.

And in the May 2010 Fast Company Magazine, Chip & Dan Heath argue that, “When you own the talent factory, you’ve created a permanent competitive advantage.”

Given these realities, now is a good time to examine the ways in which training and development directly impact YOUR organization’s employment life cycle and some high-return actions you can take to ensure you are positioned to take advantage of improving conditions.

The Employment Life Cycle Seasons

SPRING: Hiring & On-Boarding
At the beginning of the employment life cycle, training & development plays a crucial role in both identifying appropriate candidates and bringing them into the organization effectively. On the hiring front, you can help your supervisors and managers incorporate behavioral interviewing to ensure consistency, take the guesswork out of hiring, and increase your ROI by ensuring a better fit between your organization and new employees.

On the on-boarding side, there are a variety of tools you can use to get new employees up to speed quickly. In addition to the standard instructor-led orientation sessions, savvy organizations are also incorporating technology-based self-paced modules, peer mentoring programs, a flexible orientation curriculum that allows new hires to opt out of subjects in which they can demonstrate mastery, and similar innovations.

SUMMER: Needs Assessment & Skills Development
Ongoing skills development is the traditional province of training & development programs and remains a critical component to your organization’s success. Employees need product- and job-specific knowledge to perform their individual roles effectively; they also need to be able to function effectively as team members to improve organizational performance. Smart organizations conduct regular needs assessments to ensure they are providing development opportunities that meet the needs of both individuals and various teams/departments.

Summer is also an excellent time to identify the tangible skills and intangible knowledge each employee will need to succeed and advance within your organization—do your employees know what they need to know to be promoted? Do you?

FALL: Performance Management/Giving Feedback
Once you’ve identified the skills and knowledge your employees need to grow, the next step is to provide continuous, effective feedback. The Wall Street Journal recently shared a tongue-in-cheek quiz confirming that, “Yes, Everyone Really Does Hate Performance Reviews.” Since it’s unlikely that most organizations will banish annual reviews, at a minimum you must ensure that your organization’s review process is effective, efficient, and as painless as possible.

Even more important, however, is making certain that your employees know how to give constructive feedback on an ongoing basis. Supervisors and managers are of course your front line reinforcement team and need to know how to coach and mentor effectively; you can also implement peer feedback and mentoring as well.

WINTER: Succession Planning
Now that you’ve brought your new employee on-board, identified what skills s/he needs to succeed, and implemented a cycle of continuous feedback, the next stage is to ensure your organization’s succession planning process supports the ongoing cycle and the return to spring. Quick: can your managers identify their “A” players by name? Can they tell you exactly what their “B” players need to make the A-team? Have they identified their direct reports who would be appropriate for reassignment to another role or to be let go?

Effective succession planning doesn’t need to be complicated or involve giant spreadsheets and 100-page reports. It does require ongoing assessment of your employees and that continuous feedback discussed in the fall. It requires an understanding of where your organization is going and how each individual team/department will contribute to that destination. And it requires your leadership team to know their role in the process.

Ensuring you have the appropriate training opportunities at each stage will position your organization to hire rock-solid performers, retain key talent, develop your employees, function more effectively, and help all of your acorns grow into mighty oaks!

Ashley Andrus is President of Zoe Training & Consulting. Her passion is making HR folks and meeting planners look like *rock stars* by providing one-stop access to 90+ speakers, trainers, facilitators, coaches, and consultants.

by Ashley Andrus

If Starbucks had a Most Valued Customer club I would have it made in the shade.  Those 600 locations they are closing?  Not my fault. Between my 6am get-‘er-done dose, various meetings, and insane afternoons that scream “get me a mocha STAT!” I estimate that I make an average of 2.3 daily visits to some Starbucks somewhere.

This has been my routine for the last 3.5 years. In that period I calculate I’ve consumed somewhere in the neighborhood of 35,259 ounces* of coffee.

That’s 275 gallons of coffee.

1100 quarts.

Heck, if coffee came in beer kegs, I would have consumed almost 18 of them. By myself.

And I did it all one “tall” serving at a time.

The point? The little things add up. In the same way continuous small doses of material goods accumulate, the same goes for people development. Training—effective training, that is—is not a one-time “hit and run” thing.

This isn’t a newsflash, or at least it shouldn’t be.  When you show up for the first day of Little League practice, you aren’t playing at the Major League level.  You probably can’t even stop that slow rolling grounder from getting through your legs.  When you sit down at a piano for the first time, you don’t play like Liberace. You can’t even manage chopsticks. Building skills takes practice. We know this. So why don’t we more often apply it at work?

Effective people development programs aren’t merely about workshops, webinars, and e-learning courses. Those are necessary, but not sufficient.  True continuous skills development requires ongoing opportunities to learn.

There are a wide range of effective ways organizations can offer bite-sized pieces of information to complement formal content delivery:

• As Gina Schreck of Synapse 3Di explains, “when utilized properly, entertaining podcasts, informative videos, internal discussion boards, social media tools, employee business book clubs and relevant and timely articles can give your brain a Triple Venti Espresso of energy with new ideas and action items to implement.”
• Todd Hudson of the Maverick Institute says “Training needs to learn from manufacturing and ‘Go Lean’. Let people pull the information they need exactly when they need it.”  Whether it’s using face-to-face methods like peer mentoring or digital ones like wikis, organizations are retooling to eliminate waste and make every training dollar deliver measurable business results.
• Tara Powers of Powers Developmental Resources describes the efficacy of true blended learning solutions.  “Instead of stand-alone workshops, employees might participate in a pre-program survey, an e-learning module or online assessment and an instructor-led component, followed by facilitated action planning and regular accountability checkpoints to one’s manager.”

I’m sure there are some people out there who disagree. These are the same people who say “taking the stairs at work won’t make you healthier or lose weight. The only way to make a difference is to commit whole hog and start training for a marathon.” Well, marathon training works for some folks. But for a lot of people, that’s an overwhelming goal. And not everyone has either the time or the inclination to run multiple miles per day, week in, week out.

But a sprint isn’t the answer, either. Remember the fable of the tortoise and the hare?  Slow and steady wins the race. You can’t drink 275 gallons of coffee in one sitting.  And you wouldn’t want to even if you could. It’s better to savor the journey—12 ounces at a time.

* 12 oz/visit x 2.3 visits/day x 365 days/year x 3.5 years

Ashley Andrus is President of Zoe Training & Consulting. Besides coffee, her passion is making HR folks and meeting planners look like *rock stars* by providing one-stop access to 90+ speakers, trainers, facilitators, coaches, and consultants.