Page 48 - Lean six sigma demystified

Chapter 1 What iS Lean Six Sigm a ? 27

when something abnormal happens to your process. There are rules built
into the QI Macros software that will alert you to each potentially unstable
condition so that you can take action.
Step 2. Monitor and sustain the improvement. In the beginning, be patient and
open to learning about how these charts will reveal the inner mysteries of
how your business works. As they alert you to changes, take action to restore
the new, higher level of performance.

Go to www.qimacros.com/demystified.html to download the QI Macros
Lean Six Sigma SPC software for Excel that makes drawing these charts
effortless.

Honor

In every work, a reward added, makes the pleasure twice as great.
—Euripides

Most businesses are constantly improving, but sometimes we forget to take
time to honor our progress. There will always be more to learn and more to do.
If you only focus on what you don’t yet know, what you haven’t yet done, you’ll
eventually burn out. So it makes sense, periodically, to look back over the last
week, month, and year.

• What worked? What have you learned?
• What have you accomplished?

• How have you grown?
• What’s next?

Life is often lived in fits and starts, moving ahead and falling back, but in
general, with the right set of starting beliefs and values, the quality of life
improves. Where were you 5 or 10 years ago? What has improved? What have
you let go of that you no longer need? Without rewards, anyone will eventually
give up their quest for improvement. And since the outside world is busy and
sometimes thoughtless, you’ll usually need to figure out how to reward and
recognize the improvement teams and process.
Develop a system of rewards and recognition. Once your mind connects
pleasure with improvement, you’ll be surprised by the quality and quantity of
ideas you’ll find to achieve and experience more pleasure in life.