The Six Sigma Revolution: How General Electric and Others Turned Process Into Profits

by George Eckes

Applying this revolutionary management strategy to drive positive change in an organization
Currently exploding onto the American business scene, the Six Sigma methodology fuels improved effectiveness and efficiency in an organization; according to General Electric's Jack Welch, it's the "most important initiative [they] have ever undertaken." Written by the consultant to GE Capital who helped implement Six Sigma at GE and GE's General Manager of e-Commerce, Making Six Sigma Last offers businesses the tools they need to make Six Sigma work for them--and cultivate long-lasting, positive results. Successful Six Sigma occurs when the technical and cultural components of change balance in an organization; this timely, comprehensive book is devoted to the cultural component of implementing Six Sigma, explaining how to manage it to maintain that balance. The authors address how to create the need for Six Sigma; diagnose the four types of resistance to Six Sigma and how to overcome them; manage the systems and structures; and lead a Six Sigma initiative. This book applies the Six Sigma approach to business operations across the organization--unlike other titles that focus on product development. Plus, it provides strategies, tactics, and tools to improve profitability by centering on the relationship between product defects and product yields, reliability, costs, cycle time, and schedule.
George Eckes (Superior, CO) is the founder and principal consultant for Eckes & Associates. His clients include GE Capital, Pfizer, Westin, Honeywell, and Volvo. Eckes has published numerous papers on the topic of performance improvement and is the author of The Six Sigma How General Electric and Others Turned Process into Profits (0-471-38822-X) (Wiley).

Genres: Reference, Business

288 pages, Hardcover

First published November 10, 2000

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Six Sigma is a popular methodology that drives improved process management and measurement, and the initiative is used in many well known companies, including the one where I am employed. In my experience, this book was used as a companion to live training workshops, which enhanced its effectiveness. The book approaches the subject in depth, so I would recommend a prior knowledge of the basics, before tackling it. The subject matter is dry, though Eckes does his best job of presenting it in an interesting way. He dives into the processes, providing real-life examples, worksheets, formulas, and tools, intended to assist companies with implementation. Sometimes it felt like I was reading a statistics textbook, and I felt myself losing interest, but overall, it was an informative and worthwhile read.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want to learn about Six Sigma, then this is the book for you. Six Sigma is a problem solving and management technique. It uses a lot of statistics, and allows me to endulge my love of math.

I've given away six copies of this book so far.

[Todd Coburn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useful book.