Ceptara

When kicking off a cross organizational event such as a Kaizen event, Six Sigma initiative, QI Story, or other improvement program certain challenges are inherent. People can have competing agendas, team members have various degrees of capabilities and skills, and everyone has their own way of doing things. Since none of the members of the team 'work' for the program owner, relying on an organizational hierarchy is out of the question.

Summary

• Five lessons learned: use 360 reviews, goals apply to your whole life, connect daily tasks to your goals, think win/win doesn't apply to every interaction, block time to sharpen the saw.
• Engineers (technical types) have a difficult time with the soft skills, i.e. there are soft skills?
• Self reflection and growth only comes when you're ready to hear it.  Just like many programs, you can't work on something until you admit that it's an issue.
• A personal mission statement is the foundation upon which all decisions and actions are based.

On several occasions, we've had the chance to present how to use six sigma to individuals whose role included managing a company's supply line.  Included in the Supply Line Management processes are; supply strategy management, qualification, selection, purchasing (transactional processing), performance monitoring, supplier auditing & review, and supplier recognition.  The attached resource provides an overview of each process, the six sigma tools that can help to perform the process more efficiently and effectively, and case studies that provide examples of how the six sigma tools were used.

This template is by far the best one we've found to help new businesses make sure they are following a plan while designing and building their business.

The main topics include:

Summary

• Focusing solely on your customer can stifle growth and innovation
• Leading your customer is possible through a consultative relationship which can help find mutually beneficial ways of increasing profit margin
• Creating a new market for your products or harnessing a new technology can take a completely different business model that the one that made you successful in the first place

As a small business owner, defining and implementing a marketing plan can be a daunting task, especially when it comes to creating and managing a website.  This PowerPoint presentation offers some guidance and ideas to help the small business owner articulate the web channel's goals, and select an appropriate platform and implementation strategy in fulfilling those goals.

A full write up of a session where this deck was used can by found here.

SUMMARY

• Small business owners should understand each of their marketing channels and have specific goals for each channel
• They should articulate their web channel needs before creating a design and selecting a technology platform
• The best sites are first designed in the small business owners mind before a technology platform is selected and implemented
• Small static sites work just as well as complex and dynamic Content Management Systems depending on the goals for the web channel

There are a huge number of tools used to improve processes and quality.  Having worked in or with the military, nuclear, manufacturing, aviation, service, and medical industries, I have seen many different approaches and views on what is needed. In this article I am introducing what might be considered a thumbnail of the different approaches.

The presentation is a case study of how a typical manufacturing quality tool (Kaizen) has been applied to work in a software development company (Infospace).

Ceptara will be participating in the Global Six Sigma and Business Improvement Awards in Orlando, FL starting on October 14th, 2009.  Nominations are being collected until June 5th, 2009.  Visit www.tgssa.com and complete the Awards Entry for the opportunity to win recognition for your organizational excellence