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1. Dear xxx,
You received this newsletter because we are Linked-In contacts.
I hope you appreciate the contents.
Each month I am sending a short editorial, accompanied with some articles or links
that may be of interest.
TED talk: Leadership, engagement:
http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_why_good_leaders_make_you_feel_safe
TED talk: Avoid complexity, strengthen integrating forces:
http://www.ted.com/talks/yves_morieux_as_work_gets_more_complex_6_rules_to_si
mplify
Quality Progress articles:
Catching Fire and Plan of Attack (attached)
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Newsletter Dutch Six Sigma June 2014 Process Excellence Programs
There are two ways in running an Excellence Program
The traditional way starts from a thorough analysis of the actual situation and needs. Based
upon the analysis, a program organization is built with targets, capacity, management
reporting etcetera.
The program will set off successfully because the program is tailor made to match the actual
challenges.
After one or two years some symptoms may develop, like:
 Local initiatives pop up, because major new problems require an approach that the
actual PEX program does not support.
 Not getting volunteers for training. The success of the program itself may wear out
after the first pioneering curiosity. Getting the second wave energized is not
successful?
Shine and expectations of the program will reduce to “realistic” and the initial inspiration
slowly diminishes.

2. The dynamic way assumes that often the major barrier is clear Just start working on it with
full energy, and never lose time on the bottleneck. At the same time, continuously try to
identify the future bottlenecks.
Since each bottleneck may be different, we need a small, energized and above all multi-
skilled team. Depending on the need you will mobilize existing capacity and change the
program fast. As soon as an activity is part of daily work, the program team does not need to
keep supporting it.
Managers may ask for a quarterly progress report in a fixed format? Too bad, a fixed format
will be the beginning of stabilizing and thus extinction of the program.
Many small problems, organized by local improvements and maybe Lean practitioner
training.
Few vital problems may require a team of greenbelts or persistent problem solvers, focusing
on breakthrough impact.
Fundamental business problems that cannot be split into smaller chunks. Business process
reengineering issues like the removal of a layer in service, or fundamental lean issues like
change from push to pull supply chain.
Avoidable costs are often underestimated. The operational organization is expected to deal
with them. However in many cases the cost reduction drive also reduces margins of
operational activity, maintaining these margins by enforcing basic controls is often started too
late.
In the dynamic approach, a continuous vigilance for new issues is a primary role for the
process excellence team.
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