F.s.o.w. Consulting What Is Six Sigma?

By Author: Sandy Gallagher
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Many people have heard of Six Sigma but they may be unsure what it means. It is basically a strategy used in business management which was originally thought up by the company Motorola. It has since gone beyond that company and is now used in many other situations in the business world.

Put simply, Six Sigma is focused on quality improvement. Many different businesses - far removed from what Motorola does on a daily basis - use this method to help them strengthen and streamline their day to day running. Quality is vital to any business and the idea is that Six Sigma methods enable the business in question to improve and enhance its quality levels to achieve the highest possible results.

The first step of the model concerns understanding. How many of us truly understand the nature of our businesses and our customers? And yet by understanding them we can change certain elements of our businesses so they are in line with that understanding.

Let's look at an example to see how this method works. Let's suppose we provide computer parts to our customers. We provide what we think they need. But by thinking ...
... about our customers and exploring what they need, we discover that they actually need very different things. So we change our offerings to ensure we are giving them what they want. And in doing so, we achieve more sales.

Of course this is by nature a very simplified example. In Six Sigma we would be encouraged to analyze all the data our business provided to see whether we were offering the right products to our customers. And in doing so we might also discover that we can enhance our business offering still further, and achieve better results in a shorter period of time.

Many people find Six Sigma confusing to begin with. But the more you learn about how it works and the benefits it can bring to your business the more you will realize how powerful it can be. It was originally used at Motorola in terms of defect reduction and indeed many businesses still use it in this way. But it has gone beyond simply providing a way to minimize defects. Now it is a way of developing a business into the best it can possibly be.

You are probably wondering whether Six Sigma could work in your business. The answer is yes, if it is used properly and applied in the correct way. The more you learn about how you can refine your business and enhance it by understanding your customers and providing what they want, the better the results will be.

The Six Sigma method of running a business puts the onus on limiting the number of defects your business has. By limiting those and focusing on how to improve the day to day running and operations of your business, you will be able to take your business to the next level. If you are skeptical about how this methodology works, just give it a try. There is a reason why many big businesses rely on Six Sigma.

F.S.O.W. Consulting Helping Businesses Profit, SEO, Entrepreneurial Consultants Helping Small Business Succeed, Medium Business Rapidly Adapt to Change, Fortune 100 Companies Profit with Six Sigma Consulting.