Six Sigma the Fitness Trainer (#31)

Everyone is familiar with the infamous “quick fix” weight loss programs. The Military Diet, juice cleanses, magic pills, bow flex super deluxe cross trainer 12,000, etc. There are so many kinds of programs that offer a “quick fix” to lose weight; but these programs do not and will not keep the weight off. It may work for the time being, but a quick fix is not a long-term solution.

Why do we fall for these schemes? We have grown lazy. We want the solution without having to put forth any real effort.

We can associate “get fit quick” schemes to how an organization typically invests time and finances into their Process Improvement. We often joke that we are fitness trainers for an organization; but instead of focusing on a person’s health we focus on an organization’s process health.

A company that puts forth a real investment in Process Improvement will better the overall health of their company. If you have been successful in improving your health and maintaining that improvement, you know that a healthy lifestyle requires time, patience, and diligence.

So many companies I visit have good intentions to make real change in their process but are impatient to get real, lasting results. They feel like they need a “quick fix” and lose their focus and discipline. They lose their patience to create real Process Improvement and start looking in a different direction. I like to check in with these companies to see how their improvements are turning out. For most, the results of their “quick fix” Process Improvement methods are incredibly similar to those weight-loss contraptions. They’re shoved in the closet or used as a hanging rack until they end up in an “everything under $1” garage sale.

A quote by Albert Einstein says, “we cannot solve problems with the same thinking that got us into them.” Which means that you need to change our thought process when the one we are on doesn’t have the results we need. When we discuss Einstein’s quote in class I will ask them what the definition of insanity is. At least one student will answer “doing the same thing repeatedly but expecting different results.”

A friend of mine was overweight with bad health; on a lot of medications, a smoker, a frequent drinker, and had several bad lifestyle habits. She tried a lot of the “lose weight quick” gimmicks but to her dismay, none of them were successful. Why didn’t they work? Because she did not change her lifestyle. One day she had a heart attack that was brought on by those bad lifestyle choices, diet pills, and other medications. Though a terrifying experience, the heart attack slapped her awake to change her lifestyle. A year later, she’s lost over 50 pounds, takes no medications, and runs several miles every week.

In class we use the analogy of the House of Lean and Six Sigma. The structure of the house is critical, and a good structure is necessary to build something sustainable. The foundation is the most important part; with a weak foundation, the house will crumble.

A crumbling house is the result of a lot of organization’s Continuous Improvement Efforts. They want their house to be built quickly; thus, they use a “quick-fix” gimmick which leads to a weak foundation and eventually, a crumbling house.
How do we create a solid and sustainable foundation? Well, results may vary. Throughout my career, I have seen that the inputs which result in a structurally sound foundation are vary drastically across disciplines. We have seen deployments succeed and we have seen deployments fail. More often than not, these failures are because there is a discord in the understanding of the target goal by everyone within the scope.

I also like to mention “the stomach” as a key input. This relates to the team’s drive. It’s great to have plan of action, but to make measurable results, the project needs a team with discipline and drive to make their deployment a success. A lot of organizations will lose their “stomach” when they come across their first hardship or administrative rebuff.  

Making a lasting change in your health requires hard work, determination, perseverance, and discipline; along with a great system of support. Your company needs the same thing.



About Six Sigma Development Solutions, Inc.
We are Certified as an Accredited Training Organization with the International Association of Six Sigma Certification (IASSC)
“The IASSC Accredited Training Organization (ATO) designation validates Six Sigma Development Solutions, Inc. has demonstrated adequate management systems, courseware with a high degree of correlation to the subject matter contained in the IASSC Bodies of Knowledge, delivery schema consistent with such content and highly qualified instructors.”
We Provide Public Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification Training Courses in 34 Cities across the globe.
Our Training Centers are located in: Albuquerque, New Mexico | Anchorage, Alaska | Atlanta, Georgia | Austin, Texas | Boston, Massachusetts | Calgary, Canada | Charlotte, North Carolina | Chicago, Illinois | Cincinnati, Ohio | Cleveland, Ohio | Columbus, Ohio | Dallas, Texas | Denver, Colorado | Detroit, Michigan | Dubai, UAE | El Paso, Texas | Fort Smith, Arkansas | Honolulu, Hawaii | Houston, Texas | Indianapolis, Indiana | Jacksonville, Florida | Kansas City, Missouri | Las Vegas, Nevada | London, England | Los Angeles, California | Louisville, Kentucky | Memphis, Tennessee | Mexico City, Mexico | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Montreal, Canada | Nashville, Tennessee | New Orleans, Louisiana | New York City, New York | Northwest Arkansas | Orlando, Florida | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Phoenix, Arizona | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Portland, Oregon | Raleigh, North Carolina | Salt Lake City, Utah | San Diego, California | Seattle, Washington | St. Louis, Missouri | Tampa, Florida | Toronto, Canada | Vancouver, Canada | Washington, DC

We Provide Onsite Lean Six Sigma Certification Training. Some of the training's we provide are: Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt, Lean Six Sigma Champions Training and Lean Certifications for Healthcare, Finance, I.T, Manufacturing, Processing, Logistics, Retail Sales and Government.
SSDSI will come to your site to train for your choice of the Lean Six Sigma Certification Levels. Onsite training is more cost effective than open enrollment training when training larger groups of team members.
Benefits of Onsite Training:
The Training is focused on Your Opportunities
SSDSI uses your opportunities in class (vs. generic examples)
You will get the experience of a seasoned Lean and Six Sigma Master Black Belt who will help mentor you while completing your Lean and Six Sigma Project
You can train up to 20 employees for one fixed cost (this cost includes course ware and the instructors travel & lodging)
Our courses are full of games, simulations, and active learning to help the adult learner
SSDSI can customize the training to meet your company’s particular training needs
Call Kevin Clay at 214-731-3176 or email at kclay@sixsigmadsi.com for more information

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