Six Sigma Professor

Review by William McPeck for What is Lean Six Sigma
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According to the back cover, this book is “a quick introduction to using Lean Six Sigma.” Since you are looking at an introductory book, you are probably not familiar with Lean Six Sigma. The back cover again states, “Lean Six Sigma combines the two most important improvement trends of our time: making work better (using Six Sigma) and making work faster (using Lean Principles).” I believe this book accomplishes its stated goal. It’s 92 pages of quick reading introduce the reader to the Lean Six Sigma improvement process through definitions, explanations and examples.

The book is divided into two parts: Foundations of Lean Six Sigma and Implementing Lean Six Sigma. The foundation section covers the four keys to Lean Six Sigma and the five laws of Lean Six Sigma. The implementation section covers how to get started, introduces the reader to tools in the Lean Six Sigma toolkit, gives a public sector example of where Lean Six Sigma was used to make improvements and what management needs to do to support a successful Lean Six Sigma effort.

A reference book on Lean Six Sigma this book is not. If you are already familiar with Lean Six Sigma, then look elsewhere for more information. If you would like an introduction to Lean Six Sigma that is both understandable and easy to read, I highly recommend this book. Having read the book, I now feel better prepared to read additional Lean Six Sigma books that will take my knowledge and understanding to greater depths.

Review by for What is Lean Six Sigma
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The authors did a great job on the book. I read it on an airplane earlier this week and really enjoyed it. It is very well written – very understandable at a novice level and insightful at the “supposed expert” level. I think it is
a “must read” for everyone in an organization deploying Lean Six Sigma or anybody interested in improving the economic value of their business.

Review by Rolf Dobelli for What is Lean Six Sigma
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Six Sigma books often couch their wisdom in acronyms or jargon, or they offer vague, unfulfilling anecdotal narratives. This book is different. As trim, focused and efficient as if a Six Sigma team had designed it, it gets the job done. Its mission is simple: explain the basic structure of Lean Six Sigma initiatives to readers who are likely to become involved in one. While select case studies are judiciously sprinkled throughout, this is a meat-and-potatoes book that tells you what you need to know in clear, straightforward prose. Although the authors – Mike George, Dave Rowlands and Bill Kastle – humbly issue the caveat that this is not intended to be a comprehensive reference, its terse yet relevant style will probably make it one of those dog-eared volumes that barely gets back to the HR bookshelf before it’s checked out again. Because of its plainspoken functionality, we recommend this manual strongly to anyone whose future may involve Lean Six Sigma.

Review by Dan W for What is Lean Six Sigma
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As a certified BB and someone familiar with the principles of Lean Manufacturing, I was hoping this book would tell me how to combine the two methodologies so that the end result is greater than the sum of the parts. At least that’s what I thought the title implied . . .

But no. This book is a good introduction to Six Sigma. There was a little about Lean Manufacturing. There was no information about how to combine these two programs!

So – if you want a quick introduction to Six Sigma this is a good book. Otherwise, you don’t need it.

Review by Matthew Dodd for What is Lean Six Sigma
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If you are part of an organization that is doing, or about to implement, Lean Six Sigma, or if you want to quickly learn enough about Lean Six Sigma to decide if you want to learn about it in greater detail, then this book is for you.

As probably the ideal target reader for this book – someone who had never really been involved with, yet was aware of, previous `total quality’ efforts; and someone who is working for an organization that is about to start on its own Lean Six Sigma journey – I found it to be extremely useful, easy to read, and packed with good anecdotes and case studies that got me excited about what Lean Six Sigma can do for my organization.

From all my previous readings on management and organizational leadership, I really did not find much new material in this book. I did like how the book was organized into two complementary and naturally-flowing parts (Foundations of Lean Six Sigma and Implementing Lean Six Sigma) and how the authors mentioned a few times how Lean Six Sigma has learned from past `total quality’ efforts and how Lean Six Sigma has built-in measures to prevent past `total quality’ failures.

I now know enough about Lean Six Sigma to understand the implications it has for my organization. I am ready and eager to take the next steps from having read this quick and effective introduction to Lean Six Sigma.

Review by James H. Krefft for The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Lean Six Sigma
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Of all the titles on lean six sigma, this is one of the few that delivers on the promise of a clear, easy-to-understand explanation of this common sense approach to driving out defects. The content is comprehensive and logically organized, and the style is user-friendly, without the usual thunderstorm of jargon and consultanese. Thank you for making lean six sigma understandable, and digestible.

Review by Team Builder for The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Lean Six Sigma
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This book spoon-feeds Lean Six Sigma more effectively than I have seen. It is obvious that the authors took great care to create their graphics, and to present all the knowledge and tools that are needed to actually work with and use Lean Six Sigma. The book has an excellent roadmap in it with detailed steps showing the deployment leader what to do and when, as well as the practitioner, or person who is leading Lean Six Sigma projects. So I not only got the roadmap and steps, but I learned the tools I needed to apply each step of the way. Kudos to the authors.

Review by Osei Kufuor for The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Lean Six Sigma
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The book is excellent for the Six Sigma approach for manufacturing and service systems. My only comment is that some mistakes exist in the book for the definition of mathematical symbols. For example on Page 38, the authors use the “summation sign” to define the symbol for the “standard deviation.” This is incorrect. Therefore, I will give this book a four-star instead of a five-star.

I will still recommend it for anybody interested in Lean Six Sigma.

Review by Jay S. Holstine for The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Lean Six Sigma
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Jump start your mastery of Lean Six Sigma principals with this essential guide to business efficiency. And use the clear roadmap as an easy reference as you work.

Review by Michael M. Webb for The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Lean Six Sigma
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This is an excellent introduction to Lean Six Sigma. My organization is going down the road to Lean Six Sigma. I purchased this book to get a jump on what Lean Six Sigma is really supposed to be, which is not always what we get in training. This book does an excellent job at introducing the language of Lean Six Sigma. The only reason I didn’t give it five stars was that it hit some of the implementing processes at too high a level. I will need to get a book on the other implementing systems to understand the processes. But, this will give me a good foundation in Lean Six Sigma that will be a benefit when my organization jumps into it.