Strategic Six Sigma: Best Practices from the Executive Suite

Rating:
Summary: Steeped in practical examples and avoids statistical jargon
Review: A lot of the Six Sigma books and articles I have read appear to assume you greatly miss your college statistics class. This book focuses on issues, ideas and examples relevant to senior management, while referencing some of the tools and techniques that will be essential to execute successfully. Let's face it -- senior executives need examples to create the sense of urgency and "what can be" through Six Sigma; there are plenty of books, consultants and training firms who can take you from that commitment through execution. I highly recommend this book for managers who want to understand why they should seriously consider Six Sigma or similar approaches (TQM, CQI, etc.) to improve their company's or business unit's effectiveness in meeting their customer's needs and efficiency vs. competitors.

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Summary: Packed with Knowledge!
Review: Thanks to endorsements from managerial heavyweights like Jack Welch, most people in business are by now familiar with Six Sigma as a process for measuring and reducing product defects. In Strategic Six Sigma, however, Dick Smith, Jerry Blakeslee and Richard Koonce demonstrate that the Six Sigma methodology can and should be applied to the highest levels of strategic planning. Simply put, the authors illustrate how the rigors of Six Sigma can improve your performance in terms of overall strategy, growth and customer satisfaction in the same way that it streamlines operations on a production floor. We...strongly recommend this book to business leaders, executives and managers, all of whom will benefit from its hands-on advice for integrating the tenets of Six Sigma into corporate strategy.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent strategic resource
Review: This book provides a valuable strategic framework with which to implement Six Sigma within a company today. Unlike most books on Six Sigma, which focus on the granular details of six sigma implementation, this book focuses on implementation from a strategic perspective; in other words, on how a company's top leadership team must be intimately involved in making Six Sigma work by creating an internal "climate of alignment" to make Six Sigma initiatives suceed. From my perspective, a critical resource for today's CEOs and their top leadership teams!

Rating:
Summary: Not recommended
Review: Unless you are the CEO of a company and have total control over implementing a Six Sigma program, I wouldn't recommend this book. It doesn't go much into the meat of Six Sigma, but is focused around developing a Six Sigma culture within your organization. It is also very redundant, repeating the same themes over and over throughout the book. A good editor could have reduced this book to 50 pages. Not recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Six Sigma Leadership Book!
Review: Well written from the strategic view of Six Sigma and where it fits into your existing corporate methodologies, process efforts and strategic initiatives. The center chapters of the book (3 through 5) are extremely rich in content. The PriceWaterhouse pedigree is obvious in the writing style and view point. Well done!