I walked into the Perth Apple Store only just last week. As usual the crowds were flocking around the vast display of cool stuff made by Apple … yes, I’m a fan, I admit it.

I did the compulsory browse of the technology before moving on to the accessories. I quickly located a number of items that I needed to finally present my seminars using only iPads before walking to the end of the rapidly lengthening queue of shoppers with credit card in hand.

As my thoughts drift to how easy it is to browse and select but how difficult it is to pay for your selection, a young man, obviously an Apple Store employee, walks up to me and asks if I’m paying by credit card.

I tell him I am so he leads me away from the queue to one of the display stands.

He then whips out his iPhone and in a matter of minutes processes my purchase.

He scanned all of the items with the iPhone, he swiped my card through the iPhone, and then he had the audacity to make me realise how inadequate our payments processes are by asking me if he should just email the receipt to my address … you know, the one that was shown on the iPhone screen … what the!!

Yep … the system recognised my credit card and its link to my iTunes account and it automatically populated the personal details area.

That’s Lean Thinking at work folks.

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George Lee Sye is author of Process Mastery with Lean Six Sigma 2nd Edition which is arguably the most comprehensive yet practical guide to Lean Six Sigma in the world today. It is a globally sought after body of knowledge now used by Lean Six Sigma professionals throughout the world.

To find out more about this and George’s other books visit here – http://www.soarent.com.au/lean-six-sigma-books

Interestingly enough there seems to widespread agreement on what training is required to develop such a person.

Read the following extract from the website of a company offering MBB training.

‘……. has developed and delivered Master Black Belt Certification a two week Master Black Belt program focusing on advanced Six Sigma statistical methods used in Six Sigma projects. In addition to typical Black Belt tools, new tools in areas such as study of variation, multi-vari experiments, nonparametric analysis, destructive testing, handling attribute responses (far beyond Freeman-Tukey), practical experimentation, optimization experiments, handling multi-response experiments, distributional analysis, advanced regression methods, advanced SPC methods and have fun while doing all this!’

This is typical of the offerings that I’ve observed in the United States. Now my question is this: do you notice where the focus is? Do you see the shortcomings of this approach and the risk that a Master Black Belt will eventually become irrelevant?

Clearly it’s a focus on the technical aspects of process improvement, a focus on statistics, a focus on making a master black belt a much better black belt.

The world was flat once.

Do you remember when the world was flat and blood letting was the ultimate cure for disease? Remember when the earth was the centre of the solar system? No, perhaps you remember when technology meantmore time and less paper.

You may not remember when a group of intelligent business people agreed that sub-prime mortgages were a good idea, but as sure as the sun is coming up tomorrow we are all feeling the impact of that agreement aren’t we?

Just because people agree on something doesn’t make it right. Just because the majority of master black belt education focuses on statistics doesn’t make it relevant to the changing needs of the world today.

Where to start?

If you want to know how to develop a master black belt for the modern world, we need to rethink this for a moment and go back to what the role of a master black really is.

What is the role of a master black belt today?

I’ve thought long and hard about this for many years now. During research for my Lean Six Sigma books I’ve had conversation with many of the most respected business transformation leaders in the country and I’ve looked at a myriad of web sites and read the opinions of hundreds of experts in the field.

Today, a master black belt cannot just be a better black belt or a statistician. Training and support software has advanced so much today that advanced statistical techniques should be learnt by black belts. A master black belt on the other hand is required to be a change agent, a leader, a trainer, a coach, a mentor; someone who can lead and create a transformation in business through maximising the potential of the internal collaboration of people and processes.

Their principle role today is to change people’s behaviour. And it is not limited to just employees for the true master black belt can create positive change all the way to the top of their organisation.

What skills does a master black belt really need today?

Will more statistical or technical process improvement training give a black belt the skills they need to perform the role of a master black belt? I think not. The greater challenge today is not in getting better at studying variation or identifying the relationship between process variables. The greater challenge is always in changing people’s beliefs and behaviours. Now in the absence of skill in this area, people generally fall back to the technical merits of a case to try and influence behaviour. We already know how difficult it is to shift behaviour doing that don’t we?

The greatest innovations in leadership have occurred in the past decade.

Over the past decade there have been tremendous innovations in what I will call the ‘invisibles’ of leadership. Actions and behaviours are the visible elements, the things you can observe, the things you take a picture or movie of, the things that managers try to manage. The invisibles on the other hand are those things you cannot see that underpin all human action and behaviour. The thinking patterns, beliefs and emotions which ultimately drive all human behaviour.

These are the skills I believe separates a master black belt from a black belt in the business world today.

• The art of persuasive conversation to lead ones imagination in a way that generates buy in and creates rapid and permanent learning
• Reframing how people view certain beliefs they currently hold and beliefs they have to hold in oder for behaviour to change
• Rapidly and permanently altering the associations that people have with certain positive behaviours they struggle to engage in
• Using existing embedded patterns of the unconscious mind in order to create change and get people to respond positively to requests
• Shifting people’s focus to new endeavours when everything else is competing for their time and attention

If you possessed these skills, how would that change your effectiveness as a leader?

Why does a master black belt need those skills today?

• FIRSTLY – the world is changing rapidly. To remain relevant in the business world you simply need a skill set that is best suited to the existing and emerging context.
• SECONDLY – practitioners who continue to only enhance their technical skill will eventually lose credibility and struggle to compete with those who pursue mastery of modern world leadership.
• And THIRDLY – who better to become a master of change but a master black belt, transformation is their entire focus so the modern day skills of change leadership fit like a glove.

Conventional thinking is only ‘convenient thinking’, conventional MBB education will ultimately make them irrelevant in the modern world.

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Soarent Vision is one company stepping up to the challenge and approaching Master Black Belt Training in a unique and progressive way that is gaining widespread recognition. To read more visit the website here – http://www.soarent.com.au/lean-six-sigma/master-black-belt

http://leansixsigmabooks.com

Qualifications Offered by Soarent Vision

The qualifications offered by Soarent Vision are nationally recognised and up to the level of Advanced Diploma (which is 2.3 of a Bachelor Degree).

These are the highest level of nationally recognised qualifications available today.

More information visit here - http://www.soarent.com.au/lean-six-sigma/certification

Certification

Certification to the level of Diploma (Green Belt) and Advanced Diploma (Black Belt) can be undertaken in two ways.

1. As a student of Soarent Vision’s Academy of Process Mastery; and
2. Through a process of RPL – where Prior Learning and Experience is recognised.

What value do I get from these qualifications?

Certification to the level of Diploma (Green Belt) and Advanced Diploma (Black Belt) are important for a number of reasons.

• The qualifications are based on the DEMONSTRATION OF COMPETENCY, thus they add to the CREDIBILITY of your qualification as a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt
• The qualifications give you GREAT DISTINCTION from the large number of Green Belts and Black Belts in industry today
• The qualifications have the credibility of the national governing body behind all academic qualifications – THE AUSTRALIAN QUALIFICATIONS FRAMEWORK - www.aqf.edu.au
• As the holder of a Diploma or Advanced Diploma, you are entitled to display the relevant letters in your SIGNATURE BLOCK
• The qualifications may provide the foundation for the next level – a Bachelor Degree (note that Soarent Vision is currently in negotiation with universities in regard to the Bachelor Degree level qualification)
• You will RECEIVE CERTIFICATION for units of competency from a number of other nationally recognised qualifications in the manufacturing industry

How do I (as a BI Professional) get certified through RPL?

The RPL process (recognition of prior learning) involves the following steps.

1. Applicants must ENROL in the respective course/s and obtain a CERTIFICATION KIT from Soarent Vision
2. Assemble DOCUMENTATION that shows competency in certain aspects of the course (as per the guidelines provided)
3. Assemble INFORMATION about prior work experience, education and application of Lean and Six Sigma methodologies
4. Submit the APPLICATION for assessment to Soarent Vision
5. Participate in a formal EXAMINATION
6. Participate in a formal INTERVIEW
7. Demonstrate competency and CLOSE ANY GAPS (if you are seeking RPL for the full course of study) left after previous steps

How much does certification through RPL cost?

RPL fees are based on a rate of $220 per unit of competency.

1. The Diploma qualification is comprised of 12 units of competency – $2,640
2. The Advanced Diploma qualification is comprised of 11 units of competency – $2,420

How do I enrol?

Send your details and any relevant inquiries to the RTO Coordinator at this email address – rto@soarent.com.au

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Soarent Vision provides the only nationally recognised Lean Six Sigma specific education program to the level of Advanced Diploma. For more information about certification through the RPL process, visit the website here - http://www.soarent.com.au/lean-six-sigma-training/certification-rpl

Suppose I took you aside for one or two weeks and taught you how to use every single tool in a motor mechanic’s toolkit. I started my professional life as a tradesman and I have no doubt that I could show you how to use a torque wrench so you correctly tension bolts and nuts. I could also show you how to use ring spanners so that you don’t skin your knuckles or round off the heads of different bolts you might have to tighten or undo, how to properly use a hammer and steel chisel and even how to use a reaming tool to safely and effectively polish a steel brake cylinder. My question is this. Would you consider yourself a motor mechanic after that experience? Of course not, you and I both know it would be absurd to make such a claim.

What would it take before you would be considered competent enough to be able to use the qualification? In teaching the trade of Motor Mechanic, the qualification is given only after a person has learnt not only how to use each tool, but when they demonstrate the ability to:

• Make decisions about which tools to use when confronted with different mechanical problems in the context of different motor vehicles.
• Apply the tools and processes in the dynamics of an actual work environment.
• Achieve and maintain new levels of performance as a result of their work.

Would you consider yourself a doctor after learning how to use each of the tools used in surgery? Would you consider someone to be a dentist after they learn how to use the tools of dentistry? Of course we wouldn’t for the same reasons.

LEARNING THE TRADE

It seems to me that in the world of continual improvement (in particular Six Sigma), there has been a shift in some quarters away from this competency based thinking. There are so many providers of Lean Six Sigma Training these days that it is crazy. It seems like every body’s got on the band wagon. Correspondingly, the duration of training offered for project team leaders varies greatly. For example, advertised Black Belt training can range from as long as six weeks of face-to-face delivery to as short as five days to get a certificate as a qualified Black Belt. I still struggle to work out how the latter can be genuinely achieved!

Learning to become a competent Black Belt or Green Belt is like learning a trade. When we had our Lean Six Sigma Training programs accredited with the national training body in Australia that certifies all formal tertiary qualifications, I was not surprised that the Black Belt program met the requirements for an Advanced Diploma qualification. We all must recognise that competency in the tools is not what was intended with these qualifications. Someone who does a bit of online learning and few days of face-to-face training in the tools and key concepts may end up with an understanding of Lean Six Sigma and its tools. That does not set them up to be a qualified practitioner. Learning the tools does not make the Black Belt or Green Belt.

COMPETENT BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT PRACTITIONERS

Competent Black or Green Belts are people who can describe and use the tools relevant to their level of qualification in the context of the processes that are core to their business. They can also effectively facilitate an improvement project within the challenges of working with a project team, generate and analyse data using advanced statistical methods appropriate to the outcome they are seeking, facilitate the generation of creative solutions from those who work with the process, and manage the challenges of building sustainable commitment to change in a dynamic environment.

To be able to demonstrate this type of competency requires hands on training in an environment where they have to work with other people. It requires a good deal of coaching, mentoring and application of the tools and concepts under the constraints and limitations of day-to-day business.

COMPETENCY IS THE GOAL – NOT CERTIFICATION

The goal of any Lean Six Sigma Training must be genuine competency and the achievement of results. World-class providers of Lean Six Sigma Training do not issue certificates or qualifications without competency or results, so be cautious of anyone claiming to be able to accelerate the issuing of qualifications in Lean Six Sigma. They may be teaching people some tools, but if you are considering buying their product take the time to assess whether or not they are teaching people to become competent practitioners.

‘Just as a toolkit does not maketh the motor mechanic, the Six Sigma process and tools do not maketh a Six Sigma practitioner.’

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Soarent Vision is raising the bar when it comes to standards of Lean Six Sigma Training in Australia. Visit the website here to read more – http://www.soarent.com.au/lean-six-sigma-training

Standards of business improvement education with Lean Six Sigma methodologies are virtually non existent. Similarly, there are no standards for certification of practitioners. Now it seems something has been done about it … FINALLY.

Issued under the governance of the Australian Qualifications Framework, these are probably the highest standards of qualification in the world today for green belts and black belts.

Read more HERE

Check it out HERE

Download Version 6.04 of SigmaXL Software for FREE here and enjoy the experience.

What I am really concerned about is the fact that approximately 80 percent of companies that implement a formal business improvement initiative do not succeed and end up shutting it down. Lots of people are being trained, large numbers of independent consultants are offering business improvement expertise, and consulting companies are offering business improvement packages to their clients …. and yet the failure rate remains high. So what’s wrong?

One of the contributing factors is the lack of standards for training and certification. And I think its about time we did something to change that. So let’s talk about something we know quite a bit about - competency certification for Lean Six Sigma practitioners.

Read more here …

Most of the control mechanisms put in place in your business were put there for the purpose of managing risk. The same concept applies to your business improvement initiative.

Risk can be associated with virtually anything – cash flow, business, safety etc. It can also be associated with employee performance and behaviour. Controls can be as simple as a pre-work briefing delivered by a supervisor, or as complex as a comprehensive collection of operating procedures or even an early warning device for tsunamis.

By understanding the risks associated with a business improvement initiative, an organisation can develop strategies for making it work. And these strategies for treating the identified risks can be successfully incorporated in the business in two ways.

• The supporting infrastructure; and
• A management control framework.

So what is a business improvement operating system?

In the context of Lean Six Sigma, an operating system is simply a management control framework that comprises a collection of specific processes and scheduled events that assist you in managing business improvement risks.

Training is not enough!

My experience is that when organisations struggle to sustain Lean Six Sigma over the first few years, it is primarily caused by failing to effectively develop their operating system. Often the leadership team naively believes the implementation will be sustained over the long term without any change to the organisations performance systems and context, with their sole focus on doing training and completing projects. As these organisations mature they slowly realise that important elements of the system are missing.

What are the Signs and Symptoms of an Inadequate Control Framework or Operating System?

Inappropriate projects are selected and allocated to Black Belts and/or Green Belts. Sometimes a solution is disguised as a problem statement, or a process of a low cyclic nature is allocated as a Lean Six Sigma project.

The development of project charters is left to Black Belts or Green Belts; project champions do not take an active role.
Business leaders have not participated in any form of training, the most they have done is participated in some form of alignment or engagement workshop. They do not know what Lean Six Sigma is really about. They have not undertaken or completed change leadership training similar to project team leaders.

• Projects take longer to complete than they need to.
• Black Belts / Green Belts are left with accountability for the project; champions demonstrate interest but not commitment.
• Reported financial benefits are not realised in business financial statements (P&L, Balance Sheet); nor are improvements reflected in business planning assumptions.
• Black Belts / Green Belts struggle with the application of statistical methods or avoid using advanced statistical methods.
• Employees in general know little about Lean Six Sigma and activities within the business.
• There is no consistency in the way projects are documented by team leaders.
• Key learnings are not shared amongst Black Belts and Green Belts.

Signs can also include adverse comments being made by Black Belts and Green Belts with respect to:

• Champion or Process Owner commitment
• Access to resources (including a team)
• Getting time to do the project work
• Being allocated additional work at the same time
• The scope of the project increasing, and
• Project progress

At an even more personal level …

… the symptoms you might experience that give cause for concern about the adequacy of your organisation’s Business Improvement operating system include:

• You are not able to clearly explain what Lean Six Sigma is at the tactical or technical level, and strategic level
• It is your belief / perception that projects are taking too long
• You have limited knowledge of how projects are chosen
• You have little knowledge of what makes a good Lean Six Sigma project
• You have little knowledge of current projects and their progress
• You hear language you do not fully understand
• You do not know the basic tools of Lean Six Sigma