Introducing Process Excellence Network

From the Editor

Lean Six Sigma has been front-page business news for well over a decade—and never more so than today. Every organization is now faced with economic realities that have slowly—and now suddenly—taken the world by storm.

In times of high stress, many in the management world seek solace in metaphors. We hear of "sea changes" and "tightening our belts."

Perhaps Warren Buffett summed it up best. Years ago, referring to the reckless decisions of management in a boom economy, Buffett noted: "You never know who is swimming naked until the tide goes out."

Well, the tides are changing, and managements worldwide are looking for a framework to assist them in managing in turbulent times. Fortunately, that framework can be found by synthesizing the great strides have been made in the fields of Lean Six Sigma and process management.

Process Excellence Network's Social Media Web Site to the Rescue!

Every organization must now trim the fat, distinguish between fat and muscle, abandon the obsolete and the unproductive, and increase individual and organizational productivity.

It is not easy to forecast what progress will be made in the application of Six Sigma and process management techniques to solving ever-increasing organizational problems during the next two years.

It appears obvious, however, that within this period many powerful quantitative methods and data-driven technologies will be used to reduce costs, spark innovation and increase revenues.

And we plan to keep you fully updated in a variety of ways.

We believe you'll benefit greatly from our Web site. You won't find the typical age-old stale articles that populate many of today's publications devoted to Six Sigma and process planning, analysis and control.

Our site will provide a fresh approach to enabling Six Sigma and process managers to accomplish three things:

1. To study as objectively and as precisely as possible the particular operations of the business or organization
2. Through the use of accepted analytical techniques, to uncover weaknesses in the business operation that could not be detected otherwise and to discover ways in which the organization's operations may be made more effective
3. To predict the results of contemplated changes in the organization's operations or the results that may be expected if the organization's operations are not changed

How Are We Going to Do This?

For starters, we are going to unleash the power of social media. A typical magazine publication is a "one to many" publication. Our Web site is a "many to many" online publication. This means you can share your best ideas, solutions, tools and the like with your peers.

Mass collaboration changes everything. Just as today's movie critics are being displaced by the ability of many people to give their views on a given film, so the typical print publication is being displaced by the advent of user-generated content.

We will also have high-quality print articles. But with a different slant than today's rather myopic, typical view of Six Sigma/process excellence.

So you will benefit in two distinct ways. Through our state-of-the-art connective technologies you'll be able to communicate with thousands of other Six Sigma and process management practitioners on a daily basis. Secondly, our articles will not be of the ordinary "rather lame" variety. They will be written by leading edge practitioners and thought leaders.

A Brief History

As you probably know, we are the major providers of Lean Six Sigma and process management conferences throughout the world. Indeed, Jack Welch—former CEO of General Electric and the person most responsible for their Six Sigma initiative—has participated in the development and growth of our world-wide Six Sigma conferences.

In addition, IQPC owned the Qualityalert Institute (QAI). QAI specialized in total quality management and developed a storehouse of materials quite relevant to today's Lean Six Sigma quality and process management programs.

Indeed, QAI is frequently mentioned in Bill Creech's book The Five Pillars Of TQM (New York: Truman Talley Books/Dutton 1994). Creech, a former four-star general, used TQM principles in making over the Air Force for its stunning success in the Gulf War.

Many of the tools, techniques and technologies described by Creech can be applied to any organization's efforts for continuous improvement in all activities and programs.

In conclusion

Properly viewed, Six Sigma and process management is a multidisciplinary approach to management problem-solving. It is not a new field or discipline. The tools of Six Sigma and process management are particularly useful in analyzing a wide range of management problems in a changing business environment.

Our objective is to provide you with unprecedented value. We need your participation and feedback.

In short, we have a wealth of information that can be of enormous benefit. We hope you'll take advantage of our free offerings.

G. Edward, Senior Editor
Six Sigma/Process Excellence IQ