A few years ago, when I was going through Master Black Belt training, we got a visit from a Caterpillar executive coming to motivate us and tell us how important Six Sigma was to the company.

Rich Thompson, our group president in charge of engines, told us about his experience at GE when strategic planning was all the rage and cautioned us about what he called Six Sigma robots.

R2-D2 meet Six Sigma?

Misapplication of Six Sigma is one of the biggest causes of failure of Six Sigma programs. Too many companies decide that “everything we do is Six Sigma”. It is like using a screwdriver as a hammer. It is great when properly applied but can drag your resources when not.

In short: