Six Sigma and Innovation – Can they co-exist?

My friend was proudly talking to me about how he had implemented Six Sigma in his organisation and how it has improved efficiencies all across. “In fact”, my friend was boasting, “we have made it such a controlled environment that our people don’t need to think anymore. Just focus on execution and eliminating waste”. The last statement made me react. I challenged my friend “Now even though I have utmost respect for Six Sigma, I wonder if it is a good thing to streamline operations so much that it does not make people think?. After all, your people are your biggest assets. Do you want to miss out on the opportunity of utilising this resource to the best of its potential by blindly asking them to follow instructions? Surely that is overdoing it and this was not the purpose of Six Sigma.” We had to cut short our conversation since my friend got a call from his home. But I decided to explore more on this topic.

Back at work, I read more articles on this topic which made me realise that there are some inherent contradictions between Six Sigma principles and Innovation. Six Sigma by its nature, is more focussed on operational efficiencies and so tries to eliminate risks (in terms of deviations or new work practices). So this could in the best case lead to small incremental innovation but nothing beyond that. On the other hand, innovation is all about finding new ways to do things and this will mean challenging all the existing assumptions and norms. This is the only way to achieve path breaking innovations.

The main problem is for the managers and employees involved in these programs. They have different charters and so it sometimes can become confusing and misleading. But everybody agrees that for an organisation to succeed, you need both Six Sigma programs and innovation programs to continue and complement each other. So do you run both these programs in parallel?

Here are my thoughts.

1. Understand the contradictions and plan accordingly. For Eg: We can run Six Sigma programs to make a process more efficient and while doing it if we realise or discover that there are more opportunities to explore more revolutionary or alternate ways of doing it, then spawn it off as a separate innovation project to explore that option. This way both programs can run in parallel without disrupting their daily schedules.


2. Rotate staff between both programs (especially senior managers) – This will serve 2 purposes:
   
   
   
   • Ensure that the resources have a well rounded experience in working in different kind of projects which will enhance their work experience and also free them from boredom generally associated with routine work.
   
   
   • Help them understand the other perspective. For Eg: It will make resources working on innovation projects understand the importance of being accountable and efficient and it will make resources working on operational efficiencies the importance of being creative and challenging all existing norms.
   
   
   
   
3. Plan for adequate training and support to help the transition for the different kind of profiles. For Eg: People who are well versed with Six Sigma should be exposed to training on creativity before they are put on innovation programs and vice versa. This will help them cope and deliver.
   


4. Demonstrate senior management commitment for both initiatives – It is important for both teams to understand how their contributions fit into the big picture from the company’s future plan perspective and so feel valued. The best way to achieve this is through effective communication and by rewarding top performers in both categories. This will ensure that each of the teams support and complement each other without inhibitions.
   


5. Have targets for growth from both categories so that performance is measured and rewarded – This ensures that the senior managers are made accountable and gives enough focus to both areas in the same way.
   

In conclusion, both these groups are like the two arms of the organisation and when both are well looked after and well oiled, they complement each other and work effectively. The Six Sigma programs ensure that the existing processes are efficient and well-tuned thus making the company profitable today. On the other hand, the investment in innovation programs ensures that the organisation needs of tomorrow are taken care of thereby securing the future growth of the company.

However remember both these programs need nurturing and support. Specifically the innovation programs needs more nurturing since it is focussed on the future requirements. Hence these programs should not be measured on the same parameters. But with a little effort and patience you can get both programs to work effectively for your organisation and get your company to prosper both today and tomorrow!!!