July 2005

TO INFINITY (AND ZERO) AND BEYOND - REFLECTIONS ON THE FABRIC OF LEAN AND SIX SIGMA QUALITY
Presentation at IQPC's Lean Six Sigma West
October 26-27 in Las Vegas, NV

The title of Bill's presentation at the upcoming Lean Six Sigma Summit West is "To Infinity (and Zero) and Beyond - Reflections on the Fabric of Lean and Six Sigma Quality." Bill also submitted this abstract: Controversially, this session is about NOT doing Six Sigma and Lean. Instead, a more moderate approach will be introduced, one which can be adapted more beneficially into individual companies. Using his experience at The Boeing Company (and now, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne), Bill will address the notion that every company needs a little fat - Lean is not always the right method to use. The purpose of this session is to provoke thought on whether or not your company should be adopting Lean Six Sigma or not, and hence more time has been allowed for inevitable questions and answers:

Deciding your position: Just how moderate should you be?
Dispelling the one-size-fits-all thinking
Stop aiming for Zero: How leaders should make the decisions on implementation

Whether or not new theories, such as Lean and Six Sigma Quality, create and embrace new thinking is the subject of this presentation. Through a series of simple questions, borrowed from his Enterprise Thinking seminar, Bill's presentation will introduce the Lean Six Sigma community to the contributions of W. Edwards Deming and Genichi Taguchi, among others, to the thinking behind Enterprise Thinking and inthinking. For a preview of his remarks, contact him at william.j.bellows@boeing.com for a copy of his paper "Conformance to Specifications, Zero Defects, and Six Sigma Quality - A Closer Look." You are also invited to attend the Enterprise Thinking seminar and do so without a fee to attend. It is offered on a regular basis at Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne in Canoga Park, California, to employees, customers, suppliers, family members, students, as well as "members of the community." The later group includes anyone working full-time, part-time, or in a voluntary capacity to serve the communities in which we live. Contact Bill for class information and upcoming class dates.