Losing our Marbles

This is the introduction to a book which a colleague of mine bought last week, going into detail on the often misunderstood, misinterpreted and/or misapplied field of lean six sigma.  I'm sure many of you can relate to this...

In the beginning there was the plan
And then came the assumptions
And the assumptions were without form
And the plan was completely without substance
And darkness was upon the faces of the workers
And they spake unto their marketing managers, saying "it is a pot of manure, and it stinketh"
And the marketing managers went unto the strategists and saith,
"It is a pile of dung, and none may abide the odor thereof"
And the strategists went unto the business managers and saith,
"It is a container of excrement, and it is very strong and such that none may abide by it"
And the business managers went unto the director and saith,
"It is a vessel of fertilizer, and none may abide by its strength"
And the director went unto the vice president and saith,
"It contains that which aids plant growth and it is very strong"
And the vice president went unto the senior vice president and saith,
"It promoteth growth, and it is powerful"
And the senior vice president went unto the president and saith,
"This powerful new plan will actively promote growth and efficiency of the company and the business in general"
And the president looked upon the plan and saw that it was good
And the plan became policy.

"The plan" - (David H. H. Diamond)
from the book "The Heretic's Guide To Best Practice" - The Reality Of Managing Complex Problems In Organisations

by Paul Culmsee & Kailash Awati

Although I haven't read the book yet myself, I will endeavour to do so soon.  It is meant to be some light reading with a good sense of humour as I understand.  Chase Performance understand the difference between words and action, and the results and outcomes from our programs with our clients speak for themselves.  For more information on lean six sigma programs for your whole organisation please visit our web site: www.chaseperformance.com or contact us on 1300 880 338.  With locations in Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane & Sydney, we are a truly national provider that can support your business and help you implement systems and processes by giving you access to our specialists and resources.