Lean Six Sigma For Leaders

5Improve for Leaders

THE IMPROVE PHASE is concerned with developing viable solutions and the future state process. It should clearly build on the hypotheses and findings coming out of the Analyse phase. Remember we have always cautioned against jumping into ‘solution mode’ too soon? Well now it's time to dive in!

There are three stages to the Improve phase:

• Identification of possible solutions
• Selecting appropriate solutions
• Planning and testing of the solutions

The Improve phase focuses on trying to eliminate the drivers of the problem by developing solutions which directly address the root causes. Good solutions will address root causes and won't create new problems of their own!

The phase is complete when a set of impactful solutions that directly address the challenges of the project charter are ready for implementation.

Solution Generation

Where are you, and what are you doing when you have your best ideas? A recent study in the US by psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman has shown that the majority of us (72%!) have our ideas when we're in the shower.

We ask this question a lot, and lots of people do say they're in the shower when inspiration strikes. Others say they're in the bath, in bed, walking the dog, digging the garden, going for a run, etc. Only very, very rarely do people respond to this question by saying they're in a workshop or sitting at their desk! This is because of the way our brains work – they need time to decompress away from work, and when this happens, ...