Beyond Six Sigma Toward Total Performance
Excellence
Six Sigma is a powerful methodology for improving processes, but it's not a
cure-all for every business problem. In fact, no single performance improvement
methodology alone has the power to shift the needle of corporate performance.
Companies that want to remain competitive in the global market need to look
beyond Six Sigma to a more holistic, integrated and structured framework for
organizational excellence. This thinking is the basis for BMGI's Total
Performance Excellence Model (or TPE). Shown here, the TPE model allows
company leaders to see their journey toward operational excellence as a series of
interconnected steps.
The Business Foundation
The bottom third of the pyramid represents the foundation for any business -
the basic elements that are necessary to exist and survive. While the exact
configuration of these basic elements varies by company, you need them to
maintain the smooth functioning of the enterprise.
As companies evolve and become more cognizant of how quality and performance
affect their bottom lines, the path of continual improvement leads them to more
sophisticated ways of streamlining business operations, enhancing profits and
remaining competitive. These elements are featured in the top portion of the
pyramid. The Journey Toward Excellence - Business Optimization
In many cases, an organization begins its journey with some form of strategic
planning (Hoshin), then moves into process
management EPM and waste reduction (Lean), and then engages in process
improvement Six Sigma. In the
language of TPE, these elements serve to preserve a company's position and
success because they enable an organization to optimize its current offerings,
capabilities, technologies and processes.
Future-Proofing with Business Evolution
At the highest points in the pyramid lie the functions of design and R&D,
both of which focus on organizational evolution, or what you do to
move beyond just preserving your current business model. While companies strive
to preserve market share and success, they also evolve into a different, better
organization.
In a Harvard Business review article, Charles O'Reilly and Michael Tushman
call this simultaneous drive to preserve and evolve the "ambidextrous
organization." With change leadership and innovation as the drivers, all
successful organizations implement some configuration of preservation and
evolution activities.
The TPE Model at Work
Many of BMGI's clients are seeing compounded results from integrated performance
excellence programs. It seems that when all the elements of the TPE model are
working in lockstep, organizations experience a more continuous lifecycle of
evolving products and services, resulting in greater long-term profitability
and financial growth.
Interested in finding out how TPE may work in your business? Call or 1-800-467-4462 or contact us. |