Recent Readings

Six Sigma, The Breakthrough Management Strategy Revolutionizing The World's Top Corporations by Mikel Harry, and Richard Schroeder

In Six Sigma: The Breakthrough Management Strategy Revolutionizing the World's Top Corporations, Harry and Schroeder explain Six Sigma and show how it's working at companies such as General Electric, Polaroid, and Allied Signal. The authors contend that most companies today are working at a "sigma" level of between 3.5 and 4, and that with just a one-sigma shift, companies will experience "a 20 percent margin improvement, a 12 to 18 percent increase in capacity, a 12 percent reduction in the number of employees," as well as "a 10 to 30 percent capital reduction." Sigma is a quality metric that counts the number of defects per million opportunities (DPMO). For example, a sigma level of 3.5 means that a process has 22,700 DPMO; a sigma level of 4.5, 1,350 DPMO; and a perfect six sigma, 3 DPMO.

This is an excellent introduction to Six Sigma process by two of the men that pioneered the process at Motorola. While there are numerous books out on Six Sigma, these are the two men that founded and operate the Six Sigma Academy in Arizona.

Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done By Larry Bossidy, and Ram Charan

Disciplines like strategy, leadership development, and innovation are the sexier aspects of being at the helm of a successful business; actually getting things done never seems quite as glamorous. But as Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan demonstrate in Execution, the ultimate difference between a company and its competitor is, in fact, the ability to execute.

While the book is an interesting read with dialogue shifting between Bossidy’s and Charan’s perspectives, it doesn’t provide a succinct pathway but rather a discussion on execution and rich examples from Six Sigma initiatives. As a companion to the Six Sigma process it works very well.

ACKOFF’S BEST: His Classic Writings on Management By Russell Ackoff

An excellent introduction for those new to Ackoff, and a must-read for those who already know and admire him. Russell Ackoff is a very special management thinker. As an architect, city planner, doctor of philosophy, behavioral scientist, trailblazer in the fields of organizational, operations, and systems theory, best-selling author, distinguished Wharton School professor, and head of his own management education and consulting firm, he qualifies, as do few others in this century, for the title of "Renaissance Man.

His enlightened essay’s on systems and management are humorous, adroit and outside the box! I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Ackoff and attending a keynote address and was completely enthralled by his thinking and presentations of ideas and concepts. This is a must read for anyone in management.

The Ultimate Consultant: Powerful Techniques for the Successful Practitioner By Alan Weiss

Alan has written over twenty books and each one is full of insightful information and tips on improving as a consultant. He is a true “consultant to consultants”. His direct no nonsense approach has guided many companies through change and his efforts have improved the world of management consulting as a profession.

This is the first book in a series written for experienced practitioners--is filled with helpful interviews and vignettes from an array of successful consultants from around the world, and offers the templates, examples, information and tools you need to transform your business.

I recommend any of Alan’s books and his seminars are exciting and valuable to any external or internal consultant.