Building Lean Culture Boosts Lean Six Sigma ROI

The allure of Lean Six Sigma is real

Lean Six Sigma has an obvious advantage: it helps organizations improve performance, remove waste, and improve customer or patient satisfaction — using a rational, data-based approach like DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control).

The business case is clear. The methodology is proven.

Why Lean Six Sigma Initiatives Fail Without a Unified Human Approach

Organizations often treat the human elements of change as separate frameworks, separate languages, and separate sub-cultures — with little integration into Lean Six Sigma.

But changing processes requires a multi-disciplinary approach.

The questions leaders must answer before pushing the solution

Each time a new process is introduced, there are predictable human and cultural barriers that must be identified and addressed:

• Whose way of working will be disrupted — and to what degree?
• How will leaders fully commit by what they say, do, and reinforce with direct reports?
• Which supporting functions (HR, IT, etc.) must commit resources?
• How will we motivate and prepare affected individuals?
• Who owns implementation responsibility across impacted functions?
• How will we manage inevitable resistance — including political and power agendas?

The missing piece: a repeatable deployment approach for the human side

Lean Six Sigma often lacks a standard deployment approach that addresses the critical human side as a repeatable process.

AIM brings rigor and structure to the human side

The Accelerating Implementation Methodology (AIM) provides a replicable process to help ensure that a process improvement implementation meets five metrics of success:

1. On time
2. On budget
3. Technical objectives met
4. Business objectives met
5. Human objectives met (the desired new behaviors)

Lean Six Sigma and AIM are symbiotic

The relationship works like this:

• Lean Six Sigma is discovery — diagnosis, analysis, problem solving (logical, rational)
• AIM completes the job of implementation — drives adoption, identifies systemic human and cultural barriers, and mitigates emotional, political, and cultural resistance

It's not either/or. When used together, the two approaches work in balance and increase the likelihood that problems stay solved.

Integrate early — don't bolt change on at the end

It's tempting to apply Lean Six Sigma first and then "bolt on" change management at the end — but that approach consistently underperforms.

Practical AIM elements to overlay on Lean Six Sigma

Here are key AIM Road Map elements to apply during Lean Six Sigma implementation:

• Define the Change — identify who will be disrupted, and to what degree
• Assess the Climate — implementation history predicts trust, resistance, and speed
• Generate Sponsorship — right leaders in the right places is the single most important success factor
• Develop Target Readiness — invest early or pay later through resistance
• Create Cultural Fit — if change conflicts with culture, culture wins

Measure success by adoption and value realization

Without a structured implementation approach, the probability of a Lean Six Sigma deployment being on time, on budget, and to specification is very low.

And while it may look like "the data will speak for itself," data alone cannot compete with the realities of culture — including leaders interpreting data in ways that preserve personal and political power.

Reference: AIM Toolkit and Assessments

Download