Six Sigma

xEuropeanCEO

September – October 2004

Leadership Edition

Reprinted with permission: Tower Business Media

Six Sigma® at Motorola –
At the place it was born, Six Sigma has evolved into a fully integrated management system to execute business strategy. By Tom McCarty – Motorola, Inc. Introduction from Tom McCarty As the Director of Six Sigma Services for Motorola University, it is my responsibility to extend the benefits of Motorola’s Six Sigma implementation within the company and across the corporate value chain. I provide coaching for the governance and leadership aspects of Six Sigma within Motorola, and I engage our customers and suppliers in the adoption of Six Sigma within their organizations. In this article, I provide an overview of the Six Sigma methodology and its evolution at Motorola. In addition, I share some examples and insights into how that methodology can help you lower costs, improve cycle time, increase client satisfaction and secure new, profitable business. History Motorola, Inc. invented Six Sigma, and we have learned a great deal about it over the last 18 years. During that time, Six Sigma has evolved from its roots as a measure of quality to an overall business improvement methodology and to what it is today at Motorola – a fully integrated management system. In 1986, Bill Smith, a senior engineer and scientist within Motorola’s Communications Division, introduced the concept of Six Sigma in response to increasing complaints from the field sales force about warranty claims. It was a new method for standardizing the way defects are counted, with Six Sigma being near perfection. Smith crafted the original analysis and tools that were the beginnings of Motorola’s Six Sigma methodology. He took his ideas to CEO Bob Galvin, who was struck by Smith’s passion and came to recognize the approach as key to addressing quality concerns. Six Sigma became central to Motorola’s strategy of delivering products that met the high quality standards... [continues]

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