Adaptive Business Solutions | Lean & Six Sigma Solutions

Lean Leadership in Government

August 4, 2012 By Corrine

The Adaptive team in conjuction with Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (NWTC) is presenting on August 16, 2012. Find out how Lean processes have transformed transactional environments such as government.

Green Bay, WI (2740 W. Mason Street)
7:45-8:15 am Breakfast/Networking
8:15 – 9:30 am Presentation/Discussion

Marinette, WI (1601 University Drive)
11:45 – 12:15 pm Lunch/Networking
12:15 – 1:30 pm Presentation/Discussion

For more information about the conference and to register, email (Enable Javascript to see the email address). Inquiries about Adaptive and our services, contact us at (Enable Javascript to see the email address).

Adaptive Presenting at Chicago’s 2012 ASQ FDA Compliance Conference

August 4, 2012 By Corrine

The Adaptive team is presenting at the Chicago ASQ FDA chapter’s Meeting the Compliance Challenge conference on April 25, 2012 in Hoffman Estates, IL. Specifically, Adaptive will utilize case studies to illustrate the cost of a non-quality focused culture, elements within great, quality-focused organizations, as well as a framework for transforming your organization’s culture.

For more information about the conference, visit http://asq.org/fdc. For an outline of the presentation or inquiries about Adaptive and our services, contact us at (Enable Javascript to see the email address).

Adaptive Presenting at 2012 AME Conference in Chicago

May 1, 2012 By Corrine

The Adaptive team will be conducting an 8-hour interactive workshop at the annual Association for Manufacturing Excellence conference in Chicago on October 25, 2012. The workshop will provide the audience with real-world, practical recommendations on how to get past the “Lean tools” and apply true Lean thinking principles, in order to dramatically improve their performance. After attending the workshop, attendees will be able to:

Identify the primary reasons why organizations struggle with Lean transformations and learn countermeasures for each reason.
Develop a transformation plan for their organization.

For additional information on the upcoming 2012 AME conference, go to www.ame.org. An outline of the presentation may be obtained by contacting the Adaptive team at (Enable Javascript to see the email address).

So You Want To Hire A Black Belt?

February 6, 2012 By Corrine

We frequently receive inquiries from headhunters and organizations looking for Six Sigma Black Belts, Lean Leaders, Operational Excellence Managers, etc. There is no shortage of organizations actively trying to hire external “process experts” to help improve their performance. And it’s no wonder! Many publications sight figures similar to the following: “Each Black Belt should be able to complete four projects a year, each worth about $250,000, and therefore save you $1,000,000 per year.” Consequently, many CEO’s and CFO’s immediately pull out the “old school” playbook, reverse calculate the number of continuous improvement (CI) resources to hire by dividing savings desired by $1M, and instruct HR to “start hiring”. [Read more...]

Should we have our continuous improvement resources report directly to functional owners or manage them from a central team?

February 6, 2012 By Corrine

If your organization has decided to have dedicated Black Belts, Lean Leaders, etc. (full-time process improvement employees), the best organizational structure will depend on the organizations’ understanding of Six Sigma. If your organization is new to Six Sigma, the team should be centralized. If the Black Belts (BB) report directly to the functional leaders, those leaders rarely understand how to optimize a BB resource. The BB is usually viewed as a flexible resource and ends up helping with firefighting rather than fire prevention. In this case, a central team that has tight control can ensure that BBs are properly utilized. On the other hand, if the functional owners in an organization have been BBs and/or understand how to utilize BBs, functionalizing BBs is usually a better choice. Functionally aligning the BBs gives control of those resources to the person who is responsible for the results. This alignment helps ensure that BB projects get the support necessary to be successful.

Adaptive Presenting In January To Milwaukee’s Logistics Council (TLC)

January 9, 2012 By Corrine

Structured Approach to “Doing More with Less” – the Lean Transformation Framework
Location: Radisson Hotel Milwaukee West (Jan 19, 2012)

There is little evidence to suggest that 2012 business landscape will be much different than the previous few years. Leaders will continue to be asked for higher levels of growth and profitability, while minimizing personnel budgets and capital expenditure for new technology and infrastructure upgrades. In short, leaders must be able to do more with less for all customers, including employees, shareholders, and external customers. Do you have a structured approach to focus your existing resources and achieve your goals and objectives? This one-hour presentation will provide participants an overview of the Lean Transformation Framework; a structured approach to improving your organization with maximum effectiveness and efficiency.

Following the presentation, there will be a Q&A session to address concerns about the Lean Transformation Framework, continuous improvement in general, and recommendations for specific situations.