Leading the way in Iowa Quality Traing

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Implementing Lean Marketing Systems

Leading the Way in Iowa Quality Training Guest was Steven C. Wilson

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Implementing Lean Marketing Systems Steven C. Wilson founded Wilson Consulting and Training Services, Inc (WCTS, Inc) as a process improvement consulting firm. Wilson has over 20 years of experience applying quality improvement tools, methodologies, and principles in a variety of industries that include automotive, healthcare, logistics, distribution, education, and numerous manufacturing venues. He has dedicated himself to the cause by training/coaching over 600 Six Sigma practitioners in over 70 companies with an emphasis on getting results.

Wilson possesses a very engaging style of leadership, training and consulting, and provides an experienced eye for companies on the road to organizational improvement.

Wilson’s extensive project experience includes work with Union Pacific, MercyCare Community Physicians, Heinz, John Deere, Pepperidge Farms, Rockwell Collins, University of Iowa Clinics, Oral B, General Mills, Proctor and Gamble, International Paper, and many others.

Wilson has served as Chair on the Iowa Quality Center Advisory Council, is an ASQ Certified Black Belt, and is an active member in several community based organizations. In 2004 he added MasterWay Audio to the business and began producing professional voice over narration for commercial projects as well as for organizational training and development departments. In the spring of 2008 he took his passions for operational excellence and voice work and created Quality Conversations, an internet based radio program dedicated to the discussion of “all things quality”.

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Implementing Lean Marketing Systems Joe Dager: Welcome everyone. This is Joe Dager, the host of the Business 901 podcast.

With me today is Steven C. Wilson, founder of Wilson Consulting and Training Services and the iQuality Academy.

He's a process improvement specialist with over 20 years of experience applying quality improvement tools, methodologies, and principles in a variety of industries that include automotive, healthcare, and many others.

What I've found so unique about Steve and his consultancy is what I would call the standard to be successful in today's world. He combines consulting, speaking, and training disciplines into a single successful practice. I'd like to welcome Steve. I guess we need to start at the beginning. How did you get started in the quality field?

Steven C. Wilson: I was working in the automotive industry, actually, from a dealership level. At that point, I'd had exposure to the earlier books on Six Sigma. That's really where it all started was with Six Sigma in continuous improvement.

While I was working at the auto dealerships, some of the roles that I'd had were in management and leadership. I began to implement, or attempt to implement, some of the concepts that I was learning through much of my own self-study.

One of the things that I did was make a transition into working for Federal Express and, at that point, was also able to then gain a little bit more knowledge around the subject of continuous improvement in quality, and reduction of variation, and some of those basic concepts within the realm of quality.

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Implementing Lean Marketing Systems It was at that point, when I began to really dive into quality and continuous improvement and see that as the direction that I wanted to go with my professional work.

Joe: Why did that field interest you?

Steven: Well, I've always been fascinated with finding out better ways to do things, to improve, regardless of what the process is or what the area of operations that I'm in, always looking to do that.

It was nice to be able to take that internal drive, or that drive that was within me, to actually couple it with some education and some knowledge, hopefully, then, wisdom that would enable me to, again, not only provide service for the organizations that I was working for, then, eventually, being able to move outside and help other organizations.

Joe: So did you start a consultant practice at the time you left Fed Ex, or...?

Steven: It was very interesting. While I was working at Federal Express, as I mentioned, I was trying to institute many of the things, control charts and looking at processes or performance of individuals a little bit differently, as opposed to when a problem occurs, you look at the person. "Well, instead of looking at the person... I started observing "Machine, method, material, and environment.� All of the inputs and understanding those things.

While I was actually working for Federal Express, I had what they refer to as a career ending injury. I fractured an ankle and split some tendons in an ankle. As an operations manager, responsibility is to be able to do everything that those that report to you are able to do. Well, after a few months, the physicians said, "No, you're done. You can't go back to Leading the Way in Iowa Quality Training

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Implementing Lean Marketing Systems doing that." So at that point, I made the decision... Here's an excellent opportunity. I'm going to go out and get some formalized training in Six Sigma. I did a program that was through MoreSteam and Ohio State University. Then I studied and past my ASQ Black Belt exam.

At that point, I began to partner with an individual, or do some continuous improvement consulting with another individual. But then, it was right around 2003-2004 that it really took off.

Joe: When you did that, you also made a conversion into healthcare, too, did you not?

Steven: As a consultant, I've done some work for various hospitals and clinics. It was about this time last year in May that I took on the role of part-time quality improvement manager for a health care organization here in Iowa.

In addition to doing the consulting work outside of health care, I'm now, as they say, in that role as quality improvement manager. That allowed me to really be able to roll up my sleeves and get involved with health care on a much deeper level than I had before.

Joe: I think that's interesting because you act as an internal and an external consultant practically on an everyday basis. So many organizations struggle with deciding when to use an internal or develop someone internally or when do I use an external consultant? What's your take on that? Give me an idea of how you would choose when to use one and when not?

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Implementing Lean Marketing Systems Steven: It's a very interesting position that I am in. Because, having been an external, and still an external consultant, and now, moving into the realms of an internal within that organization... I've always striven, as an external consultant, to work with an organization to the point where they don't need me anymore.

I don't like these consultant groups that they're hanging on, and hanging on, and not really transferring knowledge and transferring that information over to the organization so that they themselves can run with it.

Being on the inside, as an internal consultant, I really see the need for that. If it's just relying upon an external consultant bringing in new wisdom and new information, and leading teams, and leading the charge that's going to be a short-lived continuous improvement effort within that organization. They are not going to be able to sustain the gains.

What I've always had my practice... My intention as an external consultant is to make sure that I am transferring that knowledge over to the individuals who are in the company to the point of...that I'm seen as a secondary resource as opposed to being the primary one.

Working from within as that internal consultant, and because I still have the perspective of being outside, I'm able to bring in a lot of non-health care related improvement, thoughts, concepts, ideas. That, I think, has put me in a unique position to be able to bring additional value to that organization.

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Implementing Lean Marketing Systems Joe: Are you looked upon differently? Do you get a different feeling when working day to day as in the internal consultant and external coming in? I mean, do people... I don't want to say respect you more or respect you less. That might be a loaded question.

Are you looked at differently? Do you feel more at ease? Maybe I should just ask that question.

Steven: They always say familiarity breeds contempt. How many times have we probably heard that? I think it's balanced out a little bit at the organization that I'm serving as an internal consultant. When I started, I probably could do no wrong in many of their eyes.

But now, I've become more of a regular fixture there.

How many of us have gone out on consultant, or doing some engagements and the first week that you're out there, they're making the coffee... They're getting all that stuff ready.

And then, all of a sudden, the next week you show up and they're saying, "Yep. Coffee pot's over there. Feel free to make some if you want."

You become a part of the family, and so they look on you a little bit differently. One of the things is within that organization; too, I don't really have any authority. I'm the quality improvement manager, but I have no one that reports directly to me.

I'm engaged in the projects and helping to build strategic plans and how we're going to roll out the continuous improvement. I'm involved in the training, the lean Six Sigma training that is going on there as well.

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Implementing Lean Marketing Systems I'm not looked at as one that has necessarily a lot of authority. Because of my experience and background, I think I'm well respected there, which to me, is just as important.

Long story short, I thing with that I feel pretty good about that position that I'm in there, and the way that they're treating me, because I've worked hard to earn that respect.

And so, I couldn't say, at this point, which...I'm treated equally well. I'd have to say that.

Joe: When that initiative was made, to go in, did you replace someone or is that a new initiative at that facility?

Steven: It was actually a new initiative. I was actually doing a green belt class for this organization. One thing led to another and I was asked to come to work for them. One of the stipulations was that... All right, if I do come to work for you, I want to be able to continue to do consulting and training work outside of the organization.

They agreed to that. They said, "As long as you continue to bring us value, then we're OK with that." The relationship has gone quite well. It's just been a little over a year.

But that was a new position. What I've really been blessed with is the fact that the president of the organization has a background... He's a physician, but he also has a background as a green belt. He worked for GE for a time. The finance director, who I happen to report to in that role, is a black belt.

While it's health care, they have a strong, strong background in quality and Six Sigma.

They began that role, and actually we're in the process of attempting to locate another Leading the Way in Iowa Quality Training

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Implementing Lean Marketing Systems individual that would serve in the same capacity that I am. So the program's growing quite well.

Joe: Looking for more people, it would seem like it's moving forward?

Steven: Absolutely. I just... In a couple of weeks, we'll be starting another wave of green belt training. I think it's an exciting time to be involved in health care at this point, from a quality, continuous improvement perspective.

Joe: Did you find that there was any more resistance in health care to continuous improvement training versus other areas that you've went into?

Steven: Not at this point. Maybe several years ago, there may have been. But with my deep involvement at this point, I really don't think that there's any different level of resistance from those in health care.

Sometimes you have discussion about focusing on the bottom line, the dollar. Because, obviously, I think that, if you don't have a quality or a continuous improvement initiative that somehow addresses and impacts positively to the bottom line, eventually you, as an organization will either going to continue to fall farther and farther back in the race or completely drop off.

One of the things that we emphasize in continuous improvement quality at the health care is focusing on, "Yeah, let's increase our margin. If we can increase our margin, we can increase our mission. So we're able to provide more service to those that we want to serve."

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Implementing Lean Marketing Systems Really tying that message into healthcare and your discussion when you're talking about it with nursing staff, clinical staff, really addressing how improving the processes can enable us to be able to provide more services to those that we want to serve. That's really a key point to make.

Joe: I've always found that very particular point has always kind of stuck with me, because so many non-profits center themselves on the mission so much they forget about that they've got to be a successful business to serve properly.

Steven: For a while the discussion about bottom line was really tiptoed around, and the financial impact. I'm really seeing with a lot of the work like LEI and a lot of the other organizations nationwide are doing in the realms of health care. I really see that those walls and stereotypes are breaking down.

Joe: You're in a very unique position, because most of your quality training, which you've been centered around, is services. Most consultants come from more of a manufacturing background where they've had quality training.

What advice would you give someone that's transitioning into healthcare?

Steven: Well, I think, regardless of whether... And it's absolutely right. Most of my background has been in the service oriented organizations. So maybe my transition into working with healthcare has been a little bit smoother.

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Implementing Lean Marketing Systems But I think the emphasis is, regardless of the organization or the industry that you're moving into is that there is a process. Whenever there are processes there's opportunity for variation.

Wherever there's variation, there's opportunity for defects. One just has to be careful not to get hung-up in various phraseology and terminologies that maybe the manufacturing world has been acquainted with, but really going in with an open mind.

It's the same stuff as far as processes are concerned. Whether you're trying to move patients through or whether you're trying to reduce the number of medicinal errors, all of that stuff, it's the same. You're trying to reduce variation and improve the quality of the output. Be it a surgery or whatever else you're trying to improve.

I don't have a whole lot of advice for the individual other than don't get wrapped up also in all the terminology within the healthcare field. Just look at it the same, the processes. You have customers you're trying to serve and processes and systems that you're trying to improve.

Joe: My thoughts wandered a little bit as you were talking there. I sat there and thought about that we've become such a service dominated society.

Even manufacturing has become that. More people buy manufacturing products based on the service, the distribution, and parts availability. Manufacturing is even service dominate now. That may be a better side for the quality guy going into manufacturing by having a service background than to have a manufacturing background.

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Implementing Lean Marketing Systems Steven: Well, I think that's true. Because many of the issues that come out of the physical plant that manufacturing side oftentimes originate in your office environment.

Really, I think you're absolutely right. The customer service, the response time, the warranty, how all of that functions is really service oriented. I wholeheartedly agree with you.

Joe: Do you find people in service having problems of thinking as their work as a process?

Steven: I think that is still present, to some extent. We talk about silos and have for years. A lot of times, those things are getting broken down, I think, over years.

I don't think it's any different in service other than to the extent, perhaps, that you don't see the widget being manufactured. You don't necessarily see how that document flows, particularly if it's done so electronically. On that note, I would say, maybe there is a little bit of a breakdown when it comes to thinking about how the process works. I think that's why it's so important, then, to get everybody involved upfront at looking at that particular process.

Doing the simple process mapping just so everybody can see how what role they play in the particular process. I think that would be probably one of the best things that a service organization could do, particularly if they are spread out or if a lot of the work that they're doing is electronic in nature.

Getting everybody together and doing a deployment type flowchart where they're able to see all of the other departments and individuals involved. How their work impacts and Leading the Way in Iowa Quality Training

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Implementing Lean Marketing Systems flows into the work of other people, I think it is much easier to see on a manufacturing floor than it is, perhaps, in a service environment.

Joe: Where do you find companies that want to start a quality program? When do they come to realize that or is it now more people are just trying to improve the quality program because everybody has one?

Steven: Well, the people, believe it or not, they have a quality program. It might not be a very good one. It might not be one they call a quality program, but they're producing some type of quality of a product or service.

More and more organizations are recognizing that they can't continue to do the same things that they used to do and still have the same impact on the market, as far as being able to exceed customer expectations, get there before their competition is getting there.

The old adage used to be, "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got." Well, in reality, if you keep doing what you've always done, you're going to get less than what you used to get.

Because more and more organizations are focusing on improving, continuous improvement, be it Lean, Six Sigma. They're beginning to focus on those things.

I think more and more organizations are beginning to recognize that if they want to be a contender in the marketplace, they have to start looking at their processes. They have to start improving.

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Implementing Lean Marketing Systems I think there's enough material out there. I think there's been enough exposure to it that most organizations have some awareness of the need, but they don't necessarily know how to start it.

Joe: One of the things I always think about is that people, like you said, they have a quality program. If it's not documented, they just don't have a good one. To improve your quality program, you really need to follow a methodology or you're going to be fumbling with the methodology more than you are the need.

Steven: Yes, you're to be struggling with, "How do we improve?" Just like within a process, an organization, you want to have some standardization. You want to have some process as to how you determine what it is we're going to improve and how we're going to improve it.

I've been fortunate enough that I've had exposure to and I have gone through Goldratt School, with regards to supply chain logistics. I've had exposure to the theory of constraints. One of the nice things that I'll utilize that for, oftentimes, is that helps you identify where the constraint is. I think some organizations have difficulty with their continuous improvement programs, is that they'll say, "All right, we need to improve everything."

So they just begin the shotgun approach at everything. Let's improve everything. It might not really pay for us as a system as a whole, to improve process "X". Because it really doesn't impact the bottom line as much as we need the bottom line to be impacted.

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Implementing Lean Marketing Systems The theory of constraints helps us identify, potentially, where to target our improvements.

Then we bring in Lean, we bring in Six Sigma, depending upon the issue at hand. We bring in those various tools. I think all of the continuous improvement methodologies, again, TOC, Lean, and Six Sigma... It's not about the tools, it's about answering questions.

I remember, years ago when I was beginning to get more involved in the quality improvement arena, you'd run into folks that, boy, unless it was Lean, you were an anthemion. It was out of here, stay away. Then, the same thing if there was Six Sigma people. Unless you talk Six Sigma, Six Sigma was it. Lean was the enemy.

Of course, over the last few years, we've seen a convergence of the two. That's good in a sense that there's more emphasis on, "What are the results that we need to get, and what are the various tools and the things that are going to get us to that point?"

Joe: What do you find that makes a company want to do quality training? Is there a common thread out there? Is there something that you can identify that says this company's ready to improve their quality?

Steven: I like to look at myself within this organization as an internal disruptor. I'm there to disrupt, I'm there to challenge the status quo. The other type of disruptor that you have is external, something happening on the outside. You could have tsunamis, you could have severe natural disasters that cause something from the outside to come in and disrupt things that we need to change.

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Implementing Lean Marketing Systems It can be external from the perspective of a competitor. Some type of competitor is causing this external disruption, is coming up and, all of a sudden, they're new to market and they're blowing you away. That's something that might cause change to have to occur.

I look at it this way. If there's no external disruptor, if there's nothing from the outside coming in to disrupt that organization, chances are, they're going to stay the same.

They're going to be the status quo.

They're going to be content to be as successful as they are. Unless business was to really, really drop off, they'd probably be content to continue to run it at that pace. If, then, you do not have an external disruptor, then you need to have somebody within that organization that would serve as that role as an internal disruptor and begin challenging.

If you're an organization and you don't have that individual within there as well, that's really where the challenge lies. And I think you, as an organization, the success, the longevity of that organization, the sustainability of the organization, is highly questionable.

Joe: I always get the feeling, listening to you, that you treat a lot of things as a training program. You're consultant practices are kind of a training program to being able to get a company and bring them up-to-speed on quality, and have part of the training program be the sustainability of it.

Steven: I look at it that way because, again, as a consultant... I'm going to come in, but my real ambition is to be able to turn the reigns over to those individuals there to see individuals within that organization take on that role as the internal disruptor, take on that Leading the Way in Iowa Quality Training

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Implementing Lean Marketing Systems role as the change agent or whatever title you want to put upon them, but for them to take that role, for me to be able essentially hand over the reins to them.

If there's a certain length of an engagement, it's for me as a consultant to be less and less involved in that organization or those individuals within that organization to become more and more involved more engaged.

As I say, then I'm just there more as an advisory role from time to time. But certainly, yes, it is training, it really is. You pointed that out very well. It is truly a training program, because training new leaders and new change agents within that company...

Joe: But as many companies would look at a training program, you actually run structured training programs, you partner with community colleges in Iowa to do that, don't you?

Steven: Yes, I do and have been since 2004, doing Lean Six Sigma, Green Belt and Black Belt training and various other programs of variation of managerial action. It seems like anything around Lean and Six Sigma in the subject of quality. I'm also engaged in developing and delivering quality training.

Joe: You have a couple of new programs rather than just straight Lean, Six Sigma programs of the Black Belt and the Green Belt. You also have some leadership programs and some problem solving courses that you've developed?

Steven: Looking at again, not only the role of leadership in continuous improvement, but just the role of leadership within the organization. But then, also we have a data driven Leading the Way in Iowa Quality Training

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Implementing Lean Marketing Systems problem solving course. Oftentimes, organizations and individuals will get real glassy-eyed and turn their head when you start talking about Six Sigma. Just because of the inference to statistic a lot of the heavy labor when it comes to math and statistics. And what I want to be able to do is really get a lot of the tools and the training and the concepts into the hand of the masses.

One of the things that I talk about is the "All-skate" philosophy. Myself, growing up here in Iowa... Not too far from my home, we had a roller rink, wooden floors and loved to go in there, probably there every weekend.

There was always the time throughout the day where the deejay or the announcer would get on and tell everybody to get off, maybe they were going to have a special dance one, or they were going to have races, or certain age groups and competitions. And so, you'd have to sit out the floor or sit on the side.

Well, the words that we were all listening for, regardless, I think, of your age or how long ago it was... But what you're listening for is... You're listening for that individual to announce that it's an all-skate, meaning everybody can get back in.

I think individuals within organizations are waiting for leadership to say it's an all-skate with regards to continuous improvement, with regards to involvement in making things better. They want it removed out of the shadows of black belts or quality engineers and really get it out to the masses.

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Implementing Lean Marketing Systems So that's one of the messages that I tried to deliver, too, whenever I had the opportunity to speak. It's on that subject of, "What can we do to get more and more people involved in the actual improvement of the organization?"

Often, that takes tools. If we want to change individuals' behaviors, one of the things that it requires is training. How do we get that training and those materials into their hands?

That's why one of the programs said a bad developing is geared more towards webinars, DVDs, audios, and individuals doing more of what we've referred to as the homework in the classroom. It's getting more and more the materials and information out to these individuals in their organization, so it's more affordable for the organization to then be able to get this stuff in the hands of their people.

The more people that we can have understanding how our control charts reads, or what it means to get baseline data, or what's the difference between a cause and effect, and why do we want to go to the root cause and things... When we can get more and more people having an understanding of that, I think it just exponentially raises the number of opportunities for that organization to improve.

Joe: Why I think just building the concept of problem solving. Toyota looks at everybody as a problem solver. I don't think we've done that well in the U.S. That was always a specific job of a green belt or a black belt.

Steven: Absolutely. That was always the job of somebody else. When we come to work, I always think of continuous improvement, and this is kind of building on my statement. I always think continuous improvement is everybody, everyday, everywhere.

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Implementing Lean Marketing Systems It's everybody's responsibility when they come into an organization. When they come to work it's their responsibility to be looking for opportunities to not only improve the way that they're doing their work, but the way that the system as a whole is working.

I don't think that is stressed strongly enough within organizations. I don't think that that's tied into the hiring process. We'd really need to look at the hiring process.

If we want people to be acceptable to change, and willing to participate in change, and leading change we'd better make sure that as for going through that hiring process that they understand that that is part of their daily job responsibilities. I don't think that we've done a good enough job with that.

Because we always have tried to, I think, put in these areas of black belts, green belts, these specialists that are involved. The strength and the power of your continuous improvement efforts and the sustainability of it, really lies in the people doing the work itself.

Joe: When you speak at different engagements, are these the messages that you deliver?

Steven: Yes, a lot of this, and I like to talk about the facts again, looking at building from Deming and his discussion about it all starts with quality, and the quality is chain reaction there, that it begins with quality. Those are really a lot of the topics that I like to focus on, is it all starts with quality.

I was hearing somebody talking about cost, when were the first coins. I don't know how many years the cost was involved. Schedule... We were talking about, "When did Leading the Way in Iowa Quality Training

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Implementing Lean Marketing Systems schedules originate?" You go back and they were talking about, "When did quality originate?" And you say, "Cool."

If you go back to the beginning of time, if we don't improve our ability to grow crops, we're going to die. So quality always has superseded schedule and cost. I think that really emphasizes the concept that it all starts with quality.

Because, if we begin by improving quality, we're going to address productivity, we're going to address cutting costs, and we're going to increase our market. We're going to increase our margin; we're going to be able to create more jobs. And that truly impacts the community as a whole.

I think organizations that just focus on continuous improvement as a means of cutting costs, their continuous improving efforts are going to be short-lived because... Keep cutting cost, keep cutting cost, keep cutting cost, thinking that you're improving quality.

But eventually, what happens is, you cut quality because your focus is reducing expenses.

Oftentimes, quality takes a back seat to that.

So those are a couple of the things that I really enjoy talking about when I am given the opportunity to speak.

Joe: But you've also emceed a few events. You emceed a iSixSigma Live! Event, if I remember correctly.

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Implementing Lean Marketing Systems Steven: I have a radio show and I had the opportunity or I took the opportunity. I'd been a longtime fan and supporter of iSixSigma, utilizing their website and encouraging a lot of participants in my training programs to use their website as a resource.

I had the opportunity to have them on my radio program and to talk about their website and about what they do, and then, shortly thereafter, received an invitation from them to serve as the emcee for an event a couple of years ago down in Florida. It was a fantastic opportunity.

I gave an opening address, talking about some of the trends and things going on within the quality world and also the emphasis on profit within the quality world and profit within the organizations.

It was really enjoyable because, as they say, then I got to emcee and interact with a lot of the quality people. And I say quality with a small "q" here, quality people within the quality arena.

Joe: Do you feel more like a facilitator of the event?

Steven: You're a facilitator, and introducing various other speakers, and engaging the audience from time to time, and really keeping the audience engaged with the conversation. So yes, it was some new exposure for me. That was the first time I had the opportunity to do that, and I really enjoyed it.

Joe: You mentioned your radio show "Quality Conversations." How long have you been doing that?

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Implementing Lean Marketing Systems Steven: I started the radio program a little over three years ago. I have long been involved to some extent with doing some voice-over work. That's another vein. So I've always had a passion for that.

I stumbled upon a friend of mine. He had sent me a link about something else, and I saw that she had a radio program on Blog Talk Radio. So, I combined the passion that I have for quality and my enjoyment for voice work and radio, and I blended the two together.

That was back, I believe it was about March of 2008 when the first program aired. Again, it's for that purpose of getting the tools, getting the resources out to the masses as opposed to, again, just this understanding that there are a few elite practitioners of continuous improvement but really trying to get as many of the tools and resources out there to as many people.

It's given me a great opportunity to be able to talk with many of the leading practitioners of continuous improvement in our world today.

Joe: You have quite a list when I went through it.

Steven: It's just a conversation. I want to be able to be, I guess, a resource to as many people as possible. Because, I think, only then will the organizations be able to improve and the communities that we live in, the world we live in, et cetera.

So I think, the more that we can get these types of resources out to the individuals. I think it's just puts us all in a better place.

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Implementing Lean Marketing Systems Joe: How can someone find the "Quality Conversations"?

Steven: Well, you can find episodes on my website which is stevencwilson.com and blogtalkradio.com/qualityconversations. If you were to just type in "quality conversations" in Google search I think it's... I know that it's one of the top there, so you'd be able to find it that way as well.

On the show, we've been talking about Six Sigma, we've talked about theory of constraints, we've talked about quality and healthcare, and education, non-profit, we've talked about marketing, we've talked about change, management, leadership, just a lot of different topics that proven to be I believe of benefit to many individuals.

So as long as there's a listening air I'll continue to try to spread the word to the masses.

Joe: Switching gears, you mentioned something there that kinds of brings to mind; It's that we're hearing a lot of talk about experimentation and iterations. Do you think quality and data is old school, has it really taken a back seat to trial and error?

Steven: We have to be careful. There are certainly changes that can be made without data. It happens all the time. People just do that trial and error. Then you've got on the other side where individuals are getting data for everything and not willing and wanting to take any initiative, any moves whatsoever without a plethora of data at their disposal.

I think what's happening now is I think just like with Lean and Six Sigma I think there's becoming more and more an appreciation for both sides of the aisle and a blending Leading the Way in Iowa Quality Training

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Implementing Lean Marketing Systems together. I think we're just going to come out with a better all-around product with regards to continuous improvement.

We're improving the way that we improve. Is Six Sigma going to be around in its current format in 10 years? I don't know. But whatever the case is... And I don't really care as long as whatever else we're doing or moving to is better for the customer and better for the organizations.

Joe: I've always had the understanding that all methodologies evolve. The ones that have substance live on, the ones that don't die off and they take the good from the ones that die off and combine it with the ones that live.

Steven: Absolutely.

Joe: Steve, how can someone get hold of you?

Steven: My email address is wctsinc@Gmail.com Wilson Consulting and Training Services wctsinc@Gmail.com. And my phone is 319-310-3019. Those are probably the two easiest ways to get hold of me. The website is stevencwilson.com.

Joe: Well, I would like to thank you very much. It was very much a quality conversation,

Leading the Way in Iowa Quality Training

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Implementing Lean Marketing Systems Joseph T. Dager Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Ph: 260-438-0411 Fax: 260-818-2022 Email: jtdager@business901.com Web/Blog: http://www.business901.com Twitter: @business901 What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe's ability to combine his expertise with "out of the box" thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with." James R. Joe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive company providing direction in areas such as Lean Marketing, Product Marketing, Product Launches and Re-Launches. As a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, Business901 provides and implements marketing, project and performance planning methodologies in small businesses. The simplicity of a single flexible model will create clarity for your staff and as a result better execution. My goal is to allow you spend your time on the need versus the plan.

An example of how we may work: Business901 could start with a consulting style utilizing an individual from your organization or a virtual assistance that is well versed in our principles. We have capabilities to plug virtually any marketing function into your process immediately. As proficiencies develop, Business901 moves into a coach’s role supporting the process as needed. The goal of implementing a system is that the processes will become a habit and not an event.

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