At 3M, A Struggle Between Efficiency And Creativity

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. At 3M, A Struggle Between Efficiency And Creativity
This article is worth reading on a number of levels. In a nutshell, 3M - the company behind things like Scotch Tape and PostIt Notes - applied the Six Sigma program to increase efficiency. Dave Snowden summarizes, "DMAIC, the Sig Sigma equivalent of the Ten Commandments, says it all. Define, measure, analyze, improve, control." And it appears to have worked - 3M was a lot more efficient. But it was also a company that thrives on innovation and creativity. And it appears that Six Sigma may have engineered that right out of the system. More...