Does Six Sigma stifle Innovation?

A recent special report on Innovation in the respected publication Business Week heavily criticised Six Sigma, claiming not only that it “squelches” creativity but that its moment has passed.

The two articles, Six Sigma: So Yesterday and At 3M, A Struggle Between Efficiency And Creativity, do at least recognise Six Sigma as being more than a fad and acknowledge that it has been successful in turning many organisation’s fortunes around. They argue, however, that once this has been achieved then the systems it puts in place during the improvement process stifle the necessary next step: Innovation. “as innovation becomes the cause du jour,” one article states “companies are increasingly confronting the side effects of a Six Sigma culture.”

The articles cite 3M and Home Depot, an American retailer of home improvement and construction products and services, as being examples of organisational cultures that, although having been initially helped by Six Sigma, now find themselves hindered by it. George Buckley, the current 3M CEO, is quoted as saying :” "Invention is by its very nature a disorderly process. You can't put a Six Sigma process into that area and say, well, I'm getting behind on invention, so I'm going to schedule myself for three good ideas on Wednesday and two on Friday. That's not how creativity works."

Robert Carter, a consultant at defense contractor Raytheon, goes further. He is quoted as saying: "most Six Sigma practitioners are very strong on the left brain, innovation very much starts in the right hemisphere. When an idea starts germinating, you don't want to overanalyze it, which can happen in a traditional DMAIC framework.”

Comments on the articles from readers vary from those defencing the methodology, to those vigorously agreeing. One comments: “Does Six Sigma aid in innovating or inventing? Categorically, NO.” going on to add “it interferes with the process of inventing, designing, and developing.”

So are these criticisms justified? There is no doubt that Innovation as a concept and a business practice is vital in today’s business world, and as its importance increases, these questions must be answered to ensure the long-term validity of Six Sigma. The articles admit that “there has been little formal research on whether the tension between Six Sigma and innovation is inevitable”. But is there evidence that the two can co-exist, or even that Innovation can flourish in a Six Sigma environment?

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What's your opinion? Does Six Sigma stifle Innovation?

onesixsigma.com will be looking into this issue over the coming weeks. If you would like to rebuke or agree with the criticisms Business Week level at Six Sigma, then you can either write an article or white paper on the subject (click here for our submission guidelines), or get involved on the Forum: we have opened a thread to discuss these criticisms, please click here.