Wanted: Six Sigma Black Belts

Developing Six Sigma experts -- folks who can help an organization achieve 99.99966 percent reliability -- is one of those process things beloved by bureaucracies. And now we can add the Army Training and Doctrine Command to the list of outfits besotted by a tool originally developed by Motorola in the 1980s to improve its manufacturing processes.

TRADOC wants to find some contractors to help train not your run of the mill Six Sigma experts, but advanced Master Black Belt process gurus who, by definition, spend all of their time doing Six Sigma.

Before TRADOC hires some high priced consultants for this job, I suggest its contracting folks read this July 2006 article from Fortune magazine, which says other consultants view Six Sigma as a narrow approach that stifles innovation.

In fact, Fortune reported, in the commercial world Six Sigma was a bummer, with 91 percent of the 58 companies that adopted the process trailing, not leading, the Standard & Poor's 500 index of stocks.

Maybe TRADOC should convene a meeting of some smart NCOs -- the soul of the Army -- rather than hiring a Six Sigma Master Black Belt consulting outfit.