The art of war by Sun Tzu, is governed by five constant factors, to be taken into account in the field when laying plans. These are: (1) The Moral Law; (2) Heaven; (3) Earth; (4) The Commander; (5) Method and discipline. Which suits fine the need for Vision, Skills, Incentives, Resources and Methodologies.
Lean Six Sigma programs are not just an ‘one-off‘, to keep the Culture of Continual Improvement, the constant presence of the methodology is essential.
Tu Yu quotes Wang Tzu as saying: “Without constant practice, the officers will be nervous and undecided when mustering for battle; without constant practice, the general will be wavering and irresolute when the crisis is at hand.”
The Lean Six Sigma approach was first introduced and developed at Motorola in late 1980s. Later in the mid-nineties, it was adopted by General Electric and Allied Signal. To maintain a critical mass one should keep up a 2% Black Belt and a 10% Green Belt of its company‘s popluation. Six Sigma is now adopted by many other reputed companies.