Brion Hurley
This book is for sale at http://leanpub.com/leansixsigmaforgood
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Chapter 3 - Sustainability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Chapter 8 - Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Brion Hurley
Chapter 1 - Why Lean and
Six Sigma?
Before you read this book from the beginning, you can skip to the
heart of the book in Chapter 6 - How You Can Get Started
I accidentally fell into my job. I was good at math in high school,
and I was forced to pick a major in college. After stuggling with
computer science and biology, I went back to what was working,
Statistics. Later I would realize that there was a need for this skill,
and companies would pay me money! I feel fortunate that I landed
in this career path almost by accident.
In the late 1990’s, Six Sigma was gaining momentum in industry,
and coincidentally my skills would be even more in demand as I
entered the workforce in 1999. I started working full-time at Rock-
well Collins1 , a large aerospace manufacturer near my hometown
of Iowa City, Iowa. That’s where I picked up my knowledge in Lean
principles, which is another popular approach to solving problems.
Over the past 20 years, I’ve been trying to take the best of both
approaches, and to apply the correct approach to whatever problem
I was working on. Practicing these two approaches over many years
has given me the confidence that I can solve any problem thrown
at me. What an amazing feeling!
What makes the Lean and Six Sigma methodology effective is the
structured ways in which problems are solved. There are many
ways to solve problems, and most companies and organizations
often solve these problems incorrectly. They are inconsistent in
how they handle problems, with an incorrect focus on quick, short-
term cost reductions to meet financial metrics. For publicly traded
1
Rockwell Collins, http://www.RockwellCollins.com
Chapter 1 - Why Lean and Six Sigma? 4
more money, but leads to more stress and less free time with your
family.
In the next chapter, I will give you some ideas on how you can
start to shift towards more rewarding work, using your process
improvement skills.
Chapter 2 - Beyond Profits
A Lean Six Sigma approach works for almost any kind of problem,
not just those within for-profit companies and organizations.
Did you know that nonprofit organizations and non governmental
organizations (NGO) have documented the following successes
using Lean and Six Sigma?
Toyota employees teach Hurricane Sandy food bank staff how to reduce time
to distribute food in New York
Lean Portland volunteers Chelsey McIntyre and Matt Horvat (back) work
with Leif Amundson and Tom Patzkowski (front) at The Rebuilding Center
to review possible layout changes in Portland, Oregon
Profit is already the primary focus. That is how most companies and
organizations make decisions today. What is needed is more focus
around people (social) and planet (environmental) issues.
There is a perception that organizations that start to focus on people
and planet will have a negative impact on their profits. However,
when people and planet are not considered, an organization cannot
survive in the long term. They cannot continue to provide their
products and services because raw materials are depleted or become
too expensive, or they cannot attract and retain employees to work
for them. This negatively impacts quality and delivery to their
customers, and their business suffers.
A new focus on the “triple bottom line” can actually drive profitabil-
ity and growth to companies. It can bring in stronger candidates for
job openings, open the market up to new customers, and reduce
the risk of fines, penalties and negative publicity (such as those
experienced by BP9 , Wells Fargo10 and Apple11 ).
9
Deepwater Horizon oil spill http://bit.ly/1xqaYQv
10
Wells Fargo Fined $185 Million for Fraudulently Opening Accounts http://nyti.ms/
2poL53K
11
Apple’s Chinese workers treated ‘inhumanely, like machines’ http://bit.ly/2gClFgA
Chapter 3 - Sustainability 14
1. Unilever
2. Patagonia
3. Interface
4. IKEA
5. Tesla
6. Marks & Spencer
7. Natura
8. Nestle
9. General Electric (GE)
10. BASF
11. Nike
for sustainability reporting. You can visit the website of any orga-
nization to see if they are publicly sharing their sustainability or
social responsibility report.
Aside from all the rankings and reports, here’s another test to deter-
mine the sustainability of an organization. How do they currently
make business decisions?
In the next chapter, we’ll go into more detail about People and
Planet by looking at some sustainability goals established by the
United Nations (UN).
14
Natura Cosmeticos, S.A., Harvard Business School, http://hbs.me/2lUfDfK
Chapter 4 - U.N. Sustainable
Development Goals
On September 25, 2015, the 193 countries of the United Nations (UN)
General Assembly adopted the 2030 Development Agenda15 , which
consists of 17 goals and 169 targets.
Here are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s):
1. No Poverty
2. Zero Hunger
3. Good Health and Well-Being
4. Quality Education
5. Gender Equality
6. Clean Water and Sanitation
7. Affordable and Clean Energy
8. Decent Work and Economic Growth
9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
10. Reduced Inequalities
11. Sustainable Cities and Communities
12. Responsible Consumption and Production
13. Climate Action
14. Life Below Water
15. Life On Land
16. Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
17. Partnerships for the Goals
Let’s first look at the goals that fit into the People section…
15
United Nations website, http://bit.ly/2i3roua
Chapter 4 - U.N. Sustainable Development Goals 18
PEOPLE
Now let’s look at the goals that fit into the Planet section…
Chapter 4 - U.N. Sustainable Development Goals 20
PLANET
You can read more about each goal on the UN SDG website16
These goals do not cover all issues that you might be passionate
about. These are meant to give you some topics to consider. Re-
gardless of your interests, the idea is to select a cause that does not
have a profit motive, and put some of your time and effort towards
this cause. But don’t forget to bring your Lean and Six Sigma skills
with you! Too often people volunteer with organizations and leave
their work skills at home!
16
United Nations website, http://bit.ly/2i3roua
Chapter 5 - How I Got
Started
I’d like to share my journey towards volunteering my skills, to give
you some more background on why I am writing this book.
One of the most rewarding volunteer projects for me was my work
on increasing recycling rates at Kinnick Stadium.
I grew up in Iowa City my whole life, and that is where the
University of Iowa is located. Kinnick Stadium is where the college
football team plays their games. I attended many games growing
up, and my dad worked security on the field for the team during
my youth. During high school, our football team would clean up
the stadium on Sunday mornings (after the Saturday home games).
It was not much fun, since it was usually early in the morning and
cold outside (two things I dislike).
After high school, I attended school at the University of Iowa, and
I was fortunate to play football in that stadium for 4 years.
During my awakening to the problems of climate change, and the
impact that humans are having on the planet, I decided to go back to
school to get more education. I enrolled in a sustainability certificate
program at the University of Iowa in 2010. After taking a few
classes, I started to make new connections within the university,
specifically in the Office of Sustainability, and the Athletics and
Facilities departments.
For about 6 years, I had moved away from Iowa, and was living in
Florida, so I hadn’t been attending football games very often. When
I moved back to Iowa, and started to attend football games again, I
started to notice the lack of recycling options inside and outside the
stadium.
Chapter 5 - How I Got Started 23
18
Earth Consultants - Lean Six Sigma and the Environment, http://www.
LeanSixSigmaEnvironment.org
19
Dietary greenhouse gas emissions of meat-eaters, fish-eaters, vegetarians and vegans
in the UK http://bit.ly/2lo751c
Chapter 6 - How You Can
Get Started
Making money is not the primary driver of motivation and job
satisfaction for a majority of people20 . The need to satisfy intrinsic
motivation was described in the book, “Drive” by Daniel H. Pink21 .
He states that when we achieve profit goals, the satisfaction is short-
lived. We are happier when we pursue purpose goals (people and
planet).
Not only is purpose a good thing for society, it’s also good for
us as individuals.
20
Does Money Really Affect Motivation? A Review of the Research http://bit.ly/19wgits
21
Drive - The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, http://amzn.to/29uAVrl
Chapter 6 - How You Can Get Started 27
Here are some steps I would recommend for moving towards more
rewarding and purposeful work.
cause you are working towards, and avoid too much self-
promotion.
9. Repeat - Once you’ve had some successes, go back to Step
#1 and make sure you are still passionate about the cause
you selected. Maybe your experience was not what you
expected, and you want to pick a new cause. Perhaps you are
still passionate about the cause, and want to continue with
another problem within that organization, or perhaps shift
directions and work with a different organization.
32
Finding Purpose - Environmental Stewardship as a Personal Calling by Andrew J.
Hoffman, http://bit.ly/2ioZD01
Chapter 7 - Strength in
Numbers
One of the reasons I put this book together was to share the
excitement I had with my own journey towards helping others, and
reducing our impact on the environment. My excitement was fueled
in large part by my experiences with two volunteer groups, and one
benefit consulting company.
The first group is the Sustainable Development Division33 of the
Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE). The group was
established in 2011 by John Corliss34 . Although I’m not an Industrial
or Systems Engineer by education, I was impressed with their
drive to embed sustainability into these disciplines, and they were
one of the few organizations promoting sustainability along with
process improvement. I decided to start helping out by becoming
the webmaster for the division, and I started attending the board
member call-in meetings once per month. They also host numerous
meetings and networking activities during the annual conferences.
I’ve been fortunate to speak on Lean Six Sigma and Sustainability
topics at every annual conference since 2013.
I’d like to tell you about two wonderful people I met through the
division.
Joel Brock35 has been using his Industrial Engineering skills to help
local animal shelters run more effectively. In addition to applying
his skills to the cleaning and feeding processes for the animals, he’s
also gained valuable leadership and job experience, learned about
33
Sustainable Development Division of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers
(IISE) website, http://bit.ly/2i3CjbY
34
John Corliss LinkedIn page, http://bit.ly/2isvmNC
35
Joel Brock LinkedIn page, http://bit.ly/2z0YXcn
Chapter 7 - Strength in Numbers 34
Ricardo Thierry Aguilera and Joel Brock help organize donated clothes at Le
Chaînon, a women’s shelter in Montréal, Quebec (Canada), prior to the 2014
IISE Annual Conference.
42
Lean Portland, http://www.LeanPDX.org
43
Lean Portland LinkedIn Group, http://bit.ly/2iWWGr8
44
Sherpa Sustainability Institute - Coaches, https://www.sherpasustainabilityinstitute.
com/coaches
Chapter 8 - Summary
You have a powerful skill set that can make your current organiza-
tion more sustainable, which is good for business.
Those skills can also help not-for-profit organizations become more
effective and efficient, which is good for society.
If you are excited about those two statements above, please follow
the steps below:
45
Lean Six Sigma for Good Facebook Page, https://www.facebook.com/
LeanSixSigmaforGood
Chapter 8 - Summary 38
Thank you for taking the time to read this book. I hope you found
it valuable.
If you like this book, please share this with other Lean and Six
Sigma practitioners you know. The preferred method of sharing is
by directing people to the book page46 to download it digitally for
free, or download the audio version.
And don’t forget to connect with other readers on the Facebook
page: https://www.facebook.com/LeanSixSigmaforGood/47
In my next book, I’ll be gathering stories of people just like you, who
have taken the next step, and used your skills to make a difference
in the world!
Key takeaway for Chapter 8: What is the ONE next step you
are going to commit to take after reading this book?
46
Lean Six Sigma for Good book, http://www.LeanSixSigmaforGood.com
47
Lean Six Sigma for Good Facebook Page, https://www.facebook.com/
LeanSixSigmaforGood
Chapter 8 - Summary 39
Donated solar panels are lifted to the roof of the nonprofit organization Com-
mittee on the Shelterless (COTS) in Sonoma County, California. © Everybody
Solar.
48
Everybody Solar, http://www.EverybodySolar.org
Resources
Lean Six Sigma and Sustainability Books
• Lean4NGO http://www.Lean4NGO.org
• Lean Impact http://LeanImpact.org
• Lean Portland http://www.LeanPDX.org
• Sustainable Engineer (IISE) http://www.SustainableEngineer.
org
• Benefit (B) Corporations http://www.BCorporation.net
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - Lean Toolkits https:
//www.EPA.gov/lean
• Sherpa Sustainability Institute http://bit.ly/2isxFAC
• Lean and Sustainable Consortium http://bit.ly/2ipfZWB
• Lean Six Sigma and the Environment (Earth Consultants)
http://www.LeanSixSigmaEnvironment.org
Resources 42
52
Recycling Advocates, http://www.RecyclingAdvocates.org
53
Brion Hurley LinkedIn profile, http://bit.ly/2ipgPm0