But selecting a Lean consultant is a serious subject so – remembering the promise not to make this a commercial – let’s address some of the common questions that we hear.

Question: Does our company even need a Lean Six Sigma consultant? Can’t we do it ourselves?

Answer: It is definitely possible to learn and implement Lean independently. After all, the first companies to adopt Lean did so before Lean consultants were even invented. And there is some validity to the idea that a 100% internal program will best fit the culture of the organization. When evaluating the home-grown option, three important points to consider are:

• What are the cost/benefits of using an experienced Lean Six Sigma consultant to accelerate the learning curve and realization of financial results?
• Will a completely internal implementation provide access to best practices so that your company is not learning by the school of hard knocks?
• Will your internal resources need to develop their own training, hands-on exercises and implementation tools? If so, this may add months of “set-up” before being able to gain any benefits.

Question: There seem to be so many Lean Consultants available. What are the trade-offs of using a local person or firm versus a more established Lean Six Sigma consulting provider with broad experience?

Answer: Without intending to be cruel, let’s be brutally honest. When the economy heads south and talented people are laid off through no fault of their own, many reinvent themselves as consultants. This happens in every field, not just Lean Six Sigma consulting. Undoubtedly, some of these people make excellent trainers and implementers, and it may be possible to find one who has experience that is very relevant to your situation.

On the other hand, more established firms tend to have broader experience that can provide new ideas from outside your particular industry. With a history of implementations they have heard all the objections and overcome the myriad of obstacles that invariably develop.

So which is the best choice? You’ll have to consider the trade-offs to decide for your organization.

Question: How important is experience in your specific industry?

Answer: A Lean Six Sigma consultant with some familiarity to your industry is not necessarily bad. However, having extensive experience is probably overblown (see our OEI Four Dreaded Words: “...but we are unique”). In fact, experience exclusive to one industry tends to promote inbred solutions. Sometimes the ability to apply a concept developed in an entirely different context can provide the breakthrough required to reach new levels of performance.

Question: How should we evaluate proposed fees?

Answer: It is easy to fall into the trap of ranking Lean Manufacturing consultants by their cost. After all, Lean Six Sigma training encourages evaluating numerical data. But it this case, ranking Lean consultants strictly by cost can be counterproductive. Since a good Lean consulting firm will deliver a return many times the investment for its services, the value it provides is a far more important metric than the stated cost.

As an analogy, which person would you prefer to manage your personal investment portfolio: one who charges 5% and earns $10K for you, or one who charges 10% and earns you $20K? While fees are not insignificant, they clearly pale in comparison to value.

At the beginning of this Operational Excellence Insight, we promised not to make this a commercial. However, we will fib just this little bit – if you would like more spin-free advice on how to objectively choose a Lean Six Sigma consultant, or any consultant for that matter, please feel free to call or e-mail. We promise to provide some objective advice for your situation without any pressure or obligation.

By the way, our company founder, Mike Donovan, is working on a more comprehensive white paper about the many differences between consultants including:

• How to identify differences
• Ranking their importance to you
• How to objectively pick the consultant that will bring the most value (i.e., "Bang for the buck")

We will announce when the white paper is completed but let us know at Jack.Rink@rmdonovan.com if you would like a copy and we will push the project along at a faster pace. (Like any good Lean organization, we do respond to actual customer demand!)

Do you have any tips or advice to offer others in how to select a Lean consultant?   Please visit our blog to add your comments by following the link: Our Blog.

Interested in more ways to improve operations and increase earnings at the same time? We invite you to download our white paper “Targeted Lean Six Sigma". You are also welcome to browse the list of free white papers and other articles at Free Resources.

If you have a topic that you would like addressed, or an Insight you would like to pass along, e-mail us at: Jack.Rink@rmdonovan.com

Browse our Operational Excellence Insight Archives