Editorial Review:
Six Sigma for Managers is a practical overview on how to implement Six Sigma practices in everyday business. Emphasizing straightforward explanations instead of complex charts and statistics, it shows managers how to map processes, measure smart, and follow other Six Sigma principles.
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Customer Reviews
Average Customer Rating: 
A Simplistic Overview  2006-04-28
I picked the book off a manager's shelf to get an overview and fill some time. It does give an overview if one just accepts, can get past, cheerleading as argument and apparently incorrect statistical presentation. The author says early on that Six Sigma is an extension and refinement of quality programs, but then thereafter claims it's unrelated and totally different than those, as if he is chanting a mantra, without offering any meaningful explanation as to how. Not long after, he explains the basic statistics of calculating error rates, standard deviations, tolerances and such, but then it gets dicey: a key formula is written incorrectly (parenthesis are not used where they should be) and the forumla and text explanation do not correspond. Moreover, his more important calculations are not shown and I wasn't able to reproduce them based on the information provided (does 6-Sigma mean 6 x the standard deviation, as stated, or 6 standard deviations from the mean?). Such simple mindedness and apparent errors are disconcerting and undermine confidence in the rest of the author's presentation.
An effective overview but not more  2005-11-02
If you know very little to nothing about quality processes, statistics or the audacious goals of a 'Six Sigma' process, then this book is an excellent choice to get an overview. Just as the title says, this book is for MANAGERS and thus takes a broad, managerial view - as opposed to the "nuts-n-bolts" of the worker-bees who will do the work. But, the manager targeted for this book seems more a remote manager not too involved in the daily tasks of a full-out six-sigma initiative. Accordingly, SS guru/author Greg Brue defines broadly "what is six sigma" and highlights the main elements of the process (define/measure/analyze/improve/control) along with the leadership roles and importance of a "top-down" commitment. (ideal to refer to the Table of Contents). He also presents the basic financial arguements of how Six Sigma can pay for itself and improve many key business metrics - albeit in the most simplistic terms and without any mention of up-front investments (nothing is free to start).
Positive points: clear language, nice paper quality, not one of those tiny paperbacks(!), an easy-to-read type-set, not too technical for the beginner, decent graphs, and mostly just a good overview of the many considerations and tools for the Six Sigma process.
But, if you are a person who is more technical, statistical or has been to business school, this book is probably way too simple for other than a short reminder of what is important. You'll quickly read it through and say, "What's next?" The basic teachings here will really not equip you to lead a Six Sigma effort or effectively use its analytical or statistical tools in a meeting setting (not enough detail). Also, there were not enough detailed or compelling examples of how to use the statistical tools or and in-depth analysis of the financial payoffs. The few examples were only about 1-2 paragraphs in length so that should give you an idea of its depth. Again it is not a textbook but a quickie overview of what to consider and why it is important and how it can pay off. But, it should leave you with a firm sense of how Six Sigma is not merely "another quality program" but a company-wide, integrated initiative towards maximizing profitability, productivity and customer satisfaction (to name a few things) through measuring everything of importance from manufacturing processes to accounts receivable. And towards that goal, I found it useful to start the journey. Next stop ... a fat textbook with lots of graphs, charts, equations and highly-detailed business examples.
If you did not know, "Six Sigma" refers to the statistical level of quality as measured by a defect rate (non-comformance to some spec) of only 3.4 per 1,000,000 occurances (or 99.9997% in-spec). Prior to the 80's this audacious goal was really unheard of until the age of precision electronics manufacturing and one alert Motorola engineer who first defined the goal and started this train rolling.
the first six sigma book I provide to my clients 2005-10-10
This is a perfect entry level book for mid/top managers willing to know the basic about Six Sigma. Very easy to read and understand.
It's not bad 2005-05-19
I already knew what six sigma was and I already had a basic grasp of statistical concepts. I got what I expected from the book, a high level overview of six sigma.
This book is about 160 pages long, I think the author could have easily trimmed some fat and fluff and condensed it to less then 100 pages.
Overall, I'm glad I bought the book, it's inexpensive and I feel I've gotten my money's worth.
Good Introduction for those who are confused about Six Sigma  2004-08-22
I wanted to know about Six Sigma. I read some articals, but did not get a good picture of Six Sigma. This book is quite readable, interesting and provides a good introduction to Six Sigma. I recommend it to any one as the first book towards Six Sigma initiative.
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