Process Excellence Network http://tiny.cc/tpkd0

1. Motorola: "Understand the Why"
(Transcript)
Six Sigma can be perceived as slow and arduous, says
Tom Goodwin, Director of Lean Six Sigma at Motorola
Mobile Devices, but it doesn’t need to be. The key, is
understanding the "why". In this PEX Network interview,
Goodwin shares his tips for rolling out Six Sigma across an
organization.
PEX Network: Today we’d like to get a bit of a snapshot of what you’ll be talking about
and discuss some of the key themes that will be coming up at the conference in June. To
start, Motorola obviously have a renowned history in Six Sigma. Tom, how has the focus
of your process improvement changed over the past five years?
Tom Goodwin: We have, and it’s a great benefit having been there in the forefront in
developing it and making it work. We’ve gone through different phases and even a
reinvention. About five years ago, coincidentally, we went through to put more emphasis
on digitizing our solutions in making sure they stayed safe. So that was leveraging our
computer systems and controls and tools to remove the old habits, and the only way we
could do stuff was to do it systematically. So we went through that and it’s been very
effective. In that reinvention period we also tried to reinvigorate the campaign mode and,
from that, we’ve done such a great job of re-stoking the fires, if you will, that now it is just
rolling without that absolute top-down driven push forward. People are doing it because
they know it works, they’ve seen it work, and it’s just part of how we do things.
PEX Network: How do you keep people in your organization enthusiastic about
improvement when it starts to fall down the priority list?
Tom Goodwin: I think in today’s times things are certainly very challenging. Everyone’s
gone through their headcount reductions and there’re simply less people doing more
activity, and I think that’s what keeps thing going. I think that’s what the emphasis on
Lean is. Now that we can’t do the things the way we used to before, we can’t keep
working harder. That’s just not an option. So how do we work smarter? By identifying
value-add, looking to reduce errors that consume time to go back and re-work, so really
people are enthused. There’s a way, I’ll call it even simply a quality of life and quality of
the business, and we’re all out to be a successful company and everyone’s very
motivated to get through these times. I think those two things together keep people
enthralled and it keeps rolling.
PEX Network: In your view, is this transferable to organizations without Motorola’s depth
and range in Six Sigma, or do you think that they’ll struggle with this?
Tom Goodwin: I think it depends. I think certainly having the culture there helps a great
deal but I don’t think it’s an absolute necessity. I think you have to start it slow, show
your successes, prove that it works and then use it when it’s appropriate. I think
sometimes people get a little over zealous and they try to apply it in all places and I think
that can be a downfall. So I think as long as it’s a very measured and deliberate
approach with keeping things simple and keeping to the true voice of the customer. The

2. reason we’re here is to do things and deliver for our customers, and deliver for our
stakeholders. I think it can be transferable.
PEX Network: Some really great tips there. What would you call your biggest personal
success in Lean Six Sigma since working at Motorola?
Tom Goodwin: I guess for my personal success I would say we were at a real
crossroads when our company went through our public separation in January and there
was a lot of work leading up to that and a lot of discussions : do we still need this, is this
still viable, do people want this? And the answer, resolutely, under what we call now
Motorola Mobility was, yes we do! And I was able to keep the program running; our
enrolment in it and tool usage has been constant among just a sea of change. So I
personally am very proud that we’ve kept the program going and that the interest is still
very high.
PEX Network: What’s the biggest business success that you’ve seen in Six Sigma and
Motorola since working there, looking at the wider business?
Tom Goodwin: I think it’s in the pure number of applications we’ve had. Its success, I
think, is the sheer number of successes that we’ve had. We’ve had entire facilities, for
instance, in our Brazil and China sites that have taken on Lean projects at a facility level,
where there’ve just been hundreds of small and yet very powerful things that have gone
on. We have areas in design for Six Sigma, areas in Lean, areas in transactional process
improvement, and all those, cumulatively, I think, speak to the success we’ve had here
with the program.
PEX Network: You’ve recently gone through a major organizational change at Motorola.
You’re going to be speaking at our Telecoms and Utilities Conference about how to
leverage change for transformation. So, Tom, could you give us a brief insight into how
and what you’re doing to facilitate a smooth change within Lean Six Sigma?
Tom Goodwin: I think the key, and I touched on it a little bit earlier, is be careful not to
oversell it. I think sometimes people see it as a super power or trying to do things that
are just too large and I think that’s where it falls down and fails. I would say set
expectations appropriately, talk about what’s really at heart, what problems are we really
trying to solve and I think you’ll quickly get there’s common agreement that we need to
do things faster and we need to do things with more accuracy, we need to understand
what our customers are asking for. So you scope your projects, pick your efforts that
align to the biggest business needs, and then find your people that truly see this as a
way to learn more for themselves. If you marry those things, then I think that brings you
through these times like this.
PEX Network: In summary, start slow in small scale and build it up across the
organization?
Tom Goodwin: Absolutely. And there are some high profiles wins. They are there, and
when you see them, celebrate them and communicate them.

3. PEX Network: Finally, what would be your top five or top three tips to any organization
using Lean Six Sigma, if they were using it, a few changes to avert common stumbling
blocks?
Tom Goodwin: I think almost immediately of change control, understanding what’s the
why. Why are we doing this? Why is it relevant? How can it help our business? So get
out there with some very good change management out front. Stick to the tools; follow
the process without being bureaucratic. I think sometimes Six Sigma can be perceived
as something that’s slow and arduous and it doesn’t have to be. What problems are we
trying to solve, what’s giving us the confidence we’re doing the right things? I think that
looking at the tools with that balanced judgment of what’s appropriate and what’s needed
is there.
And I think, finally, just following through and celebrating it, recognizing when people
have successes and then tell people after the fact, well, here’s how we got there, these
are the things we did to get there without the heavy jargon and bureaucracy that
sometimes can come along with it. I think that would be the immediate things that pop
into my head.
PEX Network: Now just to finish off, which of the elements of the program are you
looking forward to most at the event, looking at the schedule?
Tom Goodwin: I love to see what other people are doing. I love to see the presentations
with the other companies, to get ideas from them, so get an understanding of the best in
class ideas that are going to come across. And I think that networking is always very
positive. I like the interactive nature of your conferences and the ability for real time
problem solving with the people that are there. They’re always very interesting to meet
with.
Listen to the original podcast here.
IQPC
Please note that we do all we can to ensure accuracy within the translation to word of
audio interviews but that errors may still understandably occur in some cases. If you
believe that a serious inaccuracy has been made within the text, please contact +44 (0)
207 368 9425 or email helen.winsor@iqpc.co.uk.
About PEX Network
I invite you to join as a member of the PEX Network Group
http://tinyurl.com/3hwakem, you will have access to Key Leaders
Globally, Events, Webinars, Presentations, Articles, Case Studies, Blog
Discussions, White Papers, and Tools and Templates. To access this
free content please take 2 minutes for a 1 time FREE registration at
http://tiny.cc/tpkd0
PEX Network, a division of IQPC, facilitates access to a wealth of relevant content for
Process Excellence, Lean, and Six Sigma practitioners. Further enhanced with an online
community of your peers, we will provide you with the tools and resources to help you
perform more effective and efficiently, while enhancing the quality operations within your
organization. As our industry becomes more and more dependent on the Web for
information, PEXNetwork.com has been developed to provide Six Sigma professionals

4. with instant access to information. Leveraging our strength and foundation in education,
IQPC and the Process Excellence Network are uniquely positioned to provide a
comprehensive library of webcasts gathered from our events, as well as exclusive
content from leaders in the industry.