Spiritual Six Sigma

Thanks to the power of the internet, I now have the best minds in the world (he works for Microsoft -- some nod, some snicker) working on the issue of connecting people with God. I love this job!!

Brian Miller wonders if Six Sigma can be used in a non-traditional setting, like a church. I'm not any kind of expert here, but it was a fun exercise to see how flexible the concepts could be. The reason I think they're so relevant to marketing is that the underlying concepts are pretty simple.

Now remember, I'm not a Six Sigma expert, but here's what I remember off the top of my head.

Using the DMAIC process, we can go through the basic steps:

DEFINE: Start with really defining a problem (attendance, spirituality, contributions, obedience, engagement with scriptures, etc.). Is it a real problem? What would success look like? What's critical to the customer about what you're trying to improve?

MEASURE: Could you put it into a goal that's attainable but challenging? Make it something that can be measured, very exactly. Number of members attending 3x a month, or donation per member, or number of pages of scripture read by member per month?

ANALYZE: Why is the problem occurring? Use "5 why's" to get to the real root of the problem. Again, what's critical to the customer? If it's attendance, why are people staying home? Because they have better things to do on a Sunday? Why? Because watching baseball is more exciting than sitting in a sermon? Why? Because baseball provides social stimulation? It's exciting? Folks don't have to dress up? Etc. Get to the root of the customer expectations.

IMPROVE: The easy part, once you've really found the problem. Map out the process to find out every relevant step taken in the existing process. What one thing could you do to solve the underlying problem?

CONTROL: Continue to measure, to see if the steps you've taken are working. Stay in tune with the customer to see if they percieve the problem improving. Control the improvements, and continue tweaking. Now, move on to the next problem.

Sounds pretty simple, and in some ways, it is. Biggest "aha!" for me was taking the time to really break apart the problem into bite-size chunks.

This is decent stuff. When it comes down to brass tacks (where on earth did that phrase come from), it all goes back to God and what He wants to do. But at the same time, I'm going to do everything I can possibly do to build bridges in that direction. Thanks John!