Tom Pyzdek

Founder and CEO

The Pyzdek Institute

Thomas Pyzdek’s career in business process improvement spans more than 50 years. He is the author more than 50 copyrighted works including The Six Sigma Handbook (McGraw-Hill, 2003). Through the Pyzdek Institute, he provides online certification and training in Six Sigma and Lean.

Wed, 01/11/2012 - 13:20
Activity-Based Cost Accounting Hinders Lean Six Sigma Few things do more harm to lean Six Sigma than this method of accounting.
Mon, 07/27/2009 - 05:00
In a recent post on the Evolving Excellence blog, Bill Waddell tackles one of my pet peeves: activity-based costing, or ABC. Few things do more harm to lean Six Sigma than this method of accounting. In fact, it is my opinion that the accounting…
Statistics: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly There are lots of ways to look at numbers.
Sun, 05/03/2009 - 15:01
The quality and process improvement professions tend to rely heavily on statistical information. The very science of quality control can be said to have begun with Walter A. Shewhart’s development of the control chart and discovery of the concepts…
Tough Times and Lean Six Sigma Quality tools are needed now more than ever.
Tue, 03/31/2009 - 11:03
Although I’ve spent my entire career working in the quality and process improvement fields, my undergraduate degree is in economics. I learned that economic cycles are normal. Economic downturns result when there is an imbalance in the economy.…
Management in One Lesson Like 3-D chess, decisions must be considered from several levels.
Fri, 02/27/2009 - 10:06
John, Acme Corp.’s new CEO, just heard a brilliant idea for making his numbers this quarter. He needed it. During a conference call with the financial press last month, he made certain promises. If he couldn’t keep them, the company’s stock would…
Flavor of the Month Their charms may fade, but quality fads do help move our profession forward.
Thu, 01/29/2009 - 13:47
We’ve heard it before: “______ won’t be around long. It’s the flavor of the month.” Fill in the blank with the latest management fad: zero defects, quality circles, SPC, TQM, systems thinking, balanced scorecards, reengineering, and most recently,…
Ten Steps to a Crystal Ball It’s easy to predict that statistical purists don’t like using historical-data models.
Tue, 12/02/2008 - 11:39
The gold standard for modeling the future in a business environment is the designed experiment. Design of experiments (DOE) is a well-developed approach to planning and executing controlled manipulations. Somewhat less respectable are models…
Be Careful What You Wish For When asked for help, leaders need guidance, too.
Wed, 10/29/2008 - 14:58
Over the years I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard the lament, “We don’t have management support!” I sympathize. Lack of management support is without a doubt one of the prime causes of failed process and quality improvement efforts.…
The Elite He who stands still moves backward.

Fri, 10/03/2008 - 13:59
Recently I called a friend, Ethan, to catch up on things. Ethan is a former student of mine who now holds a senior leadership position. He has been “tainted” by process excellence in the sense that because he understands the importance of processes…
Beyond the “0” Breaking even isn’t good enough.
Sat, 08/30/2008 - 14:51
Steve McDowell, CEO of TechDyno, looked quizzically at the smiling young woman standing at the front of the room. Lorraine Whitcombe finished her presentation by enthusiastically declaring, “That’s how my group will ‘Go for the O!’” That’s when…
Total Lean Where does our responsibility for producing a product or service end?
Fri, 08/01/2008 - 07:56
The following personal stories concern vehicles produced by the automaker that invented lean and is world-famous for its efficient manufacturing operations: • My old SUV’s bright headlights don’t work. When I hit the switch for the brights, the…