14.2 Introduction

Every New Year’s Eve, millions of people worldwide kick off the new year on a personal quest for improvement. They set New Year’s resolutions. An estimated 190 million American adults set goals each year to learn something new, change their lifestyle, or better themselves in another way. Figure 14.1 shows the top improvement targets.

What percent of resolution setters achieve their goals? Would you believe that only about 16% of people follow through on their New Year’s resolution? Equally disheartening, most give up within six weeks of starting.1 Some are repeat offenders, setting the same goal year after year.

Now, our question: Why do you think they fail? Let’s give you a moment to think, and let’s invite you to think more deeply than to say, “people lack willpower.” Not surprisingly, the experts disagree both on number and nature of reasons for failure. Here is a short summary of reasons they share for why New Year’s resolutions fail.

• People set unrealistic resolutions. Their goals are unreachable.

• People don’t plan for success. They don’t break the goal into bite-size bits. Nor do they put in place specific action steps or milestones.

• People don’t review the process or measure their progress.

• People need help to achieve real change. They need a coach, a mentor, or an accountability partner to check in with.

• People think about “what” without clearly defining the “why.” To make real change, you need meaningful motivation—you need purpose.

What do you think? Based on your own experience, do these explanations resonate?

You may be wondering, “What do New Year’s resolutions have to do with lean six sigma?” Answer: Strategic initiatives like lean six sigma share a common implementation challenge. People are gung ho to start, but they often lose enthusiasm. They struggle to build the momentum to keep the effort going. The result: They end up missing out on the benefits of their original goal.

Remember, achievers and those who fall short have the same desires and similar goals. It is the process they follow that makes all the difference. Let’s talk about how you can build momentum to ensure success in your lean six sigma implementation. If you follow the proven path, you’ll enjoy the process of change and transformation.