In this podcast episode, I have the pleasure to present you an amazing guest from Germany.
His name is Hakan Seyhan. We met many years ago, during the days when I was working as Chief Quality Officer at a large multinational corporation and Hakan was working as a Senior Manager & Master Black Belt at a prominent Lean Six Sigma consulting firm in Germany. He helped me implement Business Excellence and was a trainer and coach for more than 100 people in the company covering nearly a dozen business entities.
In year 2021 he established a successful consulting company in Germany called, Focus & Flow, where he is a General Manager. My company, WAVE-Business Excellence Footprint and Hakan´s company, Focus & Flow, cooperate closely together and complement each other, because my clients focus on digital training experience. If my customers need live training or workshops in their location, Hakan and his team are there to provide outstanding support.
Today we covered the topics of “what is the definition of Business Excellence”. We spoke about the maturity degree of a program and what are the most common mistakes when introducing a new initiative. During the conversation, Hakan explained the necessary steps to prevent any initiative from losing momentum. He also shared his success in combining LSS with Agile, also known as SCRUM method. Towards the end of our conversation, he describes best practices from companies that have effectively implemented a Business Excellence program.
[02:52] Question: After so many years in consulting, you have seen many Business Excellence initiatives. From your perspective, what is the best definition of “Business Excellence”?
[06:32] Question: How does a manager measure the maturity degree of their Business Excellence program?
[09:34] Question: What are the most common mistakes you have seen companies make when they start a business excellence initiative?
[13:21] Question: Sometimes, when a company rolls out a new initiative, it could go for a few years until it loses momentum. In your opinion, what can be done to avoid losing momentum? How do they keep the spark alive over the many years of the program?
[16:10] Question: Lean and Six Sigma methods have been around for many years, and we have seen many benefits and transformations across various industries. The Agile/SCRUM method has been wildly discussed for several years. I've heard that you use the best of each of these methods. How do you combine LSS and Agile and do you have an example?
[20:53] Question: If a CEO of a company is open to starting a business excellence program tomorrow and would be open to implementing some of your suggestions, what would be the first things you would advise them?
[23:55] Question: Without using any company or client names, please give us an example of a company that has done a good deployment.
[27:26] Question: What were the measurable outcomes? How were they able to calculate the ROI?
[30:25] Question: Tell us a bit about Focus & Flow, your mission and vision for the future.
Freebie - Achieving Business Excellence: Insights and Deployment Tips from Hakan Seyhan
Links to recommended courses:
Check out the Lean Six Sigma for Managers (LSSfM) Course in this 1.5 minute video
Where to find Hakan and Focus & Flow:
Hakan Seyhan - LinkedIn
Focus & Flow GmbH - LinkedIn - Hakan's workplace
Where to find Juan and WAVE-Business Excellence Footprint:
Wave Business Excellence Footprint - website
Juan Eduardo Steigerwald - LinkedIn
WAVE Business Excellence Footprint - LinkedIn
WAVE Business Excellence Footprint - YouTube
WAVE Business Excellence Footprint - Instagram
Feel free to contact Wave team at any time.
Freebie - Achieving Business Excellence: Insights and Deployment Tips from Hakan Seyhan
