Lean Six Sigma, creativity, and innovation

Purpose – Creativity and innovation have recently emerged as the latest focus of the popular business media, replacing established approaches, such as Lean Six Sigma (LSS). Some have gone so far as to suggest that LSS inhibits organizations from being creative and innovating. This paper aims to dig beneath the surface of the media reports to examine what creativity and innovation actually are, and how they relate to LSS.Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews current literature on creativity and innovation, and based on extensive experience implementing LSS, compare and contrast the approaches, searching for common ground.Findings – Not surprisingly, the paper finds that the terms creativity and innovation are typically not well defined in the media, and are used more as “buzzwords.” In reality, it argues, LSS clearly stimulates creativity. However, it is not the best method for identifying ideas for breakthrough innovation. Therefore, to have a holistic improvement system, organizations must comb...