Lean 6 Sigma: Small Business Waste Reduction Strategy

16 Jul 2026 · 1 min

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In this brief dialogue, Chrissy Myers reflects on her Lean Six Sigma training and addresses a common misconception among small business owners that Lean methodologies are overly complex. She engages with a co‑speaker to clarify that Lean is accessible and asks for a concrete, immediately applicable Lean principle that a small business owner could use to reduce waste. The exchange sets the stage for practical, actionable advice on waste reduction tailored to small enterprises.

Let's talk a little bit about when you had your Lean Six Sigma training, 'cause that was, I mean, moving back there, I think a lot of business owners hear the word lean and they assume it's really complicated.
Actually, not at all. It's not?
Okay. So what's a lean principle that you think a small business owner could apply immediately to kinda reduce waste?
Well, and I think you even alluded to it before, it's waste. It's just, so I know high efficiency, but it's really driving out waste from processes. Okay. So even knowing what your process is, and I would even say map it out. I mean, this is the way we used to do this with some, you have a big sheet of paper or someplace to write it down and you get with your team, it's better to be as a team and say, okay, how do we, let's say, I don't know. So I'll use one of yours, performance management. It's a process. It is. It's a process. So how do we do that? And usually it's circular and it can involve your compensation plan, all that stuff. So that's a whole process. Let's map it out and how can we do it better?