Companies actually fail at Six Sigma efforts, and that quite miserably.  Why?  There are several underlying (and very common) reasons.

1. Six Sigma is not applicable to that company.  This is sometimes the case; not all companies can (or should) undertake a Six Sigma initiative.  These are rare cases, but sometimes it is better not to attempt to fix something that really is not broken. 

2. Six Sigma is indeed applicable, but the company does not see that need.  This phenomenon produces the “program-du-jour” that quickly fades into oblivion.  Perhaps the company has been forced by a corporate owner to take on a Six Sigma program, but merely goes through the motions. 

3. Lack of cultural change.  Six Sigma requires a different way of approaching problems.  If this cannot be filtered throughout the organization, failure is almost always imminent.

4. Lack of accountability.  Six Sigma trainees fade into the corporate background, shrouded in mystery, with precious few people knowing what “exactly it is they do.”

5. Top management disinterest.  If top management does not support such a program, it is fairly obvious why it would fail, but that is not what we are considering here.  What is worse is top management’s lack of familiarity with Six Sigma procedures, measures, and nomenclature.  How can a company officer lead a Six Sigma based organization without at least some familiarity with the “deliverables” of the program? 

6. Firefighting.  Companies sometimes cannot devote resources to a Six Sigma program because those resources are too busy “firefighting.”  It is ironic when one considers the very goal of Six Sigma is to eliminate firefighting. 

7. Certification “mania.”  Black belts, green belts, yellow belts, master black belts; will it never end?  Companies often focus on “belting” as many people as possible, only to see those people eventually go back to attend to their “real jobs.”  This often results in excessive training in an inappropriately short duration, coupled with extensive misuse of statistical software packages.  Having such software does not make one a statistician. 

8. Misplaced concentration.  This may also be couched as “tool mania,” or how many Six Sigma statistical “tools” are being employed.  The concentration should never be upon tools, but upon RESULTS.

9. "To thine own self be true..."  Some companies have actually convinced themselves they operate at some particular Sigma level.  However, were one to question an executive within such a company what was the significance of such a measure, there is a good chance that a blank stare would ensue.

10. Unnecessarily taking on an entire Six Sigma "program."  Some companies are convinced - quite often by consultants - that a full-blown Six Sigma effort is the only way for that company to become competitive.  While there is some merit in this, many companies will fail due to the reasons listed above, among countless others.  It is often in a company's best interest to bite off the Six Sigma methodologies in manageable pieces, concentrating initially on cursory training and allowing Six Sigma consultants to come in and do what they do best: solve problems.