Analogies to Lean Six Sigma Training differences

I was having a discussion with an organization that may soon be a partner of our Lean Six Sigma services and the question came up about how can you sell a four week Black Belt training program when others have one and two week training programs.  I think it is a key questions to a buyer.

To build an analogy, I needed to find a product that is sort of like a commodity but there are true differences between the different choices that some may recognize but most may not.  Let us consider cars as an analogy.

Choose a Lean Six Sigma provider is like Choosing a Vehicle.

Goal: Obtain Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (BB) Training  vs. Obtain a car that will get me to work every day.

BB training is just BB training just as a car is just a car.

I find BB training lasting 2 weeks or up to 4 weeks, still called a BB class

I find smart-cars and sub-compacts along with SUVs and Luxury Cars, all are just cars.

Using this analogy a bit further.

A two week BB course using excel, no coaching, and not requiring a DMAIC project is like a Chevy Spark or a Smart-car; inexpensive, small, but still a new car.

A four week BB with Minitab, student coaching and a project is like a Lexus or Infinity sedan.  A higher priced car that has all the popular options and will last for a long time.  But it is still just a car.

If I consider a few of the internal BB training programs that require 5 weeks of training, two projects, coaching of GBs, and possibly participate in a training class for YB or GB.  These classes are the Mercedes or possibly a Rolls Royce sedan.  But it is still just a car.

If I consider the Villanova BB class that is 12 or so video lectures and no DMAIC project, this is somewhat like a Chevy Spark or Smart-Car with a bunch of fancy options, but still a small sub-compact car.  

Where would I put Smarter Solution’s BB class, I guess its analogous car would be 4×4 Range Rover.  High end quality but is usable on any terrain.  You can get better training but I am not sure if the shift up to a Mercedes is worth the extra cost and time.  Plus, you can’t take it off road.

So how do you decide what you want to buy?  It is all based on your expectations, just like for a car.  Your choices are limited if you have a cost constraint.  If your goal is to impress others with your skills (or car) you go for the better performance and cost.

This may not work for you, but I thought I should write it out to share.