Specially arranged behind the scenes "Heart of House" Tour of The Venetian to discover the secret of consistent, superb quality and award-winning service year after year at the largest 4-Star hotel in the world and how The Venetian has been so successful in its operation.

The Venetian is the proud recipient of Mobil's prestigious 2006 Four Star Award, Six-Time recipient of "Meetings and conventions Magazine's" Gold Key Award, Four-Time recipient of "Meetings and Convention Magazine's" Gold Platter Award and voted one of the top Catering Departments in the world by readers of "Meetings and Conventions Magazine".

Limited places available.

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Identifying and Measuring Customer Outcomes for Breakthrough Innovation
Creating new market space requires implementation of innovation strategies that are unique, bold and different from competitors. An innovation strategy that is rooted in Six Sigma thinking is focused on expected customer outcomes from using a certain product or service. Such an outcome-focused innovation approach identifies true customer outcomes in creating significant value in unoccupied market territories. In this workshop, Phil Samuels, with the help of examples and exercises, will help you explore how you can identify and measure customer outcomes for facilitating breakthrough innovation.
WORKSHOP LEADER: Phil Samuel, Vice President/Six Sigma Master Black Belt, Breakthrough Management Group. Phil Samuel is an operation executive, Six Sigma Master Black Belt and thought leader in the integration of Six Sigma, DFSS, Innovation, Lean and Change Leadership methodologies. He has over 12 years experience in consulting and industry environments working as a certified Black Belt and Master Black Belt.

Finding the Keys to Customer Satisfaction through Enterprise VOC Deployment
The Voice of the Customer (VOC) is an important but often misunderstood concept in Six Sigma. In DMAIC and DFSS projects, VOC is often just treated as a data collection step that needs to be completed for the tollgate. Yet VOC is of great strategic importance for an organization, and the success of Six Sigma deployment depends on the ability to remain continuously connected to the pulse of the customer. Enterprise VOC refers to an organizational capability to have relevant data on customers anywhere, anytime, and in the right format at the desks of those who require it most This workshop will provide a comprehensive step-by-step guide for understanding:
• Why Enterprise VOC is important
• Components of Enterprise VOC
• How data on different Enterprise VOC components can be collected
• Knowledge management applications for storage and access
• Practical guidelines for analyzing data and getting useful results
• Incorporating The Voice of the Customer into decision making processes for designing products and services
• Linking VOC measures to business strategy
WORKSHOP LEADER: Rohit Ramaswamy, Ph.d, Senior Consultant, Oriel Incorporated. He has been involved in the design, redesign, management, and improvement of services for over 15 years. Highly skilled at translating customer needs into functional requirements, Dr. Ramaswamy specializes in helping companies design profitable service operations that delight customers. Dr. Ramaswamy is the author of Design and Management of Service Processes, the only currently available book on the systematic design and improvement of services. He holds an M.S. and Ph.D from MIT.

Transitioning from a DMAIC Methodology to a DFSS Mentality
Most organizations that attempt to embrace a Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) strategy have already been engaged in DMAIC activities for a couple of years. The differences between the two approaches are significant, and how an organization makes this transition will ultimately determine how successful and how quickly a DFSS strategy can be deployed. This workshop will address the critical differences and provide best practices to engage leaders and practitioners in a team approach to implementing DFSS. It will also consider the major barriers, both technical and cultural, and their interaction, that must be overcome to achieve DFSS success.
WORKSHOP LEADER: Dr. Mark Kiemele, Co-Founder and President, Air Academy Associates. Air Academy Associates is a leading-edge Six Sigma consulting firm helping leaders, managers, and practitioners bring about sustained process improvement, increased customer satisfaction, and improved profit margins. Dr. Kiemele is world-renowned for his knowledge-based Keep It Simple Statistically (KISS) approach to applying statistical methods to gain the right kind of knowledge for the right people at the right time. His approach has provided many leaders with the thought process needed to change their culture.

Linking Strategy to Execution - Driving Alignment and Corporate Performance Up, Down and Across the Enterprise
Linking Strategy to Execution. Driving Alignment and Corporate Performance Up, Down and Across the Enterprise
According to recent research, a third of all Six Sigma initiatives fail to produce results and are abandoned, one third will produce mediocre results and only one third are successful. i-nexus invite you to come together to share some best practice experiences from that successful third.
Drawing from deployment experience in over 40 companies in Europe, Asia and US, our talk will cover the latest techniques for linking strategy with execution. We will discuss the integration of corporate strategy and scorecards with improvement programs such as Lean Six Sigma and its relationship with various quality initiatives.
We will work together using some business case scenarios, enabling delegates to share best practices. Discussion will focus on the following questions
• Is the Lean/Six Sigma program truly aligned with business strategy?
• How will Six Sigma programs evolve - what comes next?
• Can the impact of your Lean/Six Sigma efforts be clearly seen in the business dials that measure achievement of strategic goals?
• Do projects really deliver results that stand the test of time?
• As Lean/Six Sigma programs scale, how can success be maintained?
• How can software support Lean/Six Sigma program management?
WORKSHOP LEADER: Steve DuBrow, President and Director of the Americas Region, i-nexus, the leading provider of enterprise software to enable strategy execution. Steve has worked extensively in helping organizations link strategic vision with tactical execution. His understanding of the challenges in driving sustainable business improvement initiatives across and down an organization comes from his experience facilitating management teams in various sized companies across many industries.

Applying Six Sigma to Six Sigma
Six Sigma execution should be as rigorously measured, controlled, and improved as every other critical business process. It sounds like a no-brainer, but how many companies can actually claim that they are doing it? Many struggle with how to prioritize and evaluate projects against multiple criteria, identify the root causes behind unsuccessful projects, and share lessons learned to improve the results of the next project cycle. How about your organization? Are you applying the same project-focused analysis, discipline and measurement to your entire Six Sigma deployment? Join us for a provocative session and find out how to:
• Increase revenue/savings per project across your entire Six Sigma portfolio
• Reduce cycle time, cut costs, and reduce program variation
• Provide ¡§just-in-time¡¨ Six Sigma training and ongoing best practices
• Determine root causes, risks and issues that can cripple your deployment
• Incorporate discipline and automation into your current Six Sigma processes
• Obtain complete visibility across all Six Sigma initiatives
• Align the right resources against strategic corporate priorities
• Gain new and actionable insights into Black Belt productivity
WORKSHOP LEADERS: David Boghossian, Founder, and Randy Clark, Black Belt and Director of Six Sigma & Strategic Alliances, PowerSteering Software. David Boghossian has over 20 years of experience in the Six Sigma/Business Process Improvement field, where he has focused on using innovative tools to deliver more focused strategic information to decision makers. David pioneered the use of "Hoshin" and "Strategy Deployment" tools for the implementation of corporate strategy. Randy Clark has over 12 years experience in continuous improvement, with emphasis in Six Sigma and the Baldridge Criteria for Performance Excellence. Randy focuses on delivering best practice Six Sigma techniques to prospective and existing customers.

Successful Integration of Excellence into an Enterprise DNA using Principle-based DFSS
DFSS is a philosophy and a methodology that provides businesses with perspectives and tools to achieve new levels of performance both in service and product industries. This transformation is an even greater challenge when integrating DFSS into the existing product development processes. The DFSS deployment is challenging at both the deployment and technical fronts. However, these challenges can be effectively confronted when certain principles are applied in the planning phase of the initiative and throughout the rest of deployment phases. The principle-based DFSS approach is well equipped with the necessary concepts, tools and methods to face these challenges at all levels. Principles, in particular, those promoted to axioms are the very basic machinery of the new approach.
This workshop will give you practical insight into industry success stories, technical and deployment challenges, the do¡¦s and don¡¦ts based on real practical experience of integrating DFSS to your exiting processes. The key areas of focus are:
• Principle-based deployment planning for effective integration
• ¡§How-to¡¨ roadmap to deployment change management
• Addressing anticipated deployment cultural issues
• A high-level overview of principle-based DFSS using Axiomatic Design
• A synthesis approach into your current service and product development processes
WORKSHOP LEADER: Dr. Basem El-Haik, CEO & President, Six Sigma Professionals, Inc. He is an author of many books on the subject of Design For Six Sigma (Design For Six Sigma: A Roadmap For Product Development; Axiomatic Quality; Service Design For Six Sigma: A Roadmap for Excellence) in addition to 30 technical papers. Dr. El-Haik is a well know figure in the DFSS domain and a speaker on the subject in many technical conferences. His wealth encompasses 15 years in design, robustness and reliability arenas.
Dr. El-Haik led several DFSS deployments initiatives at Ford Motor Company and Textron Inc. developing win-win partnerships across the entire product value chain, basically, serving as a ¡§change agent¡¨. Through his career Dr. El-Haik trained, certified, coached and mentored over 400 belts in DFSS and Six Sigma in both tracks: product and services.

Data and Measurement Systems in the Transactional Environment
¡¥Data, data everywhere, and nary a drop to drink¡¦
At first glance the service and transactional world seems to be ¡¥data rich¡¦. After all ¡V leaders have spent millions on software and databases to operate their businesses. Those systems should be full of data that we can use to drive Six Sigma projects. But these systems aren¡¦t Six Sigma savvy and all too often they are full of useless or erroneous data. Just when you expect to get the data you need, you learn that you are actually ¡¥data poor¡¦.
This workshop is a hands-on exploration of what you can do about it. We¡¦ll look at the critical-to-success factors in establishing a measurement system to support Six Sigma in a non-manufacturing setting. We¡¦ll compare some of the popular tools that you can use to assemble and scrub data.
If you¡¦ve ever found your Six Sigma efforts mired because of insufficient data, or too much of the wrong type of data, this workshop is for you.
What you can expect to learn:
• Why many transactional/service Six Sigma projects fail and deployments stall
• Special considerations to the Six Sigma Methodology for transactional/service projects
• The importance of operational definitions
• Building information systems that support Six Sigma initiatives
• Reducing the costs of capturing the right type and volume of data needed
• Extracting data from existing information systems for Six Sigma projects
• Tying information systems into statistical analysis software like MINITAB and other enterprise reporting systems
WORKSHOP LEADER: Evan J. Miller, President & CEO, Hertzler Systems Inc. Evan was first involved in Six Sigma with Motorola and its supply base in the late 1980s. Under his guidance Hertzler Systems has become the leader in building data infrastructures for Six Sigma, particularly in the difficult areas of service and transaction applications. As a leader in the industry, Mr. Miller has delivered seminars and presentations to industry organizations such as American Society for Quality, International Society of Six Sigma Professionals and Society of Plastics Engineers, just to name a few.

The Innovation CUBE: How to Integrate Rapid Innovation Management (RIM) with Lean Six Sigma
The discipline of Rapid Innovation Management (RIM) is now moving to the top of the list of corporate ¡§musts.¡¨ Yet many Lean Six Sigma practitioners know little about the ¡§how¡¦ to of RIM techniques, tools and solutions.
This workshop takes the mystery out of RIM by giving you an understanding of its major principles and practices. It will introduce you to the Innovation CUBE, an Excel-based solution for integrating RIM with any project, process, or product improvement.
Workshop deliverables include:
• An understanding of Rapid Innovation Management (RIM) and the new concepts driving it.
• How RIM thought leaders such as Christensen, Kennedy, Chesbrough, Leonard, Hargadon, Ries, Kim, Mauborgne, Schrage, Von Hippel, Huthwaite and others are revolutionizing how we think about innovation.
• How to integrate RIM with existing Lean Six Sigma initiatives
• ¡§Hands on¡¨ experience in using the Innovation CUBE, an Excel-based solution for deploying RIM practices across an enterprise.
• A free, demo copy of the Innovation CUBE for your personal use.
Participants Will Take Away:
• A free, demo copy of the Innovation CUBE for your personal evaluation..
• A signed copy of Bart Huthwaite¡¦s latest book, ¡§Lean Design Solution¡¨
• An innovative ¡§pop up¡¨ cardboard Innovation CUBE as a visual reference tool.
WORKSHOP LEADER: Bart Huthwaite, Sr., Founder, Institute for Lean Innovation. Bart Huthwaite, Sr. is recognized as one of the leading Rapid Innovation Management thought leaders in the world today. He is the founder of the Institute for Lean Innovation, founded 25 years ago to help organizations improve their innovation practices. Bart has authored many books in the field of innovation management, including his latest, ¡§Lean Design Solution.¡¨ He is also the creator of the Innovation CUBE, an integrated IT solution for deploying innovation across an enterprise.

Collaborative Implementation of Critical Parameter Management (CPM) in DFSS
Critical Parameter Management (CPM) is the process that ties together the tools and techniques of DFSS. This workshop will explore the process of CPM and how it enables a truly collaborative approach to implementing DFSS program- and company-wide. We will explore how CPM provides a ¡§go to¡¨ location for all members of the product development team and a historical record of product/process knowledge.
• Learn the Value/Payback of Implementing CPM
• Explore how CPM acts as a process template for DFSS
• Learn best practices for implementing CPM in a collaborative environment
• Study the interaction of performance and cost in product development
• Discover the power of transfer functions to define system performance and cost
• Build a CPM example during an interactive 1 hour session
Attendees are requested to bring laptops. We will install Six Sigma Cockpit (SSC) and use this CPM tool to build a CPM example during the class. You will leave with a 45 day license of the software for further exploration after the workshop.
WORKSHOP LEADER: David M. Cronin is Director of Business Development for Cognition Corporation, a company specializing in software and services for product and process development. David has over 15 years experience in providing software and engineering services for managing system performance and cost. He has assisted with the definition and implementation of cost management and critical parameter management/DFSS programs in the defense, consumer, medical, and automotive industries.

Transactional DOE ¡V Techniques for using Design of Experiments in a Transactional Environment
Applying Design of Experiments (DOE) in transactional environments is not as widely practiced as DOE in the manufacturing world. Yet DOE can be a powerful tool in determining and optimizing factors and levels that impact performance parameters in healthcare, banking, retail services, and call centers, just to name a few. This workshop will cover some techniques needed for properly setting up, running and analyzing DOE specifically in a transactional environment. Learn techniques covering:
• Determining appropriate response parameters for the process of interest
• Choosing an appropriate design set-up
• The effect of sample size on the predictability of results
• A case where the response parameter is continuous-variable
• A case where the response parameter is discontinuous-binary
• Some common mistakes made in transactional DOE applications
Partipants are encouraged to bring notebook computers to work through examples with the instructor. Minitab software will be used for purposes of demonstration.
WORKSHOP LEADER: Don Owen, Senior Director, Operational Excellence and Product Development, MANNINGTON MILLS, INC., a manufacturer of hard and soft surface flooring products based in southern New Jersey. Don¡¦s responsibilities include corporate lean and Six Sigma initiatives, Supply Chain performance enhancement, Research and Development, and the customer care organization. Prior to joining Mannington in May of 2002, Don was President of Process Excellence Systems, Inc., a company specializing in operational excellence and strategy deployment. Over the past 14 years Don has worked with companies in the paper, floor covering, chemical processing, and consumer products industries.

The Six Sigma Maturity Model™ and the Strategy Capability Ladder™

This workshop will introduce the Six Sigma Maturity Model – a framework that outlines 5 levels of Six Sigma adoption and evolution in organizations - Launch, Initial Success, Scale and Replication, Institutionalization and Culture Change. The model covers axes like leadership support, training, project selection, benefits quantification, belts, organizational penetration etc. and how these evolve as you go through the 5 levels. You will gain valuable insight into where your organization stands and what key levers you need to drive to get to the next level.

The workshop will also introduce the Strategy Capability Ladder which shows a 5 level progression of the maturity of the linkage between Strategy into Six Sigma execution. You will learn about specific criteria that will help identify which level you are at and how to get to the next level. You will learn what steps you need to take to answer questions like – ‘what are my strategic priorities, what are the specific measures of these goals, what projects am I executing to achieve these goals, and what is the aggregate impact of these projects on the strategic goals’.

WORKSHOP LEADER: Dr. Prasad Raje, CEO, Instantis
Instantis is the leading provider of on-demand software for CXO mandated initiatives that improve enterprise financial performance. Dr. Raje is the founder and CEO of Instantis and has 19 years of experience in the technology industry and in the last 4 years has led Instantis in the deployment of Six Sigma software at dozens of leading Global 1000 companies like Credit Suisse, McKesson, Xerox and others.

Project Pipeline Strategy
The lack of data at the granular level in any industry and in particular in FINANCIAL and SERVICE INDUSTRIES is a problem that affects all companies starting their Six Sigma deployment. Unfortunately, this problem is perceived during project selection and it is usually not identified early on during the deployment planning process. The lack of project definition before the first day of Black Belt training puts the deployment planning process at risk. Many companies decide to bring ¡§poorly defined¡¨ projects into training, hoping to catch up on project definition during the Define phase. However, the downstream impacts on employee moral, project cycle time and senior leader support are tremendous.
This workshop attacks this problem at the early stages of deployment. Participants will learn how to:
• Learn when to start their project selection process
• Form the project pipeline committee
• Identify the top critical to customer processes that move the company forward
• Learn how to use the four sources of projects: VOC (Voice of the Customer), VOP (Voice of the Process), VOB (Voice of the Business) and VOF (Voice of Finance)
• Understand that project selection is a process and can be learned and followed!
• Map out critical processes
• Identify failure points throughout the process
• Build a pipeline of potential project ideas
Please bring examples of critical processes in your area.
WORKSHOP LEADER: Jackie Cazar, Managing Director, End to End Consulting, LLC. Ms. Cazar designs and implements Customer Experience and Process Improvement Programs for service and financial firms. She has over 14 years experience in quality management, designing, implementing and managing enterprise-wide quality initiatives. Her previous leadership positions include VP for The Bank of New York and VP, Quality Relationship Leader for American Express.

Using the Voice of the Market (VOM) to Identify and Prioritize Six Sigma Initiatives
Six Sigma experts, champions, authors, and Black Belts alike continually write, discuss, and preach about the central role of the voice of the customer in identifying and executing Six Sigma projects. Reality, however, indicates yet another story – one in which Six Sigma is driven by cost reduction and internal assessments of what the customer needs. If Six Sigma is to achieve its full strategic potential of increasing top-line revenue and market share, it must be directed by the Voice of the Market (VOM), not the Voice of the Customer (VOC).
When the power of Six Sigma is focused on increasing market share and top line revenue, it’s all about identifying competitive value gaps and either widening them (if you are the value leader) or closing them (if you are the value challenger).
Using MVS’s VOM Toolkit® that has been built into Minitab’s new Quality Companion, this workshop demonstrates how companies can actually use the Voice of the Market to identify, prioritize and execute Six Sigma projects designed to increase market share and improve competitive performance.
Participants will learn how to use the Voice of the Market to:
• Develop a value model from a market perspective
• Identify and prioritize market-focused CTQs
• Develop a competitive value matrix
• Calculate competitive value gaps
• Identify key value streams from a market perspective
• Link CTQs to value stream processes
• Target processes for Six Sigma projects
• Use the VOM to develop future state maps for enhanced customer value
Workshop Leader: Dr. Reg Goeke , Principal and Founding Partner of Market Value Solutions (MVS), has consulted on marketing, competitive strategy, and business process improvements for such compan