Ask yourself these questions:

• Am I confronted with a difficult to solve operational problem that is affecting business performance and potential?

• Are we putting customer relationships at risk?

• Is time of the essence?

• Are we just too close to the problem to solve it?

• Do we need a paradigm shift and a fresh approach to problem solving?

• Do we lack all the skills and resources needed to solve this problem?

• Does my greatest need require root cause analysis using a statistical process?

• Do we need someone who works well on the shop floor and with all levels of management?

• When we are done – Can our people be trained to solve problems?

• Can the problem be fixed so that it stays fixed?