The story behind the book, “Lean Banking”
“Remove the word ‘Six Sigma’ and put the word ‘Banking’ instead”, I remember the Director of the bank telling me, when I was initially going to use “Lean Six Sigma” as the title of my book, which is now called, “Lean Banking”. “The Bankers say that they always need to hear the word ‘Banking’ as that would make them comfortable and put them at ease. So, remove ‘Six Sigma’, from the title and call it ‘Lean Banking’, instead. But all what we do will be Six Sigma and they won't even know it”.
Listening to his suggestion, I left the word “Lean” and removed the other two words “Six Sigma” from my book’s initial title, “Lean Six Sigma”. And to make it more appealing to Bankers, I then added "Banking" next the word, “Lean”. Eventually, "Lean Banking", became the title of my book which I consider as one of my greatest creations. I had the whole book in my head, from the first chapter to the last chapter. And I remember when I went to isolate myself for a weekend to write at least 6 to 7 chapters all at one go, because I already had all of it in my head.
I wanted the Lean Banking book to be a complete guide of Lean and Six Sigma. Therefore, I strived to include exercises with good practical applications and also some relevant case studies, which were highly practical.
Having worked in Ferrari, I was very much used to a manufacturing culture. Moving to the Quality Department of a bank, based on a service culture was certainly a disruptive shift for me. I was an Engineer to the core. And even after joining the bank, I wanted to remain an Engineer. And my strong will to remain an Engineer, later became a blessing in disguise.
"Never dress like them. You never become a Banker. If you ever want to teach your colleagues something, you remain an Engineer”. This was the signal that the bank’s CEO gave me. So, I looked at all the Banking processes, through the eyes of the Engineer in me. The result was absolutely beautiful. It not only helped me establish myself as a Quality Director with proven track records, but also to successfully complete writing my book, “Lean Banking”, which would help me to share my new-found knowledge with the entire banking industry.
The book, “Lean Banking”, runs through the DMAIC with continuity of Lean and Six Sigma metrics. The foreword of the book was written by Dr. Mikel Harry, who immediately responded to my request. I was truly humbled and delighted. He dedicated it to my dad who taught me the values of respecting the roots and the originators. Even today the book is in great demand and is being sold well across the globe.
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