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If you think Lean is about manufacturing only, you simply don't know what it is. I don't know who you've worked for or what “bills of goods” they've been sold, but Lean is about much more than simply production.

Six Sigma on the other hand has almost nothing to do with production per se and is primarily an engineering design toolkit - and yes, manufacturing engineering as well.

The comment about symphonies is non sequitur idiocy. No one has ever suggested the use of either for purely creative aesthetic endeavors. But then you know that don't you? You were just looking for a chance at a cheap shot.

Hank

"Six Sigma on the other hand has almost nothing to do with production per se and is primarily an engineering design toolkit - and yes, manufacturing engineering as well."

Truth be told, Six Sigma can be applied WAY beyond simply manufacturing. (Seriously, the guy who posted to you is trusting Wikipedia to tell him what it is?!?!?!?) While early adopters primarily applied it to manufacturing, Six Sigma is a PROCESS IMPROVEMENT TOOL that can be applied to nearly any process that can be measured. For example, the Ritz-Carlton hotel chain has used six sigma as one of its primary tools to help it deliver world class customer service. Newt Gingrich is absolutely correct in his desire to apply it to the federal government... applied even half-heartedly, I'd bet it could save billions.

In terms of application, I wouldn't say it's primarily an engineering design tool, although using it in design is a great proactive way to use it. But it's also a great improvement tool to fix processes that are broken, whether by bad design or simply from unforseen degradation over time.