Shopping versus Six Sigma Training

With the US being the only country celebrating Thanksgiving (other than some news I have read today on the British enjoying the turkeys!), if you are in any other country, it is basically work as usual. So, I worked, and had an awesome lunch in the company canteen, joined by 6 colleagues from my dept, and was able to watch them laugh over “neighboring states in India” and “their take on opinions and state of affairs”, and therefore laughed in return! (Some people......you can just see their facial expressions and laugh, and I was lucky enough to celebrate my thanksgiving with these 6 guys, however short on both time and turkey!)

So, normally I would be spending the day after Thanksgiving, Friday, simply shopping. Shopping for Christmas for family and friends, shopping for myself, shopping without remorse! This year, while in Bangalore, I can say I am “thankful” that I was invited to attend a Six Sigma training, which will begin tomorrow. My organization hires amazing talent, and I get to be a part of “expanding my knowledge” tomorrow. The six sigma training, as you probably know, crosses various industries, and through “a broad sense” of eliminating defects in processes, results in business outcomes such as “reducing process cycle time, reducing costs, therefore increasing customer satisfaction, and increasing profits”. It provides process improvement tools and techniques that enable all of this.

I can justify that in simply showing up, and attending this class tomorrow, during the period of “Black Friday in US” when I would have spent a few hundred dollars, I have already “reduced costs” for which I will be “thankful” when my credit card bill posts in December.