DSCA Director's Blog

Here you will find thoughts and messages from the Director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency and his staff.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Holiday Wishes

To all those in the security cooperation community I offer my warmest wishes for a happy holiday season and a healthy and fruitful new year.

The end of year is a perfect time to reflect on all we have accomplished in 2009, but it is no time to rest on our laurels. 2010 promises to be another exciting and extremely busy year as we work to provide defense solutions to America’s global partners.

Many of you will take some well deserved time off over the next couple of weeks. Please enjoy yourselves, and be safe!

I’ll share my three rules to live by…

First, did we brief it? It comes from two guys that used the rules of thumb from a scenario that did not apply in the situation they were in and almost got one of them killed. Having a sound game plan is a best practice.

Second, would I do this if the Boss was watching? It comes from mishaps that would never have occurred if the Boss knew what was about to be attempted.

And third, ten years from now would this be a big deal? This follows experiences where emotions in the heat of the moment took over common sense. So, consider these before attempting unusual activities.

All the best to you and have Happy Holidays!!!

Monday, December 7, 2009

Continuous Process Improvement

As you could note on my biography, I am a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt. If that lingo has no meaning to you, no worries, just know I care about continuous process improvement.

Skeptics sometimes refer to it as the “next flavor of the day.” After personally watching it work for the past five years, I would argue, factually, it is not the flavor of the day.

In my first Director’s Blog, I wrote about our Case Writing Division. However, DSCA’s 60 green belts and 4 black belts are working numerous other continuous process improvement projects.

A good example would be pricing and availability data or “How much does that pickup truck cost and when could I get one delivered.” Obviously we deal with equipment much more complicated. However, using continuous process improvement methods, we’ve reduced the cycle time from as much as a year down to days, and in some cases hours.

Continuous Process Improvement benefits are three-fold. First, it improves performance and service for our global partners. Second, it improves quality of work for our employees, and third, it improves quality of life and service to our country.