You can improve your next trip by using the Six Sigma principles

How do you make a good traveler even better? That’s the question Kaj Ahlmann, owner of the Six Sigma Ranch in Northern California’s Lake County, has contemplated most of his career.

With a name like that, you’d expect nothing less. After all, Six Sigma – a set of management techniques that improve business processes – is all about making things better. Ahlmann has applied them to winemaking, but when I visited his ranch recently, he said Six Sigma works for travel, too.

You’re probably already using the Six Sigma principles of continuous improvement in a limited way. But if you think about it, you can also start applying them to your planning and problem-solving efforts, to really upgrade your next business or leisure trip.

Already improving travel through Six Sigma

“Every intelligent person uses Six Sigma to some extent,” Ahlmann told me.

Before he started making award-winning wines, Ahlmann served as a director of GE Capital Services. That’s where he oversaw the introduction of Six Sigma methods of business transformation. This concept of constant improvement had strong applications in travel, he soon found.

“If you think of a trip as a set of processes, it’s actually pretty easy,” he says. “Think through all the steps. I leave my home, I go to the airport, I get on the plane, I arrive, I get on a train, I get to the hotel, I check in.”

Thinking about the Six Sigma processes – define, measure, analyze, improve – before you leave can lead to a smoother trip.

Inexperienced travelers don’t see these as connected processes, which gets them into trouble on the road. They aren’t asking, “What’s next?” so when they encounter a problem, they don’t know what to do. They’re a lot like a company with different divisions that don’t operate as part of the whole.

And yes – Ahlmann says he missed a few flights before he understood that travel was a process rather than a single event.

“I was thinking in boxes. Then I got to the airport, and I wasn’t thinking ahead,” he concedes.

Remember, Six Sigma is a process

Ahlmann’s view of travel has changed as Six Sigma has taken root in his own life. Too often, he sees fellow travelers lack any kind of cohesive strategy when they go somewhere. Non-Six Sigma travelers speed down Northern California wine country’s narrow, winding roads, only to miss their flights by a few minutes. And then there’s the inevitable meltdown at the counter, where they demand to be let on the plane after the door closes.

“Many travelers feel that those few extra minutes matter,” he says. “The time saved isn’t worth the danger. Besides, there’s always another flight. It’s not the end of the world. Don’t freak out.”

When you think of the trip as a process, as opposed to a single event, then you can avoid the whole spectacle. Give yourself a little extra time. If you’re stuck in traffic, see that there are multiple solutions (such as an alternate route or taking the next flight). Plus, there are ways to prevent the same outcome the next time (leave early or book a different airline with more convenient departures).

Perhaps the most significant benefit to applying Six Sigma to travel is that it improves future trips. Once you’ve made the process more efficient, your next trip will be even better. And Ahlmann has it down to a science, from a preferred seat on a plane to the ideal hotel. He usually flies commercial and likes boutique hotels, but sometimes, for the sake of efficiency, he’ll take a Gulfstream or stay in a convention hotel. It depends on the occasion.

Patience and politeness above all

Because Six Sigma is a process, it can take time to get it right. And even when you get it right, there’s always room for improvement. Ahlmann says some travelers lose their patience too quickly and try to negotiate themselves out of a mess.

It’s the classic elite-level business traveler who plunks down the platinum card and declares, “Do you know who I am?”

“Don’t plunk down your card,” he says. “A smile means more than, ‘Hmmph, I’m platinum!’ Be nice. You’ll feel a lot better yourself.”

All processes – even the most efficient, time-tested ones – break down from time to time. When they do, being nice helps. Nice is a currency in the Six Sigma travel world, he says. Genuine kindness, as opposed to being a platinum-card wielding jerk, can open doors and can often turn a “no” into a “yes.”

You don’t have to know anything about Six Sigma or attend business school to use these principles to improve your next trip, Ahlmann adds. Just remember to think ahead, try not to repeat your mistakes and mind your manners out there.