Lean Six Sigma (LSS) produces real results in difficult economic times by uncovering process waste, reducing non-value adding activity, and increasing productivity. The benefits are even felt in IT. Business process management (BPM) and service-oriented architectures (SOAs) combine with LSS to accelerate improvements and results. At the same time, they increase organizational flexibility and technology enabled responsiveness. Many successful companies have found that the linkages are clear. Early adopters who have worked their way past cultural and organizational barriers are seeing impressive performance and financial results. The rewards can be great, especially for those who take action now. This IBM® Redguide™ publication is intended to help companies that are leaders in their markets and are looking for new ways to differentiate themselves from their competitors. In this guide, we describe the key BPM, SOA, and LSS components, highlight the linkages between them, and summarize the results that leading firms have achieved. We outline the think big, start now steps that are needed to move your own initiative forward. In this guide, we also suggest ways to successfully avoid some of the barriers that have hampered others by focusing on the tools that deliver measurable results quickly.