All Features
Jesse Lyn Stoner
We had not discussed politics since the election, treading warily with each other, neither of us wanting to trigger an unpleasant scene. But tension was just under the surface and seeping out in other forms.
Since the U.S. presidential election, many people have experienced tension with a close…
Lynne Oates
Internationally mobile employees play an increasingly important role in a globalized world. As technology develops and businesses expand into new markets, complex employment arrangements are in place to move directors, executives, and employees between different geographical locations. These…
Mike Richman
If there’s one thing that separates those who do things in an average way and those who do those same things in an extraordinary way, it’s passion. This sense of intense interest, excitement, and focus drives the authentic pursuit of excellence, even (or perhaps, especially) in the rather mundane…
Randall Bell
This article is adapted from Me We Do Be: The Four Cornerstones of Success (Leadership Institute Press, 2017).
It’s easy to forget the small things. Often, as people advance in their careers and in the hierarchy of an organization, they get better and better at thinking big and forget to think…
Annette Franz
Have you adopted a decision-making process that works well for you? If you have, I’d love to hear about it. If not, read on. As a leader, your next best action is based on making a decision as to what that action will be. How do you arrive at that decision?
I’ve been reading Peter Drucker’s The…
NIST
Providing wireless communications in a factory, plant, or other industrial environment these days means more than just helping employees talk with each other while they work. By eliminating physical connections such as wires and cables from a facility’s communication network, wireless technology…
Mike Richman
When we put together each episode of QDL, we strive to offer a balanced mix of topics that represents our weekly perspective on all things quality. Sometimes we hit, and sometimes we miss... but this week truly ran the gamut.
Here’s a closer look at what we covered:
“Why U.S. Trade With Mexico and…
Dan Jacob
This time last year, we identified what we felt were the three most important developing trends in quality management. We identified that these were the industrial internet of things (IIoT), pilots focused on quality improvements, increased adoption of risk management automation, and substantial…
Young Entrepreneur Council
When successful entrepreneurs speak, it is wise to listen. Here are 11 responses from 11 successful entrepreneurs who were asked, “What one piece of management advice do you rely on most, and why?”
1. Think in terms of the person’s wants. “When managing my team, I use a tactic from Dale Carnegie…
Khatera Sahibzada
Giving feedback is unquestionably one of the most challenging tasks for any leader, as it can be painful to both the giver and receiver. It is nonetheless invaluable: Research has shown that employees recognize the importance of feedback—whether positive or negative—to their career development.…
William A. Levinson
‘Sitting is the new smoking” is a common new adage. James Levin, M.D., of the Mayo Clinic explains, “Too much sitting also seems to increase the risk of death from cardiovascular disease and cancer.” He adds that sitting for four rather than two hours a day in front of a TV screen increases the…
Mike Richman
The U.S. national debt currently stands at approximately $20 trillion. In the time it will take you to read this article, the debt will increase by a couple of million dollars more. Regardless of where one stands on the political spectrum, these facts are stark and shocking.
Thus, it’s no…
Thomas Kochan
Politicians have traditionally paid lip service to the plight of the worker, but with working class struggles at the top of the new administration’s fix-it list, we will likely hear them talking more than usual about the steps they will take to reduce income inequality or end three decades of wage…
Tom Scaletta
Quality improvement initiatives are a mainstay for hospital care teams. They can also offer a fresh approach for raising patient satisfaction scores. To achieve maximum effectiveness, however, they require timely patient feedback.
Nowhere is this truer, perhaps, than in the high-volume/short-…
Tony Delmercado
Employees who know and understand their company’s core values are 51 times more likely to be engaged fully in their work than those who don’t.
That’s an impressive stat that leaders can’t afford to ignore. Your company’s culture is often what sets you apart from the competition, so communicating…
Taran March @ Quality Digest
Before my bosses get wind of the artificial intelligence (AI) platform Quill (“perfectly written, meaningful narratives indistinguishable from a human-written one”) and decide its 18-month ROI would be a great exchange for my pay and complaining, I’d like to present this human-centric survey of…
Peter Bussey
A central tenet of President Trump’s campaign platform was reducing the regulatory burden on businesses, with the desired effect of facilitating business expansion, job creation, and economic growth. This raises questions about how the regulatory landscape will change and the effect on the…
DNV GL
More than a million organizations around the world embrace the ISO 9001 quality management system (QMS) standard to guide their businesses and operate in the most efficient manner possible. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has recently updated ISO 9001 from its 2008 version…
Roger Jensen
For several decades, manufacturers have been pursuing lean on their shop floors to reduce costs and improve lead times through waste elimination and process improvement. They have been less successful, however, in reaping lean’s potential benefits in their purchasing, planning, and supply chain…
Christopher Martin
Recently, during one of my many adventures across the internet, I stumbled across a photo that struck me. It depicts an aisle of a U.S. drugstore, where nearly every single product facing has a tag on it announcing a price and a limited-time promotion. The entire row is covered with bright yellow…
Jean-Noel Barrot
Operating a small business, the backbone of the U.S. economy, has always been tough. But small businesses have been disproportionately hurt by the Great Recession, losing 40 percent more jobs than the rest of the private sector combined. Interestingly, as my research with Harvard’s Ramana Nanda…
Eston Martz
The language of statistics is a funny thing, but there usually isn’t much to laugh at in the consequences that can follow when misunderstandings occur between statisticians and nonstatisticians. We see these consequences frequently in the media, when new studies—that usually contradict previous…
Annette Franz
Do you know what it takes to stay ahead of the competition? Is that one of your business goals? Recently I was interviewed by someone for an article she was writing, and one of the questions was about competition and the best ways to research the competition. Other questions on the topic revolved…
Chip Bell
When the circus ringmaster wails, “...and children of all ages,” he is speaking to me. I love the circus. When it came to my rural hometown when I was a boy, it was an all-consuming experience that embedded “circus” in my heart before it appeared and well beyond its departure.
Long before the…
Catherine Beare
Sponsored Content
Although efforts have been made to create policies that support a bias-free workplace, there is still a considerable way to go toward achieving the gender equality that organizations are striving for. Due in part to a lack of clear measurement and transparency, many companies and…
