All Features
Jennifer V. Miller
Are there any positive leadership stories out there anymore? Anyone? Anyone?
Sometimes, I feel like Ben Stein’s economics teacher in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, casting about for any story that sheds a positive light on the ability to lead with character. Within one week I heard three stories of…
Steven Brand
The manufacturing industry in the United States is ripe for a new industrial revolution, and artificial intelligence and robotic automation are set to play a key role in that change. Because manufacturing is a major driving force in a nation’s economic prosperity, it is especially important that…
Mike Richman
Last Friday’s episode of QDL welcomed the new year with our usual original take on featured editorial content, plus a great Tech Corner. In case you missed it, here’s what we covered:
“Most ‘Innovations’ Are Mere Novelties” In this article, author Helen Barrett exposes the myth of the lone-wolf…
Chip Bell
I do not at all understand the mystery of grace—only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us. —Anne Lamott
Howard Perdue was the owner, manager, and spiritual leader of the Ford tractor dealership in McRae, Georgia, during the 1950s and 1960s. In that era, about 185…
Mike Richman
Many people don’t understand how the theory of evolution works. There is this notion that change somehow just occurs naturally over the course of geological time. What some fail to grasp is that change does not simply happen. It occurs because there is some external pressure that forces adaptation…
Gleb Tsipursky
When was the last time a colleague said something so ridiculous that it made your jaw drop? Perhaps a desk mate went into something political, claiming that George Bush is behind 9/11 or that Barack Obama is a Muslim from Kenya? Or maybe your boss voiced science denialism, arguing that the Earth…
Scott Berkun
On Tuesdays I write about the top-voted question on “Ask Berkun.” This week’s question came from J.R., who wrote: “What is a favorite theory that you wish more people understood?”
A favorite theory that I wish was more well-known is the Satir Change Model. It’s popular in some circles, but often…
Annette Franz
Why is employee engagement at an all-time low? Why is turnover as high as it is? Why are employees constantly looking for better opportunities?
Think about those questions, along with what I wrote in my column, “Employee Engagement: A Confluence of Passion and Purpose”: “...engagement comes from…
Bruce Hamilton
Speaking at the 2003 Shingo Conference, Guy Briggs, general manager of North American operations for General Motors lamented, “We spent the 1980s ‘counting robots’ before we realized that it’s people that make the difference in our business.”
He was alluding to the thirty-five billion (yes,…
Walter Copan
For the last 30 years, NIST and the Department of Commerce, together with the President of the United States, have been recognizing the nation’s most outstanding organizations with the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.
It was my privilege on Nov. 15, 2017, to join Secretary of Commerce…
Phanish Puranam
What would you say about a system that improves performance but is disliked by a significant percentage of those participating in it? Conventional organizational hierarchy may be just such a system. Yet plenty of theorists—including, at times, ourselves—have concentrated on explaining the…
Jim Benson
People are always asking us for help with ways to prioritize. Almost everyone believes prioritization to be an action in and of itself. They ask, “What mechanisms do you use to prioritize?” However, we find most often that prioritization issues, like trust issues, are a symptom of deeper problems…
Jeffrey Phillips
I was leading an innovation workshop recently with a company that invited some of its customers to talk about the future. We were interested in getting feedback from key B2B customers about the future of the industry, where things were heading, and what strategies and programs my customer should…
Ryan E. Day
Sponsored Content
Datum Metrology LLC (DM) is a metrology service provider specializing in jig building and bond tooling for various industries, including automotive, aerospace, naval, and nuclear energy. With decades of combined experience in multiple skilled-trade backgrounds, the DM team…
Harish Jose
I recently read Jordan Ellenberg’s wonderful book, How Not To Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking (Penguin Books, 2014). I found the book to be enlightening and a great read. Ellenberg has the rare combination of being knowledgeable and capable of teaching in a humorous and engaging way.…
Chad Kymal, Gregory F. Gruska
The Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) and the German Association of the Automotive Industry, or VDA (Verband der Automobilindustrie), have been cooperating in automotive quality management systems since the advent of the second edition of ISO/TS 16949 in 2002. The integration work that…
Trevor Blumenau
How does one define quality in the context of a warehouse? The perfect warehouse is clean, has everything in its place, and is easy to access. Your warehouse looks like the one below, right?
You have a perfectly accurate database table that tells you exactly where everything is, correct? And…
Michelle LaBrosse
It is common knowledge in the project management field that process management helps with project management; projects go much more smoothly and efficiently if you have a consistent process for doing them. It’s the same in every other area of your company where you do repetitive work—you need…
Tab Wilkins
There’s no question the digital manufacturing revolution is racing at us. As a small or medium-sized manufacturer, how close are you to already being “smart?” Here are five steps in the journey to becoming a smarter digital enterprise.
First and foremost, be cybersecure. Cybersecurity is an…
Dirk Dusharme @ Quality Digest
Our Dec. 8, 2017, episode of QDL looked at smart manufacturing, remanufacturing, pants-on-fire bosses, and five things your QMS needs.
“Smart Manufacturing Trends in 2017”
The digital manufacturing environment, or smart manufacturing, is growing by leaps and bounds, and is spurred on by…
Mark Seay
SSL, a global leader in integrated space technologies, has recently gone through a complete redesign of its quality organization by reinventing its purpose and role in the company. These changes were not only foundational in nature but also required a significant cultural shift by the quality…
Alexa Sussman
Sponsored Content
There are so many processes that make up quality management. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the choices or put focus on processes that aren’t essential. However, there are some processes that are crucial to having efficient operations and maintaining compliance.
We’ve put…
Steven Brand
Smart manufacturing trends in 2017 indicate that a radical transformation in the manufacturing sector is taking place. In a report by global market research firm BCC Research, the global market for smart manufacturing is expected to grow from $159 billion in 2015 to $392 billion by 2020 at a…
Lolly Daskal
Have you ever worked with a boss who made everything so urgent that you never knew what was truly important? If so, you probably haven’t forgotten how frustrating it is to be unable to prioritize.
Or you may have worked for someone who required an immediate response for every little request,…
Kevin Meyer
A mindful leader has awakened to his true meaning, purpose, and values. Hopefully, those values align with a strong sense of integrity, character, passion, and people-centered leadership. The authentic leader takes these values and overtly leads with them.
The people surrounding and working for an…
