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The coolest birthday present I ever received was a gift from my wife a number of years ago; it was a white 1962 Mercedes-Benz 220 sedan reasonably well-restored. But the classy antique car, with its deep fenders and leather seats, turned out to be a real lemon. That’s about all I remember about…
Much has been written about the benefits of identifying and leveraging an organization’s core competencies to gain competitive advantage. But are organizations putting this concept into practice, and are they doing it strategically? Do they understand that by not doing so they risk losing…
There’s probably few activities that corporate folks enjoy less than corporate training. For most it’s guaranteed to be a slog, or a review of policies and procedures rarely used and important only to a specific team or set of circumstances. Most people assume they have enough knowledge to do the…
Imagine if carbon dioxide (CO2) could easily be converted into usable energy. Every time you breathe or drive a motor vehicle, you would produce a key ingredient for generating fuels. Like photosynthesis in plants, we could turn CO2 into molecules that are essential for day-to-day life. Now,…
(ICEE: Galveston, TX) -- The new ISO 9001:2015 standards include one of the most significant additions since the creation of ISO 9000—a recognition that the engagement of all stakeholders is critical to a successful quality management process. The webinar will cover the new ISO 9001:2015 standards…
In our previous article, we discussed the mindset of athletic leaders, specifically their improbable combination of mental toughness and adaptability. Now let’s look at what they do.
We have identified five leadership meta-practices of athletic CEOs. Each of them allows leaders to effectively…
In our previous article, we discussed the mindset of athletic leaders, specifically their improbable combination of mental toughness and adaptability. Now let’s look at what they do.
We have identified five leadership meta-practices of athletic CEOs. Each of them allows leaders to effectively…
In our previous article, we discussed the mindset of athletic leaders, specifically their improbable combination of mental toughness and adaptability. Now let’s look at what they do.
We have identified five leadership meta-practices of athletic CEOs. Each of them allows leaders to effectively…
Do you feel like you’re not making the progress in your customer experience (CX) transformation efforts that you thought or hoped you would by now?
You started years (not months—it’s a journey) ago, but you don't think your organization has evolved.
What’s the reason for that?
I’ve seen several…
Have you ever been hammered with data that you knew were important, but you didn’t understand why the person sharing it was so passionate about it? Have you ever shared data and facts with colleagues in an attempt to influence them only to find they didn’t care about the message you were trying to…
This week’s episode of our show looked at the various ways in which quality organizations plan to ensure long-term success. Here are the stories we covered:
“Worldwide Study of 25,000 Business Leaders Reveals Six Leadership Megatrends Changing the Workplace” The Conference Board, in conjunction…
People naturally fear change. I hear that all the time, but I don't believe it. What people really fear is the unknown. People actually embrace change if they understand it. We see this when people try to change their habits, their bodies, their relationships, and their jobs. They don't fear those…
In today’s column, I will be looking at kaizen and kaikaku through the lens of the explore/exploit model. Kaizen is often translated from Japanese as “continuous improvement” or “change for better.” Kaikaku, another Japanese term, is translated as “radical change or improvement.” Kakushin is…
One of the common complaints you’ll hear today is executives saying how there isn’t enough talent out there, not enough people with the right skills or even the willingness to learn. They say that people—almost always “young people”—are too eager to jump ship.
What are companies to do when there’…
Employers can’t find people with the skills needed for the today’s workplace, because high schools and universities fail to teach students useful job skills. The skills gap is a decades-old and well-known problem that will remain unsolved unless we flip priorities not only in our school systems…
The current 2017–2018 flu season is a bad one. Hospitalization rates are now higher than in recent years at the same point, and infection rates are still rising. The best line of defense is the seasonal influenza vaccine. But H3N2 viruses, like the one that’s infecting many people this year, are…
The current 2017–2018 flu season is a bad one. Hospitalization rates are now higher than in recent years at the same point, and infection rates are still rising. The best line of defense is the seasonal influenza vaccine. But H3N2 viruses, like the one that’s infecting many people this year, are…
While some countries struggle with air safety, U.S. airplane travel has lately had a remarkable safety record. In fact, from 2014 through 2017, there were no fatal commercial airline crashes in the United States.
But those years were fraught with other kinds of trouble: security breaches and…
The evolving trends of automation are affecting quality management business processes for manufacturing organizations of all sizes. In this article, we’ll look at the business case for automation; consider the basic opportunities and challenges found at the start of a quality automation project;…
In the 2015 movie The Intern, Robert De Niro starred as a 70-year-old widower who returns to the workforce as an underappreciated and seemingly out-of-step intern working for a young boss played by Anne Hathaway.
Initially, Hathaway’s character can’t quite relate to this baby boomer who ditched…
Developing high-quality products is more important today than ever before. Market visibility to product quality has never been higher, and competitive pressures continue to squeeze margins and time to market. Manufacturers must consistently deliver better, faster, cheaper. It’s easy to deliver on…
Deb asked me, “Would you like to come over to my house tonight and learn about a business opportunity?” I’d met Deb on a church trip, and had been crushing on her for weeks. She could have ended her question with, “and scrub dirty toilets?” and I would’ve been there, because all I heard was “come…
More than 200 CEOs have said they will raise wages or give bonuses as a result of the large corporate income tax cut passed late last year by Congress.
Some view their plans as simply a public relations move, others as a response to tighter labor markets or worker pressures. Pretty much everyone…
‘Don’t thank them for anything. They’re the ones who caused this problem.” When I got that message, I thought, “This is all wrong, and there must be something somewhere that says so.” After some searching around, I didn’t find anything to support that assumption. What I did find were many…
How can we use descriptive statistics to characterize our data? When I was teaching at the University of Tennessee I found a curious statement in a textbook that offered a practical answer to this question. This statement was labeled as “the Empirical Rule,” and it is the subject of what follows.…
