Mistakes are a fact of life. No matter how much you try, you can’t completely avoid making them. And they can actually help to improve your company’s effectiveness and reputation if you handle them well.

I’ve been thinking of innovation these days, and how it’s being given as a password, and passport, to sustain economies, especially in the Old and New Worlds—that is, us. And how—and why—we are given rules to innovate.

As I titled this column, I was reminded that W. Edwards Deming liked to say, “The most important numbers are unknown and unknowable.” But some numbers are important, and most managers do not know how to manage them.

Some people are really good at procrastination: government bureaucrats, politicians, and kids, especially when it’s time for chores or bed.

(Verisurf: Anaheim, CA) -- Verisurf Software Inc., developer of CAD, reverse engineering, and 3-D model-based inspection software, introduces complete manual coordinate measuring machine (CMM) retrofits that transform any manual CMM into a high performance 3D-model-based inspection system by addi