CLICK HERE to request a free copy of the preface and chapter summary of my book…
DATA SANITY: A Quantum Leap to Unprecedented Results
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"In my busy day I was drawn to the title of this article [“Is your organization morphing you into a ‘qualicrat’?”], and missed a little of the introduction. I had expected to do a quick scan, but the format was deceptively simple and I had to start thinking about where I had been headed, where I am, what changes would be easy or hard. The content was great. It was when I decided to print that I noticed Davis' picture. Of course! One of the most practical, cogent, and engaging speakers and writers in the field did it again. Thanks, Davis."
Take your pick, and happy wishes in the year to come!
Almost everyone celebrates something during the winter solstice—Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, etc.—which inevitably includes gift exchanging. Following are some suggestions that run the gamut from technical to personal growth to just plain entertainment. Read more…
20 percent of quality pros could be doing 80 percent of the work. The rest? Well…
The economy has become a convenient excuse on which to pin the blame for everything—especially job losses. Well, in the case of quality positions, yes… and no.
A sobering thought: Will the Pareto principle (the 80/20 rule) inevitably apply to the quality profession? I think so. It’s time to “connect the dots” for executives regarding the integration of quality improvement into organizational culture. How much longer can we as a quality profession wait? Read more…
What’s it going to take?
Remember my previous article on the quality pyramid where the very top element emphasizes the concept of “process?” One of the most powerful points to get across in any quality improvement effort is that your current processes are perfectly designed to get the results they are already getting. Most of us are familiar with the fact that 85 percent of the problems in any organization are due to bad processes (and Deming, toward the end of his life, thought it was closer to 97%). Read more…
Insights from John P. Kotter’s book “Leading Change”
Why do major change initiatives fail? It seems obvious: major change will not happen easily for a long list of reasons. However, if you feel your organization is overmanaged and underled with tendencies toward an inwardly focused culture, paralyzing bureaucracy, parochial politics, a low level of trust, lack of teamwork, arrogant attitudes, a lack of leadership in middle management, and the general human fear of the unknown, then John Kotter’s book Leading Change (Harvard Business School Press, 1996) might be for you. Read more…
The man is dead, but his teaching continues… often, unfortunately, inaccurately.
W. Edwards Deming has been dead for almost 16 years. In my opinion, he and Joseph Juran were the true quality giants of the 20th century. No one seems to talk about Deming much any more except to relate stories from the past and pine for the “good ol’ Deming 4-day seminar days.” (I don’t. Nor do I think he would want us to.) He also seems to have a fundamentalist cult following who revel in smug running commentary, quoting chapter and verse a la Deming on any current quality effort. Read more…
