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For decades we were taught to believe that if you ever wanted to measure anything properly, you needed a coordinate measuring machine (CMM). A couple of decades ago, portable arms were released and although they were novel, nothing could compare to the rigidity and accuracy of three linear scales…
In part one of this series I described what dyslexia is and how I linked “dyslexia” with “lean.” In part two, I suggested an approach to training in the work place called “universal design for learning” (UDL), which takes into account those who learn differently from others. In this part, I will …
On June 5, 1944, just hours before D-Day was to begin, Gen. Dwight Eisenhower paid a visit to the paratroopers of the 101st Airborne. He walked among the men, shaking hands, patting them on their backs, cracking jokes, and boosting morale. In his pocket, however, he carried a prepared message,…
This three-part series about strategy and its execution is based on Richard Lepsinger’s book, Closing the Execution Gap: How Great Leaders and Their Companies Get Results (Jossey-Bass/A. Wiley, 2010). Part one defines the “five bridges” that companies can use to close the gap; part two describes…
In part one of this series I described what dyslexia is and how I linked “dyslexia” with “lean.” I described how, despite the many positive attributes of people with dyslexia (e.g., tending to be more creative), schools and businesses have done a poor job of adapting educational and training…
With so much focus on customers, we often lose sight of our employees and the critical roles they play in our organizations. It’s always instructive to remember that organizations are the employees, and that customer service and quality are dependent on these skilled, motivated people.…
This three-part series about strategy and its execution is based on Richard Lepsinger’s book, Closing the Execution Gap: How Great Leaders and Their Companies Get Results (Jossey-Bass/A Wiley Imprint, 2010). Part one defines the “five bridges” that companies can use to close the gap; part two…
There’s a good chance that 20 percent of the people reading this article have dyslexia. Are you one of them? Are you proud that you have dyslexia? You should be. People with dyslexia typically are smart and creative. I wish I had it. Perhaps then, I would be leading my own huge consulting and…
X-ray fluorescence spectrometry was done directly on the paintings in the Louvre Museum.
Copyright: V.A. Solé/ESRF
How did Leonardo da Vinci manage to paint such perfect faces? For the first time a quantitative chemical analysis has been done…
In Part I and Part II of this series we discussed the benefits of using a closed-loop process for managing regulatory compliance called the “circle of compliance,” pictured in figure 1. I also showed how setting up key performance indicators (KPIs) that monitor performance to goals is a good way…
If your organization is like so many others, it seems to have all the ingredients for success firmly in place. A well-thought-out vision? Check. A realistic strategy? Check. Skilled, highly engaged employees, quality products and services, strong customer relationships? Check, check, check. So why…
When setbacks happen, vulnerability often follows. Feeling unprotected and exposed, we don’t want people to know what we’re facing, whether it’s a professional upset such as the loss of a job, loss of a great sales account, or being passed over for promotion, or something more personal. The more…
These days when the economy is uncertain, smaller organizations worry about survival while many larger, well-established organizations sit smugly, thinking they don’t really have much to worry about. However, some of these large, well-established organizations are vanishing. How is this possible…
Economies shift in response to changes in financial power, and these changes will always affect our world. News reports about the strikes and labor problems in several Chinese manufacturing plants highlight the challenge the Chinese government faces in maintaining an economy based on cheap labor…
Often when I write articles or have a speaking engagement, I like to polarize things into black and white. Almost every time I do this, I’m challenged about the audacity of the approach. Nothing seems to irritate people more than the statement “A focus on costs always increases them.” Just to stir…
Ben Margugilio wrote a nice article for Quality Digest Daily outlining how failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) and what might be called just good practices could have prevented the Gulf oil spill.
I believe the cause goes deeper than method, procedures, and even technical knowledge and…
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here is a stereotype of the creative person who chafes at standards, convinced that any sort of process-driven continuous improvement will have a negative effect on how his work is performed. This creative person can be a designer, marketing professional, salesperson, machinist, or doctor.…
We humans take a fairly long time to reach adulthood compared to many other species. Biologists say that’s because much of what we need to know to survive isn’t etched in our DNA, but something we must learn. We’re not programmed to buy the most suitable house the way a robin can find a secure…
Medical device manufacturers may gain a one-year exemption from Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspections if their establishment has been audited under one of the regulatory systems implemented by the Global Harmonization Task Force (GHTF) founding members using ISO 13485. Manufacturers must…
One of my favorite value-stream walks is with the senior managers of several organizations who share and jointly manage a value-creating process that stretches all the way from raw materials to the end customer. I’ve been taking walks of this sort for more than 20 years and I usually see the same…
Until I was 30 years old, I wasn’t much of a fisherman. I’d take a rod and reel along on a camping trip, but I never expected to catch much of anything. In my mind, fishing was a relaxing pastime you enjoyed with friends and beer. Then my buddy Brian asked me to go fishing. I took him to a lake…
What are the root and contributing causes of the accident in the Gulf? What could have and should have been done to prevent the accident? If the potential for the accident could not have been absolutely prevented, what could have and should have been done to mitigate the consequences of such an…
How loyal are your customers? That’s a question I bet many companies can’t answer with any specificity. Yet, it’s a critically important question. If you haven’t heard by now, loyal customers are profitable customers—an annuity, if you will, with recurring payments.
Customer retention is an…
You can’t pick up an article or turn on the news without running across the word “sustainability.” So, I got to thinking about what sustainability means on an individual level—not from a purely ecological perspective, but from a humanistic one.
Ecologically, sustainability is about biological…
When so many managers and businesses have access to virtually the same tools and information, it seems peculiar that two similar businesses can operate so differently, one being a success story while the other fails. To induce needed changes rather than superficial ones, managers must first accept…