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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…
Biology is becoming increasingly digitized. Researchers use computers to analyze DNA, operate lab equipment and store genetic information. But new capabilities also mean new risks, and biologists remain largely unaware of the potential vulnerabilities that come with digitizing biotechnology.
The…
Biology is becoming increasingly digitized. Researchers use computers to analyze DNA, operate lab equipment and store genetic information. But new capabilities also mean new risks, and biologists remain largely unaware of the potential vulnerabilities that come with digitizing biotechnology.
The…
We all know the famous quote, “The customer is always right.” It was coined more than a century ago. In the United States, it was popularized by Marshall Field during the early 1900s. In the United Kingdom, it was popularized by Harry Gordon Selfridge of luxury retailer Selfridge’s fame. Since…
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…
The concept of risk-based thinking has been implicit in previous editions of ISO 9001 through requirements planning, review, and improvement. But ISO 9001:2015 requires companies to use risk-based thinking to manage their business.
If you want to implement an ISO 9001:2015-compliant quality…
Many new leaders silently struggle in their leadership role. They avoid difficult conversations about performance because they do not have the confidence or the skill to coach others or facilitate change. Or, they do not have the critical skills to determine the root problem of poor performance,…
Industry 4.0, cyber-physical systems, or the internet of things (IoT): the paradigm shift in the production economy is cheerfully progressing under various names. What they all refer to is the digitalization and networking of production processes and environments. The idea is by no means new. The…
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…
I was recently reminded of a fundamental statement about continual improvement. In Out of the Crisis (Massachusetts Institute Center for Advanced Engineering, 1986), W. Edwards Deming stated, “I should estimate that in my experience, most troubles and most possibilities for improvement add up to…
The precision to tolerance ratio is commonly used to characterize the usefulness of a measurement system. While this ratio is appealingly simple, it overstates the damage due to measurement error. In this paper we show how to compute honest precision to tolerance ratios that correctly describe…
The precision to tolerance ratio is commonly used to characterize the usefulness of a measurement system. While this ratio is appealingly simple, it overstates the damage due to measurement error. In this paper we show how to compute honest precision to tolerance ratios that correctly describe…
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…
The CEO of Wickrott Corp. was known as a suspicious control freak. Symptomatic of his leadership style were the numerous “internal consultants” hired to keep him informed of the goings-on in the organization. Staff described their work environment as a cutthroat, Darwinian “soup.” Information was…
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…
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…
Google might be in trouble for collecting the personal data of its users, but many companies have a growing incentive to rid their hands of the data that users entrust them with. This is because of growing costs of holding onto it.
A major cause is the rising number of cyber attacks where hackers…
Google might be in trouble for collecting the personal data of its users, but many companies have a growing incentive to rid their hands of the data that users entrust them with. This is because of growing costs of holding onto it.
A major cause is the rising number of cyber attacks where hackers…
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…
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…
Studio photographers may be familiar with the 1,000-watt quartz halogen lamps known as “FELs.” Scientists use them, too—specially calibrated ones, at least—to test the performance of light sensors that monitor Earth’s weather, plant life, and oceans, often from space.
A researcher at the National…
Focusing on metrics is key to achieving your desired business results—but it can be difficult to determine which metrics actually matter. There are five major questions you need to answer to ensure the metrics you’re measuring matter and you can take action based upon what they tell you.
Some…
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,…
Regulatory experts from around the world, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), gathered recently to discuss issues such as regenerative medical products, international collaboration to fight antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and developing strategies to combat substandard or falsified…
Regulatory experts from around the world, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), gathered recently to discuss issues such as regenerative medical products, international collaboration to fight antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and developing strategies to combat substandard or falsified…
