It took Gutzon Borglum 14 years to complete the carving of Mount Rushmore, one of the world’s most iconic monuments.

I am often struck by a remark of W. Edwards Deming that the aim of a system must include plans for the future. As Deming wrote in The New Economics, “A system must have an aim. Without an aim, there is no system.

(Academy Leadership Publishing: King of Prussia, PA) -- When news headlines trumpet story after story about fiscal mismanagement, unchecked greed, massive bankruptcies, and rampant downsizing, it’s hard to believe there’s any good news about the business world.

(NIST: Gaithersburg, MD) -- Demonstrating that chemistry sometimes can inform history, researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Colorado College, and Mount Saint Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland, have shown that sensitive nondestructive evaluation (NDE

(SME: Dearborn, MI) -- The Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) and The University of Phoenix have reached an agreement that will provide holders of SME certifications with articulation credits toward their college degree.

(Nikon Metrology: Brighton, MI) -- At Eastec 2010, happening May 25–27, Nikon Metrology Inc.

(Beta LaserMike: Dayton, OH) --  Beta LaserMike, a global provider of precision measurement and control solutions, will display its comprehensive portfolio of system solutions for accurately and cost-efficiently measuring medical tubing during production at Medical Design & Manufacturing Eas

(ISO: Geneva) -- The way is now open for the publication of ISO 26000, which gives guidance on social responsibility, as an international standard by the end of year.

In the classic Aesop fable, “The Fox and the Grapes,” a fox desires some grapes hanging high overhead. When he is unable to come up with a way to reach them, he convinces himself that the grapes are probably sour and therefore not desirable anyway.

Successful quality initiatives are based on understanding the true nature of “quality.” It resides in the minds of those who judge it and use it to make their purchase decisions—in other words, the market.