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ne can just imagine the frustration that Greece’s vice president and foreign minister, Evangelos Venizelos, must feel every time he notifies European Central Bank (ECB) officials about Greece’s economic progress or lack thereof.

Using data analysis and statistics to improve business quality has a long history. But it often seems like most of that history involves huge operations.

Does your right hand know what your left hand is doing and why it is doing it?

Leaders need near-perfect communication skills, and knowing a person’s communication style can make the difference between getting your message out and getting it heard.

Editor’s note: This article continues the series exploring structured innovation using the TRIZ methodology, a problem solving, analysis, and forecasting tool derived from studying patterns of invention found in global patent data.

The various improvement approaches are, in essence, all pretty much the same.

Does your kanban Ready column look like a junk drawer? Do you have tasks in the Ready column from six months ago that say “Urgent!” (and have since the day they were created)? Guess what? You’re learning something about your work.