In a Harvard Business Review article Tom Davenport writes, “I hope that when companies start getting excited again about process improvement, they resist one method for

The traditional control charts for nonconformances (np and p) and defects (c and u) date back to the 1920s, and they rely on the normal approximation to the binomial and Poisson distributions, respectively.

In their constant quest to improve results, managers are overwhelmed and burdened with many tasks and responsibilities. It is easy for them to ignore the challenges that confront them while hoping that issues will resolve themselves.

Nick Sarillo is the founder of Nick’s Pizza & Pub, the sixth busiest independent pizza company in per-store sales in the United States.

The events that have transpired since the onset of the current recessionary cycle underscore the turbulent times all organizations face.

Mistakes are a fact of life. No matter how much you try, you can’t completely avoid making them. And they can actually help to improve your company’s effectiveness and reputation if you handle them well.

I’ve been thinking of innovation these days, and how it’s being given as a password, and passport, to sustain economies, especially in the Old and New Worlds—that is, us. And how—and why—we are given rules to innovate.

As I titled this column, I was reminded that W. Edwards Deming liked to say, “The most important numbers are unknown and unknowable.” But some numbers are important, and most managers do not know how to manage them.

Some people are really good at procrastination: government bureaucrats, politicians, and kids, especially when it’s time for chores or bed.

Editor’s note: This is the third of a three-part series on effective, focused data analysis.