Clik here to view.
Quality Processes in Unexpected Places
This month Paul Borawski asked ASQ’s Influential Voices to explore the use of quality tools in unexpected places. The most surprising example of this practice that I recall is the Madison, Wisconsin...
View ArticleThe Art of Discovery
Quality and The Art of Discovery by Professor George Box (1990): }); }); Quotes by George Box in the video: “I think of statistical methods as the use of science to make sense of numbers” “The...
View ArticleClik here to view.
What is the Explanation Going to be if This Attempt Fails?
Occasionally during my career I have been surprised by new insights. One of the things I found remarkable was how quickly I thought up a new explanation for what could have caused a problem when the...
View ArticleYou are a Fool if You Do What I Say
Guest post from Mark Graban There’s an interesting quote from Taiichi Ohno in “Taiichi Ohno’s Workplace Management,” which I was re-reading today… “You are a fool if you do what I say. You are a...
View ArticleJeff Bezos: Innovation, Experiments and Long Term Thinking
Jeff Bezos, bought the Washington Post. He has long showed a willingness to take a long term view at Amazon. He is taking that same thinking to the Washington Post: In my experience, the way invention,...
View ArticleTaking Risks Based on Evidence
My opinion has long been that football teams are too scared to take an action that is smart but opens the coach to criticism. So instead of attempting to make it on 4th down (if you don’t understand...
View ArticleInnovative Thinking at Amazon: Paying Employees $5,000 to Quit
Amazon continues to be innovative not just in technology but with management thinking. Jeff Bezos has rejected the dictates espoused most vociferously by Wall Street mouthpieces and MBAs that encourage...
View ArticleGeorge Box Articles Available for a Short Time
A collection of George Box articles have been selected for a virtual George Box issue by David M. Steinberg and made available online. George E. P. Box died in March 2013. He was a remarkably creative...
View ArticleGeorge Box Webcast on Statistical Design in Quality Improvement
George Box lecture on Statistical Design in Quality Improvement at the Second International Tampere Conference in Statistics, University of Tampere, Finland (1987). Early on he shows a graph showing...
View ArticleChildren are Amazingly Creative At Solving Problems
This story at NPR reminded my of Russell Ackoff talking about the creativity kids show in solving problems* – and how school often stifles that creativity. Preschoolers Outsmart College Students In...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Road Not Taken
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I– I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. Wonderful advice and so poignant. But actually, if you read the whole poem, what we take from...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Human Proof Design
Human proof design is design that prevents people from successful using the item. It is similar to mistake proofing except instead of prevent mistakes it prevents people from using it. When you see...
View Article