Quality Leadership Weblog :-)

First time I can recall seeing a reference to a Control (process behavior) chart in the local paper.  Expect that it will be more common over the next 25 years.
Test you knowledge in assessing “scores and trends” ?
ISTEP+ Scores: It Depends, On How You Look at Them, by Jeff Abbott, Ph.D., J.D., published in [...]

Two  articles in the local paper.  The first one on education and the challenge of identifying indicators for measuring success. The second article recognized a company for successfully applying the Baldrige criteria which provides a model for identifying critical performance measures.
Problem Resolution?  Use the Baldrige criteria to develop the consensus on how to measure the [...]

Record 2.8 million Hoosiers cast ballots  Nearly 1 in 4 voted early or absentee in ‘08 general election, by Mary Beth Schneider, Indianapolis Star, Nov 26, 2008.
On the numbers/facts, the  National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (Motor Voter Law) made it easier for people to register with the expectation that more people would vote.
Trends indicate [...]

ASQ Announces Quality for Life Initiative.
Members Encouraged to Submit Stories of How Their Quality Skills Impact Lives
Milwaukee, Wis., October 7, 2008 – Quality is more than a profession. For many, quality is a skill that can be used to serve a higher purpose: to improve the lives of others. To recognize these individuals and countless [...]

Both of the following articles were published in the Indianapolis Star and provide a great example on the adage from Einstein that “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” Â
Define how the stakeholders define quality and you resolve the paradox.
An ounce of prevention saves money and [...]

Leonard Pitts: We know what works; let’s do it. Also published in the Indianapolis Star, July 19, 2008.
This will be the last What Works column.
I reserve the right to report occasionally on any program I run across that shows results in saving the lives and futures of African American kids. But this is the last [...]

OPINION: Star needs to dig deeper into critical issues, Dennis Ryerson, July 20, 2008.
Reinforces the important role newspapers play in reporting on the challenging issues facing the community in addition to reporting on incidences of “misfeasance, malfeasance or nonfeasance.”
Don’t hesitate to let me know if there’s something you think we should be digging into. We [...]

It’s been interesting to follow how the Indianapolis Star has been adapting to changes in the marketplace.  Changing demographics and respective preferences on accessing information along with competition from television, cable broadcasts and the Internet have led to a refocus on community issues. 
Kane named Indianapolis Star president and publisher. By Robert King, Posted: July [...]

EDITORIAL: Top job for next top boss: shape up the work force
It’s not hard to come up with a list of key issues that Indiana’s next governor, whether incumbent Republican Mitch Daniels or Democratic challenger Jill Long Thompson, will have to confront.

Indiana’s workers are among the least educated in the nation ….  The state [...]

The power of literacy. Too many Hoosiers don’t have tools needed to land good jobs, handle finances. Indianapolis Star, Sunday, June 29, 2008
Change at this level of magnitude typically has a low (less than 5%) success rate.  The illiteracy problem is not "new." 
Einstein commented that “Problems cannot be solved by the same level of [...]