Quality Leadership Weblog :-)

Book Review: The Body Electric, (New York Times)…William Saletan, New York Times, December 27, 2009, pg. BR14
…The heroes of his new book, “The Department of Mad Scientists,” work for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, better known as Darpa, a secretive arm of the United States government. And the revolution they’re leading is a merger [...]

Policy, protocols, rules sets, routines, “the way we do things around here,” refer to guidelines that are used to manage variability.
People take action. Action is taken via a process/system. Systems determine the majority of the result.  The majority of change typically results in no improvement.  How do you assess if the actions made things better [...]

Op-Ed. The Sidney Awards, By DAVID BROOKS, Published: December 25, 2009
Every year, I give out Sidney Awards to the best magazine essays of the year. In an age of zipless, electronic media, the idea is to celebrate (and provide online linkof poor quality:d “cost es to) long-form articles that have narrative drive and social impact.

One [...]

Business and the Way of Democracy, By ANDREA BONIME-BLANC and MARK BRZEZINSKI, Published: December 26, 2009
The role that integrity plays in the private sector is similar to the role that democracy plays in the public sector.

Much like transitions to democracy over the past four decades transformed governments from mostly authoritarian to mostly democratic, we are [...]

Article infers a reference to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). The assessment has its critics but I have found it has been a useful tool – I’m generally pretty accurate in identifying preference which helps improve communications.
Op-Ed. An Officer and a Creative Man, By MARK MOYAR, December 19, 2009, New York Times
Researchers have found [...]

Note the reference to cause and effect.  The “effect” represented in the statement: “Our aim is to manifest the fundamental innate mind of clear light, the most subtle level of consciousness, and to remain within that level of mind without regressing to grosser levels.” On the “causes”:  the practice of the Great Completeness style of [...]