by David M. Williams, Ph.D. In healthcare and education improvement, improvers have experienced the benefits of applying improvement science and related tools and methods to solve problems that matter. Now, leaders have started to think about how to do quality as a strategy for leading organizations. How do you lead for quality? What does that […]
Start Here. Establish Formal Improvement Efforts
in Leadership, Quality as an Organizational Strategy (QOS)By David M. Williams, Ph.D. Where do you start your journey to adopt Quality as an Organizational Strategy (QOS)? It’s tempting to approach this work like an educational program or theoretical exercise, but the theories and methods are only worth pursuing if they support continually improving and getting results that position your organization for […]
Operational Definition of Improvement
in Improvement Science, Measurement, Quality as an Organizational Strategy (QOS), VariationBy David M. Williams, Ph.D. “What is YOUR definition of ‘improvement’?” she asked. The leadership team just finished reviewing the improvement efforts from last year. Teams summarized their projects and shared reflections on key learnings and barriers. The team worked together all year, and their investment of time, energy, and desire was evident. Enthusiasm was […]
Capturing Improvement Needs
in Improvement Science, Quality as an Organizational Strategy (QOS), Systems, Tools & Methodsby David M. Williams, Ph.D. How many times have you heard someone say, “this always happens” or “this happened to me before?” Every organization has improvement opportunities, but when quality is your strategy, you need a system to fix problems on the spot when possible or capture the problem in a structured way and add it […]
Working Backward from the Customer
in Improvement Science, Systems, Tools & Methodsby David M. Williams, Ph.D. I love barbeque. Texas is known for our love of the craft and everyone has a favorite place. Ruby’s BBQ is a franchise operated locally in Austin by K & N Management. In 2010, they became the second restaurant to be awarded the Malcolm Baldrige Award for Excellence. While teaching at […]
How to Assess and Reboot
in Implementation, Leadership, Quality as an Organizational Strategy (QOS), Tools & Methods, Variationby David M. Williams, Ph.D. Photo by İrfan Simsar on Unsplash Whether you are a leader in a new role or one wanting to reboot your current one, you need an approach to make your work visible, to assess current conditions, and make a game plan. Here is guidance to help. Reviewing key inputs A good […]
Using Your Vector of Measures to Guide Action
in Measurement, Quality as an Organizational Strategy (QOS), Systems, Tools & Methods, VariationBy David M. Williams, Ph.D. Figure. Vector of Measures Displayed in Shewhart Charts Source: Mecklenburg EMS Agency, Charlotte, NC, USA One of the toughest struggles for leaders is figuring out how to focus attention on the work that best serves the customer and will get the desired results. A great place to begin is your […]
Prioritizing Improvement Efforts
in Improvement Science, Knowledge, Quality as an Organizational Strategy (QOS), Systems, Tools & MethodsBy David M. Williams, Ph.D. Making changes to a process is essential to improvement. Improvement efforts require chartering projects that will impact strategic processes requiring design or redesign. Organizations routinely struggle with selecting processes needing improvement and that will achieve the organization’s objectives. What follows is a structured process, using qualitative methods, to support selecting […]
Drilling Down into Aggregate Data
in Improvement Science, Measurement, Quality as an Organizational Strategy (QOS), Tools & Methods, VariationBy David M. Williams, Ph.D. Every organization tracks a family of measures with data from various moments of time. The list of indicators often blend measures created by leadership with a mix of from other sources like accreditation bodies, regulators, and benchmarking vendors. These data are usually at an aggregate level or minimally stratified by […]
Scenario Planning – Probability in Uncertainty
in Quality as an Organizational Strategy (QOS), Tools & MethodsBy David M. Williams, Ph.D. Photo by Luis Quintero on Unsplash Camp Gladiator is a $60 million dollar Austin fitness company started by a married couple and former American Gladiator contestants. Its mission is to impact the physical fitness and lives of as many people as possible with a program of high-intensity interval training and […]