Davis Balestracci
When improvement initiatives don’t yield the results promised, it’s very tempting to have the knee-jerk reaction of blaming the workers for their poor attitudes and lack of work ethic. But what if...
Davis Balestracci
How true are the following statements as you perceive things in your work environment?
1 = Not true at all 2 = True to a small extent 3 = True to some extent 4 = Mostly true 5 = Completely true
1...
Davis Balestracci
“What if I were to tell you that one of the most important keys to your organization’s success can be found in a very unlikely place—a place many of you may consider to be complicated, inaccessible...
Davis Balestracci
I received the following note from a physician who is very interested in improvement: “I am not sure I understand what a process behavior chart and a moving range chart do to the discussion, and...
Davis Balestracci
As a consultant, it’s easy to lose touch with reality and become a platitude-spouting machine. I always like hearing from my readers because it keeps me grounded—and I try my best to reply to them...
Davis Balestracci
What exactly is “culture?” As Jim Clemmer puts it, “Culture is ‘the way we do things around here’… especially when the boss isn’t looking.”
As I asked in my January 2013 column: Do cultures’ (...
Davis Balestracci
At the end of my December 2012 column, “Evolving Beyond Platitudes to Holistic Improvement,” I described three different management styles. Management expert Peter Block saw the need to evolve away...
Davis Balestracci
The 24th Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Annual Forum took place on Dec. 9–12, 2012. It is probably the leading health care improvement event in the world. I have presented there for 20...
Davis Balestracci
Previously I discussed three common cause strategies (links below) that help to expose all existing, underlying special causes of variation. They also provide necessary insight into how the current...
Davis Balestracci
Remember the early days of TQM? When I present to healthcare audiences, all I have to do is mention “lab turnaround time” to get a collective groan and smile. That was always one of the initial...
