The Secret Sauce of Process Improvement
February 9th, 2012 // 7:04 am @ Tanmay // 4 Comments
A colleague from a different department recently asked me, “When does this process improvement stop?”. In my response, I explained that improvement is not a destination, but a journey. It is a way for business to tune and align the operations to ongoing changes in the business. “If that is the case, how do you [...]
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Quality: Setting Right Goals
January 22nd, 2012 // 8:02 pm @ Tanmay // 2 Comments
Most improvement initiatives are heavily focused on internal goals – increasing productivity/efficiency, eliminating waste, reducing defects/costs and so on. Processes around these goals are written and implemented. People are trained, tools are implemented, energies are directed and everyone starts working hard to meet these goals. Some improvement is seen, some re-alignment is done and it [...]
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Purpose Precedes Process
January 15th, 2012 // 5:57 pm @ Tanmay // 3 Comments
If process is a vehicle, purpose is the compass. Purpose gives a definite direction to processes. People (and their expertise) are the drivers. Technology acts as an accelerator. Most system implementation or change initiatives focus enough on the P-P-T – People, process and technology and somewhere along the lines, the focus on purpose blurs. I [...]
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Building an Adaptable Team: 6 Ideas
November 21st, 2011 // 7:07 am @ Tanmay // 4 Comments
Ability to deal with rapid changes and uncertainties on the field is as critical a skill for organizations/teams as it is for the military troops. In military operations, lack of agility can have more serious and rapid consequences. In case of teams, individuals and organizations, the consequences may not be visible in a short term, [...]
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The Importance of “Know Why”?
November 3rd, 2011 // 5:21 am @ Tanmay // One Comment
Knowledge industry, particularly software, is full of people who possess “know-how” – knowledge of how to get something done. Give them a task, and they will be able to apply their technical skills (read ‘know-how’) to accomplish it. A lot of people possess a very sound “know-what” – knowledge of facts, figures and methods. Give [...]
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On “Systems Thinking” and Improvement
October 31st, 2011 // 7:41 am @ Tanmay // 2 Comments
A few years back, when I was struggling with some repetitive/difficult situations at work, one of my seniors (and a good friend) asked me, “Do you know the root cause of your problem?”. He went on to draw a diagram on his notebook, and connected the problem to the other parts of the organizational system. [...]
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Views on The Big Q – Quality of Design
August 31st, 2011 // 6:06 am @ Tanmay // 2 Comments
Quality has moved beyond the simplistic definitions like “conformance to customer requirements”. If quality of your product/service merely meets/conforms to customer requirements, it is not remarkable, but a basic expectation. That is because everyone else has mastered the art of ‘meeting’ customer’s requirements. “Total Quality” is much more than just implementing processes or doing rigorous [...]
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Change: From Vision to Execution
August 9th, 2011 // 6:59 am @ Tanmay // 2 Comments
Leaders establish a lofty vision for a large scale change initiative and then strategize to align the team. Sometimes, the team gets over-excited by this grand vision and get stuck. They cannot define a strategy or a plan of action that takes them closer to that grand vision. Planning for a change is a tricky [...]
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A Simple Checklist (But No Simpler)
July 7th, 2011 // 7:05 am @ Tanmay // 6 Comments
Albert Einstein believed that supreme goal of all theory is to make the irreducible basic elements as simple and as few as possible. He said, “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.” Here are some very basic (irreducible) questions that can act as powerful checklist to assess your processes. – Why [...]
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‘Quality’ Leadership 25
June 27th, 2011 // 5:07 am @ Tanmay // 4 Comments
You don’t need to be a Manager/VP/Director of Quality to be a quality leader, because quality leadership is not about title/experience, but more about mindset/attitude. Irrespective of your title, seniority or position in the hierarchy, you are a quality leader when you: 1) Are passionate about your work… 2) …And know how to balance creativity [...]
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