Eisenhower’s Urgent/Important Principle

“What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President of the USA.

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It’s Not the Holy Grail

The quality world is entranced by ISO9001 and certification, almost essential in western business, and it employs many in compliance auditing.  Even first and second party audits focus on compliance.  Inspection is frequently reduced to pass or fail judgements.  But is that the only way to think, or even the best way?

Manager vs Engineer

No intention to start a fight to say who’s best, a manager or an engineer; rather to try and recognise a key difference in role that may clarify responsibilities for some.

Hystery

Another made-up, or mis-spelled, word to grab attention. It’s been said many times that we are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past (i.e. history repeats itself); often used in a national/international context I’ve found it can be true in almost any organisation. In the latter, the repeat cycle can be years or just days. Let me explain…

Stories

All the events in the following two “case studies” are based on situations I’ve encountered in my career but, as individual stories they are entirely fictional and any similarities with real situations are entirely coincidental.  However, you might notice some similarities to organisations you know and it might get you thinking…

Four Absolutes

Following on from zero defects, Philip Crosby put forward what became know as his Four Absolutes:

Leaders vs Managers

Why do so many people confuse leaders with managers, expect a good leader to be able to manage, or a good manager lead?  Sure, there are some people who can manage both, and a few who may be good at both, but the majority of us can only do well in one role.  Companies sometimes mix and match job titles (probably to fit incumbents into more convenient salary scales) without thinking about the real needs of the job.  So what are the differences in the roles?