Monthly Archives: January 2009

Newspaper Innovation In Kansas

Posted on January 29, 2009 by John Hunter

The newspaper industry is facing challenging times. One success story is the Lawrence Journal-World in Lawrence, Kansas. I first heard about their efforts years ago: Watchful Eyes on Kansas Media Innovations, NPR, 2005 Many media companies hoped that convergence — … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Customer focus, Deming, Innovation, IT | Tagged Creativity, Customer focus, Deming, Innovation, internet, IT | 1 Comment

Jeff Bezos and Root Cause Analysis

Posted on January 28, 2009 by John Hunter

Using quality tools really works. Lots of people don’t use them. Improving is often not any more difficult than just applying tools that have been used for decades. Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Quality tools, Respect | Tagged Amazon, Bezos, management experts, Quality tools | 2 Comments

Online Data Backup and Corporate Blogging

Posted on January 26, 2009 by John Hunter

This is a good example of a sensible corporate blog post, Online Data Backup [the broken link has been removed, breaking links is not a good practice for any website]. Their blog is fairly staid and impersonal (which is not … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity | Tagged blogs, communication, internet, marketing | Comments Off

Mount Timpanogos Trail, Utah Photos

Posted on January 25, 2009 by John Hunter

In 2007, I kept failing to plan for a vacation, finally I just booked some tickets to Utah without much of a plan. And still had done little to plan as I departed. So I bought some travel books and … Continue reading →

Posted in Travel photos | Tagged John Hunter, photos, Travel photos | Comments Off

Using Free Content to Boost Your Sales

Posted on January 23, 2009 by John Hunter

I am a big believer in marketing by providing some content for free. It is a great idea for consultants. It is also a great idea for those looking to sell books and audio-visual content. Can Free Content Boost Your … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Innovation | Tagged Creativity, marketing | Comments Off

Negativity

Posted on January 22, 2009 by John Hunter

Don’t be negative. Most people agree with that statement. We see being negative as bad. If you don’t have something good to say, don’t say anything. Well, I don’t agree. While presenting your ideas in a constructive way is helpful, … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Psychology | Tagged managing people, Psychology, Systems thinking | 6 Comments

Management Improvement Carnival #52

Posted on January 20, 2009 by John Hunter

The 2008 Annual Management Improvement Carnival Review (published on a number of site) I am counting as #51, making this #52. That annual review turned out to be a very interesting collection, if you have not read all of them … Continue reading →

Posted in Carnival, Management | Tagged Carnival | Comments Off

Checklists Save Lives

Posted on January 17, 2009 by John Hunter

Checklists are a simple quality tool that have been used widely for decades. Pilots use them, without fail, to save lives. Some surgeons have been using them and the evidence is mounting that checklists can save many more lives if … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Health care, Management, Process improvement, Psychology, Quality tools, Systems thinking | Tagged checklist, continual improvement, Deming, health care system, Process improvement, Psychology, Public Sector, Quality tools | 3 Comments

Federal Government Chief Performance Officer

Posted on January 15, 2009 by John Hunter

A Quality Manager for Obama President-Elect Obama has hired a quality manager, and her name is Nancy Killefer. She is the newly appointed “Chief Performance Officer” whose mandate is to manage budget reforms while eliminating waste in government processes, ultimately … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Public Sector | Tagged change, commentary, curiouscat, Deming, government, John Hunter, management, Public Sector, quality, quote | 1 Comment

Curious Cat Management Carnival: Select 2008 Highlights

Posted on January 12, 2009 by John Hunter

Over the last couple of years the quality of management material available online has increased dramatically. And blogs have provided much of the best management material. The Curious Cat Management Improvement Carnival now provides highlights 3 times a month. Each … Continue reading →

Posted in Carnival, Management, Software Development | Tagged blogs, Carnival, Lean thinking, Software Development | 7 Comments