It’s been nearly two months since the Toyota crisis emerged, so I’m ready to render my preliminary perspective.  Personally, I think the whole incident can serve as a powerful case study in many, many issues – textbooks will be written about this, and our MBA students will be studying it for quite a few years.  On one level, I’m still amazed that one of the world’s most respected – and most successful – companies can experience a colossal failure of this magnitude.  But I guess it reminded me that no organization is immune to serious process breakdowns, and that all organizations have a need to continuously improve.  So let’s do our own root cause analysis on this breakdown (no pun intended), as I offer five key insights as to what might have gone wrong – and what ALL organizations should think about for their own situations…

Admittedly, I don’t have all the data, so consider my insights anecdotal and speculative (indeed, Toyota doesn’t have all the data either or they wouldn’t be in this situation!) – only time will fully tell what really happened.  But here are five key insights that might emerge from this debacle:

1) An organization’s reputation can be fleeting.  Really, you’re only as good as your most recent product (or service, or program, or transaction, or whatever).  Sure, customers are reasonable: they know organizations are made of people and people make mistakes, so most customers are willing to overlook an error here or there.  But a series of errors, or – in this case – a significant error can erase years of positive reputation.

Let’s face it: Toyota was one of the world’s preeminent companies: they appeared on numerous “Best Companies” lists, they consistently outperformed most other car companies in terms of sales and profit, and they had a solid reputation for a high quality product.  But that reputation may forever (or at least for a long-time) be tarnished by this significant safety-related defect.

Implication for all organizations:

What may take years or decades to build, can be damaged by one major set-back.  As an organization, don’t get cocky.  You can never rest on your laurels; the journey to excellence never ends.

2) How you react to a crisis is critical.  Toyota now has a credibility crisis.   There are reports that they knew about the sticking accelerator pedal issues back in 2007 (indeed, they began recalling certain Camry’s and Lexus’s in 2007, and began to receive complaints in Europe as early as December 2008).  Why it took them up to three years to take action is a mystery.  Indeed, there are now hundreds (if not thousands) of reports of vehicle accidents, some involving fatalities – all potentially avoided, if Toyota took more decisive and immediate action.

Sure, there is a financial impact of doing so (this recall may cost hundreds of millions of dollars).  But think of the public relations hit they have taken by waiting (and by potentially withholding information from governments and the public); no doubt this has impacted their market share, at least in the short-term.

The New York Times (February 7): “Many auto makers address problems directly when feasible, hoping to avoid an uncomfortable spotlight.  But Toyota, a company that has built its reputation with meticulous attention to quality, is now facing a credibility crisis as little-known problems are surfacing with many of its models.”

Nearly as important as the recall itself is how you respond to it: a company’s reputation can be sustained if they take quick, decisive action with concern for their customers (or those impacted by their errors).  Remember Johnson & Johnson and the Tylenol recall in the early 80s?  Product tampering on the retail shelves led to many customers getting sick and several dying.  It didn’t matter that it wasn’t J&J’s fault: they pulled all Tylenol off the market, ensuring public confidence that the next bottle of pain killer they bought wouldn’t kill them.  They did take an up-front financial hit…but long-term, their brand, their reputation, their credibility was enhanced.  And amazingly, their market share eventually went up.

Implication for all organizations:

When faced with a crisis, do the right thing, even if it involves a product recall, a short-term financial loss, or a blow to your reputation.  If you wait to take action – or take no action at all – the longer-term impact to your brand, your reputation, and your credibility will be much more significant.

3) Your supply chain is critical to ensuring quality.  In the wake of the Mattel recall two years ago (remember that whole lead-in-toys thing??), I wrote an article on the importance of managing your suppliers – the fact that you can’t outsource your reputation, and the fact that your suppliers are an extension of your operations (if you’re interested, the article is from August 2007: “A Lesson from Product Recalls: You Cannot Outsource Your Reputation,” http://www.councilforquality.org/about_newsletter.cfm).

All organizations manage a work system: those processes internal to their operations that they own, control, and manage, as well as those processes external to their operations that they elect to outsource to suppliers.  The upshot is this: organizations are still responsible for the quality of those external products and processes as well, even though they don’t own, control, and directly manage them.

There is a high likelihood that the Toyota problem was caused by supplier parts in the accelerator assembly.  That doesn’t exempt Toyota (obviously) from the liability – from the ultimate responsibility for those parts.  An organization has the responsibility to ensure that its suppliers’ products (or services, programs) conform to whatever requirements it sets.  If they don’t, they need to manage (or change) the supplier.

Appropriately, many organizations choose to outsource processes that are non-essential or not a core competency of theirs.  But I think many organizations then forget to manage the outputs from those processes, when in fact, what you “inherit” from your suppliers becomes yours.  And the bottom line: Toyota is taking the lion’s share of the liability and suffering the brunt of the hit, not the various suppliers who may also be at fault.

Implication for all organizations:

Customers don’t care if it was a supplier defect; ultimately, it becomes your defect.

4) Process performance is paramount.  Processes in any organization are complex: they are a series of sequential activities that take raw material and convert it to a finish good (or service or outcome).  Today, processes are becoming more and more intricate, as we use more sophisticated technology (including information technology) to complete our tasks.  In fact, today’s cars are packed with up to 100 million lines of computer code – that’s more than some jet fighters!  “It would be easy to say the modern car is a computer on wheels, but it’s more like 30 or more computers on wheels,” said Bruce Emaus, chair of SAE International’s embedded software standards committee in the NY Times.  Today’s cars have anywhere from 30 to over 100 microprocessor-controlled devices, which control dozens of functions (yes, including acceleration, cruise control, breaking, and so forth).  When one or more of them has a design flaw or a programming error, systems may send false signals that could cause an inappropriate response (such as sudden acceleration).

That’s about the extent of my technical knowledge on the issue, but my point is this: processes can be complex.  Technology certainly has helped enable processes in many ways, but it is not a substitute for proper engineering and design, testing, quality control – basically, good old fashion process management.  It also emphasizes the importance of having the right data – performance metrics – to monitor how processes (and products, outputs) are performing, and then making adjustments as necessary.  Some research claims that making engineering changes in the design room are oftentimes 100 TIMES less expensive than making changes when defects reach the customer.  Given Toyota’s experience, that number may be understated. 

Again, I’m not exactly sure what broke down in Toyota’s processes, but it’s clear they either did not have the information (or were not managing or taking action on the information) to prevent – or to at least more quickly react – to this growing crisis.

Implication for all organizations:

Your processes are perfectly designed to get the output they get.  If you spend time on the front end designing and testing, you’ll have a much better shot at getting predictable, reliable, high quality products, services, and outputs.

5) Quality does not ensure perfection: leaders must manage the system.  Toyota has one of the most recognizable – and respected – quality systems in the world.  The Toyota Production System (TPS) has been heavily benchmarked and copied by tens of thousands of organizations in all types of industries.  Why?  Because it works.  TPS – or its newer cousin, Lean – helps organizations to reduce waste and inconsistency in their processes, and also offers a robust problem solving method (somewhat ironic, I know) to improve operational performance.  As a result of decades of using this system, Toyota has enjoyed high quality products and a solid reputation; they also have enjoyed superior financial returns, as their efficiency and productivity usually surpasses competitors.

But of course, no system is flawless.  As we’ve seen with the current recall, something went wrong.  Quality methods are useful, but not perfect (in fact, Six Sigma – which is exceedingly difficult to achieve – does not imply 100% perfection:  it allows for 1 defect per 3.4 million events).

Errors happen.  Stuff breaks.  Nothing’s perfect.  Why?  Other than the fact that humans run our organizations, achieving perfection is nearly impossible because organizations are highly complex systems, with hundreds, thousands, or potentially millions of moving parts.  And systems are extremely difficult to manage.  There are communication breakdowns, processes that are deployed in different ways in different parts of organizations, workers that – while well-intended – don’t always work in alignment with strategy or company goals, departments or units that work in silos and oftentimes at cross purposes, and so forth.

Consider this: Toyota apparently made changes to the accelerator assembly on its European models the summer of 2009, but initially told US authorities it was unaware of any problems with the pedals.  (Remember how they thought the pedals were getting stuck in floor mats?!)  So somewhere communication broke down in the massive system of Toyota, or changes would have been made much sooner.

Many organizations use frameworks like the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence to gauge how their system is working – to identify process strengths and to identify and prioritize improvement opportunities.  What is so useful about Baldrige (and it’s not a panacea either) is that is focuses on the organizational system – on how various parts fit together, helping leaders identify gaps in alignment and weaknesses in their system.  Bottom line: it helps optimize resources and maximize outcomes and results.  (For more information on how this system works, see Article #2 below and consider attending our May 18 MN Quality Award event to learn from 13 organizations how they are reaching higher levels of excellence by managing the system in addition to just the system’s parts.)

Implication for all organizations:

It comes down to leadership.  Quality methods help improve aspects of the system, but leaders should be managing and improving the system itself.

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A good friend and colleague of mine, Jim Buckman, published an article in the Star Tribune shortly after the Toyota news started to break (February 8), which emphasized the importance of leadership in case studies like Toyota.  He mentioned the notion of “Senshoubyou,” which is the Japanese term for “victory disease,” and reflected on how it came into play in World War II:

“On December 7, 1941, the Japanese Navy and its carrier planes devastated the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, and during the next six months the Japanese Empire overran the Philippines, Malaya, Singapore, and most areas worth occupying in the southwest Pacific.  In the first week of June 1942, that victorious Japanese Navy encountered three American aircraft carriers, lots of well-trained, tough pilots and humbler, smarter leaders.  The result was the Battle of Midway, where those outnumbered Americans sank four Japanese aircraft carriers and killed hundreds of Japan’s veteran combat pilots – a catastrophe from which the Japanese war effort never recovered.”

Buckman continues: “This phenomenon of victory-induced over-reaching has played out for decades in the auto industry, up to and including the recent recalls at Toyota.”

I suppose you could call it many things – complacency, arrogance, overconfidence, senshoubyou – but the Toyota lesson should remind us all of one thing: past performance does not guarantee future success.  And whether you manage a business, a school, a hospital, or a nonprofit agency, leaders must never be satisfied with the status quo: no organization is immune to serious process breakdowns, and all organizations have a need to continuously improve.  Never give up the fight.  The journey to excellence never ends.

Yours in Improvement,

Brian S. Lassiter

President, Minnesota Council for Quality

Are you interested in learning from and networking with organizations on the journey to performance excellence?  Would your organization benefit from hearing how businesses, healthcare providers, schools, and governmental agencies are integrating Baldrige, Six Sigma, Lean, Scorecard, and other tools to improve outcomes and results during these tough times?

You are cordially invited to the 19th Annual Minnesota Quality Award recognition, celebration, and learning event Tuesday, May 18.  Come learn and network with organizations on their journey to excellence -- organizations from all sectors and of all sizes.  Hear from 13 organizations how they use a variety of improvement techniques to improve customer satisfaction, workforce engagement, financial/budgetary results, product/service/academic/healthcare outcomes, and process/operations results. 

The evening celebration will recognize the Minnesota Quality Award recipient organizations, thank our volunteers, and facilitate networking with leaders interested in continuous improvement, sustainability, and performance excellence.  The program will also feature Craig Luzinski, Chief Nursing Officer at Poudre Valley Health System (Colorado) and Brenda Clark, Associate Superintendent of Learning at Iredell Statesville Schools (N Carolina), both 2008 recipients of the Baldrige Award.

The half-day event will include the following:

• a luncheon, featuring a keynote address by Larry Potterfield, CEO of MidwayUSA (a small manufacturer from Missouri and recipient of the 2009 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award).  Governor Pawlenty also invited.
• an afternoon of four tracks of break-out workshops, featuring 12 organizations focusing on some aspect of how they improve outcomes and processes.  Organizational presenters include Albert Lea Medical Center, Austin Medical Center, Benedictine Health System, Cardinal of Minnesota, Dover-Eyota Schools, Iredell Statesville Schools (N. Carolina), MidwayUSA (Missouri), Minneapolis VA Medical Center, Rochester Community & Technical College, State of Minnesota’s Dept of Human Services (Chemical & Mental Health Services), University of Wisconsin at Stout, and Workforce Development Inc.; and
• an evening reception and celebration, featuring keynote addresses by Craig Luzinski, Chief Nursing Officer at Poudre Valley Health System (Colorado) and Brenda Clark, Associate Superintendent of Learning at Iredell Statesville Schools (North Carolina), both 2008 recipients of the Baldrige Award.  The evening will also recognize the nine 2009 MN Quality Award recipient organizations, will thank our Board of Evaluators and other key volunteers, and will promote networking with leaders and professionals interested in performance excellence.

The event will be held at Landmark Center in St. Paul, and we expect 300+ leaders and professionals to attend.  The event is open to the public – to anyone interested in continuous improvement and performance excellence.

Save the date and spread the word within your organization!

The Council would like to thank its sponsors for this event: 3M (Gold); Aveda Corp, Children’s Hospitals & Clinics of Minnesota, Mayo Health System, Olmsted Medical Center, Padilla Speer Beardsley, and Strategic Improvement Systems (all Silver); Cargill Business Excellence, Cargill Kitchen Solutions, CCStpa, Hoglund Coaching, Memorial Blood Centers, Stratis Health, UW-Stout (all Bronze) for their generous contribution to our mission of advancing excellence in Minnesota.  If your organization is interested in learning more about sponsorship opportunities, please email brian.lassiter@councilforquality.org.

The Minnesota Council for Quality would like to say farewell to Larry Shepherd and also announce a new corporate address.

Larry Shepherd, former Business Manager, is retiring from the Council after 11 years of service.  “Larry is a consummate professional and was an invaluable resource to the Council,” says Brian Lassiter, Council president.  “He was extremely diligent in keeping the Council’s financial books, in managing our vendor contracts, and in providing administrative support to our operations.  We will miss his reliability, his professionalism, and his dedication to our mission, but I am excited that he will now enjoy the other pleasures of live in retirement.”

Larry joined the Council in 1999, after a full career of public service at the USPS and the US Air Force. 

Lynn Willenbring, Chair of the Council’s Board of Directors: “Larry has been a tremendous asset to the Council and he will be greatly missed.  His close attention to the financial details has helped us weather the bad times and leverage the better times.  Through it all he has been a joy to work with and the utmost professional.  On behalf of the Council I wish him all the best!”

The Council has chosen to outsource the financial/accounting role, now contracting with Nonprofit Solutions in St. Paul.  All financial and non-financial correspondence should be sent to:

Minnesota Council for Quality

1821 University Ave W, Suite S256

St. Paul, MN 55104

All professionals currently leading Lean efforts are cordially invited to a half-day workshop, co-sponsored by the Council and the University of Minnesota’s Joseph M. Juran Research Center at the Carlson School.  The details:

Date:                    Friday, April 9

Time:                    12:00-4:30 (arrive, network, lunch 12:00; workshop 12:30-4:30)

Location:             Carlson School, U of M

Fee:                      $100 Council member, $200 non-member

This workshop is a “piazza” (a forum) for thought-leading practitioners and scholars to meet together to challenge, question, debate, explore, and discover the best thinking on how to lead a lean (or lean sigma) deployment in their organization.  Industry participants should be people who lead (or help lead) process improvement initiatives using lean (or lean sigma) programs in their organization.  Academic participants should be scholars who research or teach lean and/or lean sigma concepts at the university level. 

Outcomes

• Industry participants should come away from this workshop with (1) practical ideas they can use to accelerate the lean transformation in their organizations and (2) a larger network of lean thought-leaders.
• The academic participants should come away with (1) a better understanding of where research in lean is needed and (2) a larger network of lean thought-leaders. 
• A meeting summary will be written by Carlson School faculty and shared with all participants.

Format

This workshop will be a facilitated brainstorming session with Professor Art Hill leading us through four phases.  First, we will create a list of challenges holding us back from greater success, cluster, and then vote to prioritize.  Second, breakout groups will analyze the challenges with the most votes and produce a report to (a) pinpoint root causes, (b) propose leading practices/solutions for each cause, and (c) identify organizations that might have leading practices.  Third, we will hear reports from each breakout group and discuss leading practices.  Fourth, participants will share their “take-homes” captured during the workshop.  Our capacity is limited and registrations will be taken on a first-come-first serve basis.

If you are interested in attending, please email brian.lassiter@councilforquality.org, indicating organizational affiliation and member status.  Space is limited.

What would be the impact on your time, focus, and productivity if your best employees decided to leave tomorrow? Today, the best and brightest workers are looking for organizations that know how to support and nurture highly engaged, fully committed workers. In fact, recent surveys have found that over 50% of highly engaged workers will be looking for new positions after the current recession lifts. The reality is that most managers spend over 80% of their time with the least engaged employees while their most engaged people are left alone to do the bulk of the work. Engaged workers need engaged managers.

So, how do you stop your top performers from leaving? And more importantly, how do you support their desire to have an impassioned work life that has meaning and purpose?

The Minnesota Council for Quality is pleased to welcome Jack Mateffy, principal of PassionWerx, to our April 1 program, "How to Lead Engaged Workers."  Jack will show you how to keep and support your best and brightest people -- the people you can’t afford to lose.  PassionWerx has unique process -- involving playing cards that include dozens of factors that drive professional and personal passion -- which helps people identify what really gives them passion.  This session will help participants identify their own passions, which can lead to increased engagement at work, at home, and in everyday life.  It can also lead to insights that improve your workers' engagement.  

We thank our session sponsor, Roadmap to Excellence, for their support of this session, helping us to keep it free for members.

The discussion is from 8:00-9:00 a.m. on April 1 (networking and continental breakfast begin at 7:30 a.m.) at the Minneapolis Community and Technical College (MCTC), 1501 Hennepin (15th and Hennepin), downtown Minneapolis, Room L3000 (Wheelock-Whitney Library). 

Admission to PIN is FREE for Council members; $15 for partner organizations; $30 for the public.

Jumbo shrimp, petite large, government efficiency -- three well-worn, yet indisputable oxymorons, right?  Well, yes.  But in Minnesota, a movement is underway to challenge the notion that government is -- and has to be -- a waste-filled, defect-laden series of process and systems.

The Minnesota Council for Quality is pleased to welcome Tom Baumann, Asst to the Commissioner, Office of Enterprise Continuous Improvement with the State of Minnesota, to our April 14 program: "Drive to Excellence: the State of Minnesota's Lean Improvement Effort." 

In November, 2007, Minnesota initiated Enterprise Lean, a statewide effort to introduce, implement and sustain continuous process improvement tools and methods into all 24 cabinet-level state agencies. Built around a core of Lean tools and principles, the effort integrates elements of total quality management philosophies and Six Sigma tools and techniques.  

While still early in their continuous process improvement journey, Minnesota is getting national attention for its efforts to reduce waste and defects, improve employee engagement and morale, and manage its operations in a time of declining budgets and increasing service demands.

We thank our session sponsors, Hollstadt & Associates and Metropolitan State University, for their support of this session, helping us to keep it free for members.

The discussion is from 8:00-9:00 a.m. on April 14 (networking and continental breakfast begin at 7:30 a.m.) at Metro State University, 700 E 7th Street, downtown St. Paul. 

Admission to PIN is FREE for Council members; $15 for partner organizations; $30 for the public.

Having trouble seeing your computer monitor due to layers of sticky notes? Ever wonder how you can consistently have less than 15 E-mails in your Inbox?  Misery loves company so grab a messy co-worker and come to this program.

The Rochester Area Quality Council, an affiliate of the Minnesota Council for Quality, is pleased to announce their April 6 program “Lean Office: Will It Really Work for Me?"  The session will be led by Audrey Thomas, a nationally-recognized speaker and author.

Lean Manufacturing. Six Sigma. 5S. Many have heard these terms but can’t really explain what they mean. Designed to remove waste, create efficiency and streamline processes in the manufacturing world, Lean offers a variety of options for making improvements in your office too. This session will explore the basic elements and benefits of embracing Lean Office techniques for your desk, your projects and even your Inbox!

We thank our session sponsor, Rochester Community & Technical College, for their support of this session, helping us to keep it free for members.

The session is scheduled for April 6.  The morning session (7:30-9:00AM at RCTC) has sold out, but a second session is scheduled for 3:00-4:30 at Heinz Center.

The Minnesota Council for Quality is pleased to welcome Dr. Keith Dixon to our April 20 Twin Ports Performance Excellence Network.  Keith will share techniques that the Duluth Public Schools use to communicate with their stakeholders – to ensure effective two-way communication, to ensure messages are received and understood, and to gather feedback that helps the district make decisions about the future. 

The session is from 7:30-9:00 a.m. on April 20 (networking and continental breakfast begin at 7:00 a.m.) at Duluth Public Schools Administration building.  Admission to TPPEN is FREE for Council members and guests ($20 for non-members).

Customers expect even more of us in tough times.  Good thing you can meet the challenge without leaving your desk by attending the last of an energizing and practical 3-part web-based series on Leadership in Excellence and Customer Focus.

Back by popular demand, the MN Council for Quality has joined with several thought-leading societies to bring you these lively and content-rich sessions by Robin Lawton.  The top expert on customer-centered excellence, Rob is also a best-selling author who was recently ranked #1 of 88 speakers by an international organization.

The third of a three-part webinar event is scheduled for April 16 (11AM-1PM CT): “MEASURING SATISFACTION: With and Without Surveys.”

Register more than 7 days before webinar for the Early Bird price, as ridiculously low as $75/person per event at http://www.imtc3.com/events/UpcomingEvents.cfm (using the code MCQ for discounts).

These interactive events are designed to introduce you and your associates to new ideas and actually put them into practice during the session.  Generous course materials included.  If you are not currently one of our members, this is a great time to join and begin getting discounts on superb programs like this.  Participants from industry and government have raved about the practical, high impact and easy to understand approach you will experience. 

You simply can’t afford to miss this outstanding program. It is made possible through collaboration with the Minnesota Council for Quality (MCQ), Vermont Council for Quality (VCQ), Wisconsin Forward Award (WFA), Colorado Performance Excellence (CPE), Northern Alberta Business Incubator (NABI) and the Granite State Quality Council (GSQC).  We are bringing you the top expert in this field, Robin Lawton.  See him on Google and his 5-star rated book on Amazon, “Creating a Customer-Centered Culture: Leadership in Quality, Innovation & Speed”. His career began in government, so he has intimate knowledge of special challenges in a non-widget world.

For more detailed course descriptions, please see http://www.imtc3.com/events/UpcomingEvents.cfm or call Robin Lawton’s office at 941-907-0666 to discuss how the content will be personally relevant to you.  Be sure to use code MCQ for discounts!

The principles and tools you will learn enabled organizations to save millions, jump from the middle of the pack to #1 in satisfaction and win state Baldrige Awards in record time.  Those who drive these successes are heroes and employee morale is enhanced.

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The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award is pleased to announce the 2010 “Quest for Excellence” Conference April 12-14 in Washington DC.

Why Attend?  You’ll join hundreds of leaders from business, education, health care, and nonprofit organizations with a passion for excellence, as they come together to network, share what’s working and what’s not, and learn how to achieve and sustain performance excellence within their organizations.  

Be a part of the movement and:

Learn how 5 diverse organizations recently received a Presidential Award for their performance (to learn a little more about them go to http://www.baldrige.nist.gov/QEXXII/Award_Recipients_Keynotes.htm)

Discover how to apply best practices to your own organization to improve and sustain performance and get world-class results during any of the 40 management sessions

Find out what other organizations are doing to engage customers and their workforce and to get ahead despite economic conditions

Network with industry leaders to achieve your organizational improvement goals

Take a closer look at the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence and best ways to apply them

To learn more about the conference and its benefits visit: http://www.baldrige.nist.gov/Quest_for_Excellence.htm (or check out a video from last year’s conference at http://www.baldrige.nist.gov/Video/QEXXI/index.htm).

Register by March 15 for $150 discount:

https://secure.asq.org/conferences/quest-for-excellence/2010/registration.html

Who Should Attend?

CEOs, senior managers, executives, directors, heads of operating units, or quality/performance improvement leaders/practitioners, from business, education, government, health care, and nonprofit sectors with an interest in personal learning and organizational improvement.

About the Baldrige National Quality Program

ASQ Hiawatha Section 1214 and South Central College have collaborated for many years to bring technical and professional training and seminars to southern Minnesota.  We are pleased to continue this strong joint effort by sponsoring “Economics of Quality” – two half-day seminars – on April 14 at Cabela’s in Owatonna.

The morning seminar “The ‘Big Bosses Expect Change Programs to Produce Results: ‘Show Me the Money!’” will be presented by Gary Floss, director of quality and continual improvement at Marvin Windows & Doors.  Come learn the concept of “the language of thins and the language of money, what is management’s role in asking “the right questions,” the elements of cost of poor quality relative to ROI, challenges of “maintaining the gain,” and show we consider the “benefit of the doubt?.”

The afternoon seminar, “The Economics of Quality: a Case for Action for Improving our Organizations, Our Communities, Our Nation,” will be presented by Brian Lassiter, president of the Minnesota Council for Quality.  Come learn how organizations and communities can systematically identify and prioritize improvement opportunities so that they can focus on the “right things”; how organizations and communities can measure impact – both at the outcome level and with leading indicators; how organizations and communities can align resources, maximize impact, and sustain performance over time; and how traditional quality frameworks and tools – such as Baldrige, Lean and Six Sigma, and  Balanced Scorecard – can be integrated to provide economic impact within organizations and across organizations in a community.

Sessions are in Owatonna.  Cos is $245 for both sessions (all day) or $130 for one.  Council members get 10% discount.  For more information or to register, visit www.asq1214.org or contact jennifer.swanson@southcentralcollege.edu.

Enterprise Minnesota, a partner of the MN Council for Quality, is pleased to announce a special program: “Training within Industry: Investing in Your People, Changing Your Organizational Culture, and Continuing Your Lean Journey.”  The session is March 31 in Roseville.

Implementing Lean into your company can show remarkable results, but how do you maintain that success? Training Within Industry (TWI) is a tool for cultural transformation that helps sustain your Lean improvements. Come hear from industry experts and companies that have leveraged TWI to continue their journey toward operational excellence.  Come learn from Samuel Gould, Process Engineering Specialist, Enterprise Minnesota; Sam Wagner, Director of Advanced Manufacturing, Donnelly Custom Manufacturing; and John Berger, Corporate Director – Process Improvement, Fiserv.

In addition, Enterprise Minnesota will host the following other programs:

Mar 31: Investing in Your People, Changing Your Organizational Culture, Twin Cities

April 28: How to Plan to Export, Twin Cities

May 20: The Next Generation of Lean, Twin Cities

June 16: Strategic Organizational Planning: Methods to Grow Your Business, Twin Cities

The Minnesota Business Ethics Award recognizes Minnesota businesses that have exemplified and promoted ethical conduct for the benefit of the workplace, the marketplace, the environment and the community.  It was founded in 1999 by the Center for Ethical Business Cultures and the Minnesota Chapters of the Society of Financial Service Professionals.

Come hear the stories of Minnesota organizations that are promoting ethical behavior in their cultures.  Attend the 2010 MBEA recognition lunch May 19.  Check in at 11:30, luncheon/awards from 12:00-1:30 at the Doubletree Hotel Minneapolis Park Place, 1500 Park Place Boulevard, St. Louis Park.  Cost is $45.

The Minnesota Chapter of Project Management Institute (PMI), an alliance partner of the Council, is pleased to announce its next breakfast session: “NASA and GAO Programs: Independent Risk Assessment.”  The session will be held April 13, and will be facilitated by Keith Hornbacher, the founder and principal of Hornbacher Associates, a project management consulting firm.    

What our projects can learn from the ways complex projects handle uncertainty.

As project managers, we are fortunate to have access to the cumulative experience of thousands of experts.  Many forums, publications, and maturity models exist to aid in our search for project management excellence. Even so, many project teams remain puzzled about how to proceed when dealing with project uncertainty and risk.

Why is that the case?
What key factors differentiate world class practitioners from the rest?
What bottlenecks and roadblocks do teams typically encounter?
What is a reliable path forward to improve?
What can be learned from the way mature teams manage complex projects?

This breakfast discussion is designed to share some answer keys as practiced by mature project management teams. Based on current experience as a member of independent teams assessing NASA and GAO programs, Keith Hornbacher will facilitate discussion of organizational dynamics, environmental, and personal issues teams face as they handle project uncertainty and risk.

The Minnesota Section of ASQ, an alliance partner of the MN Council for Quality, is pleased to announce its next monthly program: “Quality Foundations” on April 13.  The pre-dinner discussion, “Quality Measurement Hardware,” will be led by Doug Emory is S-T Industries’ Regional Sales Manager.  The post-dinner discussion, “Does Your CAPA need a CAPA?” will be led by Ken Brown, Director of Operations Quality at Boston Scientific’s Maple Grove Plant. 

The discussion is at the North Metro Meeting & Event Center, 1000 Gramsie Road, Shoreview.  April 13 from 5:00 to 8:55PM.  Cost is $35 ($25 for MCQ members as partners).  For more information or to register, visit http://www.mnasq.org.

In addition, ASQ is pleased to announce the following certification courses:

March 22-May 24: Certified Six Sigma Green Belt, $675

March 30-June1: Certified Quality Engineer, $600

April 7-May 26: Certified Software Quality Engineer, $600

April 28-June 2: Certified Quality Auditor, $470

May 13-June 3: Certified Quality Improvement Associate, $330

All courses in the evening at Boston Scientific.  For more information or to register, visit http://www.mnasq.org.

The MNODN, an affiliate partner of the MN Council for Quality, is pleased to announce its next monthly program on April 6: “Establishing and Leading Global OD at Medtronic: Lessons Learned in the Evolving Journey.”  The session will be facilitated by John Collingwood, Director OD, Global Leadership and Talent Development, Medtronic.

"None of us is as smart as all of us" is the old adage. During this session, you will gain some insights as to what has worked and what could be improved in Medtronic and your organization. Your active engagement will be sought - so be prepared for a stimulating learning experience!

John Collingwood will share his insights and lessons learned in the eight-month long journey since he was commissioned to establish a Global OD practice within Medtronic.

The session is $20 for members ($25 for non-members) and will be held from 4:00-6:30 on Mar 2 at the University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis, MOH 201.  For more information or to register, visit http://www.mnodn.org/.

The MN Chapter of ISPI, an alliance partner of the Council, is pleased to announce its next meeting “99 Second Presentation on HPI” on April 20, facilitated by Dick Anderson and Susan Taylor.  Topic details are forthcoming.

South Central College is pleased to announce their fall quality and performance improvement curriculum.  Council members are entitled to a 10% discount.

The following courses will be held at the Faribault campus (prices before member discount):

4/8/10, Project Management, 8a-4:30p, $235

4/27-5/25/10, Certified Quality Improvement Associate (CQIA) Review, 6-9p, $250

4/28-5/26/10, Certified Quality Auditor (CQA) Review, 5:30-8:30p, $250

5/4-5/5/10, Introduction to Quality, 8a-4:30p, $445

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Normandale Community College, an alliance partner of the Council, is pleased to announce upcoming winter programs.  Council members receive a 15% discount.  The programs are as follows (before discount):

3/2-6/11 Six Sigma Black Belt Certificate Class, $8950

3/8-4/13 Six Sigma Green Belt Certificate Class, $3355

5/3-5/25 Six Sigma Green Belt for Healthcare Certificate Class, $3355

The Universty of Minnesota’s College of Continuing Education, an alliance partner of the Council, is pleased to announce their winter/spring improvement and business courses.  Council members receive a 10% discount on all CCE courses.

03/30, Staffing:  Recruitment and Selection, $395

04/06, How to Deal with Difficult People, $395

04/07, Introduction to Business Analysis, $395

04/07, Advanced Editing and Proofreading Strategies, $395

04/10, Certified Internal Auditors (CIA) Test Prep – Part 3, $995

04/13, Principles of Employee Compensation, $395

04/13, Process Innovation, $995

04/14, Building Teamwork and Commitment, $395

04/14, Developing Leadership Skills, $750

04/15, Managing Virtual and Remote Teams, $395

04/15, Introduction to E-Learning and Webinars, $990

04/16, Project Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, $395

04/20, Problem Solving and Decision Making, $395

04/21, Coaching for Excellence, $395

04/21, Small Group Professional Communication, $750

04/21, Managing Business Requirements, $750

04/22, Successfully Leading Enterprise-Wide Change Management, $795

04/22, Writing Business Reports, $395

04/23, Project Risk Management, $395

04/27, High Impact Presentations, $395

04/30, Project Management and Chaos Theory, $395

05/01, Certified Internal Auditors (CIA) Test Prep – Part 4, $395

05/04, Performance Management Process, $395

05/04, Enterprise Process Management, $995

05/05, Managing Performance and Developing Talent, $395

05/05, Strategic Planning and Measurement, $750

05/05, Data and Process Modeling, $750

05/05, Verbal and Nonverbal Communication, $395

05/07, Project Management for IT Professionals, $395

05/11, Handling People with Tact and Diplomacy, $395

05/11, Successful Manager’s Leadership Program, $2995

05/14, Project Management and New Product Development, $395

05/18, Employee and Labor Relations, $395

05/19, Improving Work Processes, $395

05/20, Advanced Editing and Proofreading Strategies, $395

05/20, Advanced Creative Training Techniques, $495

05/20, Integrated Management, $395

05/21, Project Execution, $395

05/25, Exercising Organizational Influence, $395

06/01, Organizational Training and Development, $395

06/04, Project Control and Closure, $395

06/08, Verbal and Nonverbal Communication, $395

06/10, Legal Issues for Managers and Supervisors, $395

06/10, Coaching for Excellence, $395

06/11, Applied Project Management, $395

06/15, Business Acumen for Human Resource Professionals, $395

06/16, Creative Training Techniques, $1485

06/17, Writing for the Web, $395

06/18, Business Acumen for Technical Professionals, $395

06/22, Strategic Human Resource Planning, $395

06/23, Leading Through Change, $395

06/25, Project Procurement Management, $395

The University of St. Thomas’ Executive Education and Professional Development, a partner of the MN Council for Quality, is pleased to announce the following upcoming programs:

3/26 – 4/10 Six Sigma Green Belt Certificate, $3795

4/1 – 6/3/2010 Mini Master of Supply Chain Management, $ 2,495

6/7 – 6/17/2010 Six Sigma Green Belt Certificate, $3795

6/14 – 6/18, 2010 Mini Master of the Lean Enterprise, $2,495

Also, coming in the fall of 2010: Mini MBA for Technical Professionals and Mini Master of Supply Chain Management.