Heather McGowan
I am a huge fan of The Adaptation Advantage: Let Go, Learn Fast, and Thrive in the Future of Work by Heather E. McGowan and Chris Shipley. So I was thrilled when I heard Heather was going to speak. I could write for ever, but you are much better off listening to her yourself.
One of the things I think the quality community is bad about is forming connections with researchers who are basically researching topics at the heart of quality. Heather is a great example of this, she should see herself as a fellow traveler, but I do not think she does. Feels like another post.
Anticipating Disruption in the Supply Chain: Rethinking Business Continuity by Russell Snyder
I chose to come to this session because I was really curious about a practical application of Adam Grant’s model from Think Again.
And my bingo card quickly gets another spot marked off by the speaker extolling Steve Jobs as some sort of good role model.
The central point that in times of constraint everything is a quality issue is an important one for us all to ponder.
Does a good job discussing the rethinking cycle vs the overconfidence cycle, and other parts of Grant’s rethinking model.
The rethink approach is Model (scenarios and revenue impact); Map (all sub-tier supplier networks of key components); and, Mitigate (design your supply chain to withstand disruptive effects).
Very much aligned with a risk-based approach. The examples he discusses were pretty valuable shares relevant across many industries. I am already adapting several of his slides to an ongoing project I have.
I love seeing Grant’s work percolate into quality thinking. Applying it to supply chain disruptions was as fascinating as I was hoping it would be.
Bingo Card at Half-day
My pessimistic self is surprised I’m not complete yet. Well, one more day to go!
Design & Construction Technical Community Body of Knowledge
Based on the member leaders day on Sunday (I need to finish that post, so may thoughts) I was really curious how a body of knowledge was developed recently by a technical community.
A body of knowledge for a broad area like construction is interesting. You need to make it specific enough to be relevant to construction but broad enough to avoid niches. The speakers spoke passionately about this balancing act.
I wish this had gone deeper. I’m really fascinating to understand how we talk about commonalities likerisk based auditing or knowledge management differently in this body-of-knowledge. It is really that quesiton of application.
ASQ Insights on Excellence Tool
I am so excited to see this tool out in the world. I had the priviledge of providing a few ideas to it a while back, so seeing it in use, at the conference was just amazing.
Investigations of a Dog 