Phillip Crosby stunned many when in 1980 he published the book Quality is Free. In manufacturing we believed there was a choice between quality and quantity. He proved us wrong and now few challenge the experience that both come together. Now some executives are afraid to invest in employees because they might leave. Another false choice.

Life isn’t fair. Neither is business. It’s important to be ready when bad things happen. The Boy Scouts said “be prepared.” It’s hard to argue with that simple logic.

Without understanding the game and our role in it; without a scoreboard that reflects our impact on success – how do we know if we’re winning and how we contributed to that? Help your entire team every single day to answer those questions for themselves.

When a company has made significant gains in operational efficiency and believes it has an ingrained improvement mentality, it can be tempting to let the foot off of the brake. I call that complacent competency. It can begin to sneak in slowly, and before you know it employees are no longer challenged and customers no longer thrilled. Leadership can never become complacent.

We can all learn from anyone if we want to. But it is especially important to have avatars – people who embody the traits or skills most important to us individually. Learn more, and who my avatars are and why.

“Interlinks with Patrick Daly”. On today’s show Patrick is joined by Rebecca Morgan from Fulcrum ConsultingWorks, Inc.

A great product or service can be provided before its time, or after, or exactly right. Sociology is as important to that timing as technology is. Are people ready? Are they interested? Do they care? Product life cycle is impacted by competition, alternatives, and evolution in both sociology and technology.

An unpleasant culture will not attract the best. Not the best customers, suppliers, employers or investors. Whether you want a culture of collaboration, of innovation, or of improvement, consider this step-by-step process to help you create the culture that you want to work in.

Why don’t we treat the important physical assets of our manufacturing companies with the love and attention we would give a Lamborghini? Infrastructure may not be glamorous, but it is vital to your success. Depreciation is for accountants, not for operations.

The fire chief in town is not consumed by fighting fires. Why would a good leader be? Time to think and learn is the most important part of a leader’s job. Do you schedule in time to think and learn? Here is why the best leaders do.