Increasingly often these days we get greeted with the phrase “May you live in ‘interesting’ times”. Then we may pause a minute to think whether that was meant as a constructive positive wish – or whether there was something deeper meant by it. ‘Interesting’ sometimes seems more to mean ‘turbulent times’ rather than ‘fascinating’. Either…
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Continuous improvement in organisations starts with continuous learning and growth at an individual level, which is why personal development is important. Indeed, proceeding to achieve sustainable Operational Excellence calls for constant learning, honest reflection and harnessing the full potential of our people to routinely remove constraints, solve problems and find a better way. Fujio Cho,…
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On our theme of ‘getting started’ this month, we always recommend listening closely to the ‘voice of the customer’ to understand the experience of using products and services from their point of view. Catalyst Director, Mark Jones, recently had a holiday in Cuba but couldn’t switch off completely prompted by his experiences, as he explains…
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Before hitting the road with Lean Six Sigma, it is necessary to start the engine. To do this, three vital components are required – a spark, fuel and air. The spark in an engine delivers electric current from an ignition system to the combustion chamber to ignite the compressed fuel and air. The power of the…
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Article Acknowledgement: This article was published on the CQI website. It was adapted for CQI’s Knowledge Hub from Lean Six Sigma for Leaders, by Martin Brenig-Jones and Jo Dowdall, Wiley Publishing 2018. “If you can’t describe what you are doing as a process, you don’t know what you’re doing”. These words were spoken by the quality…
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Last week I had the privilege of working with a fantastic new client organisation situated just around the corner from 221b Baker Street, the address of fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. Each time I walked past there were dozens of people gathered around the famous doorway taking pictures and queuing up for the Sherlock Holmes museum.…
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Earlier this summer it was announced that sales of ice cream and frozen treats were up by over 100% on 2017’s figures. Boozy ice lollies were among the fastest growing product areas, with an increase in sales of 188% reported by Waitrose. Mmmm, G&T for me please! But while a proliferation of flavours and combinations…
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This week the hashtag ‘GarethSouthgateWould’ has sent Twitter into overdrive and demonstrated the high esteem in which the England Football Manager is held. Some of the many brilliant tweets that have been shared: GarethSouthgateWould know the difference between Reply and Reply All GarethSouthgateWould fold the end of the Sellotape over when he’s finished using it,…
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Are you Team Yanny or Team Laurel? If you don’t yet know, make your mind up here! This was the question that divided the nation last week when an audio clip hit the internet, featuring a single word being repeated. But what is that word? Whilst some people unmistakably hear the word “yanny”, others hear…
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We were delighted to launch our new Lean Six Sigma book, “Lean Six Sigma for Leaders” at an evening event hosted at the British Quality Foundation (BQF) offices in London on Thursday 10th May. In true Catalyst style guests were invited to the Cocktail SIPOC – a practical and visual tool for describing the necessary inputs…
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