Two Obstacles to Continuous Improvement

Way of the Quality Warrior

Continuous improvement is predicated on problem solving, you're closing a gap between the current state and an ideal state. However, problem solving, thus continuous improvement, is often not that successful, especially if you are attempting to reach the ideal state.

I believe that there are two fundamental reasons that I share in this episode of Way of the Quality Warrior podcast: lack of imagination and lack of alignment.

There is a reference to the book The Power of Positive Parenting by Dr. Glenn Latham. It's not just for parents—authority figures can use this, too.

I talk about GE and Jack Welch. Much of what I think is expressed by David Gelles in his book Jack Welch: The Man Who Broke Capitalism. Gelles was interviewed by Jeffrey Pfeffer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 2022. Here's the link: David Gelles Interview—Stanford 2022 (YouTube)

I also talk about Boeing (a company that has had multiple leaders from GE who worked under Jack Welch). John Oliver's Last Week Tonight (HBO) episode about Boeing's history and decline is entertaining, thorough, and sound.

You can contact the podcast host, Keith Fong, at the website Way of the Quality Warrior