Back in 2014, I wrote a blog post about being annoyed by companies pressuring you to give good customer service scores in surveys: I wondered at what point does the cajoling and the repeating nagging or begging end up hurting…
tl;dr: Airlines, including American and Delta say that masks are “required” on board, but enforcement of this supposed requirement is spotty, at best. It would be more accurate to say they’re “requested” or “recommended.” But, a new announcement promises tougher…
Thanks as always to Ryan McCormack for this… Healthcare – Creating Value for Patients Electronic Health Records and Computerized Physician Order Entry were going to reduce errors and save lives by providing better clinical decision support and alerts for potential…
Here is the second post in a series about how to be safe when traveling (if you have to now or when things start opening up a bit). The series includes: I recently stayed in three different hotels because my…
TL;DR: A “not quite perfect” pint at the Guinness Storehouse shows how standard work, quick problem-solving, and relentless pursuit of perfection play out in real life–far beyond manufacturing. I’m writing this on Tuesday morning in Dublin, Ireland, where I have…
tl;dr: Human error is inevitable–even for experienced professionals. Forgetting socks on a work trip is harmless, but similar mistakes in healthcare or organizations can cause real harm. The lesson isn’t to “be more careful,” but to design better systems that…
For many families, making a trip to Walt Disney World is the quintessential family vacation. My wife and I started planning our Disney trip years ago. We knew we wanted to wait until our daughters were old enough to be…
Ah, whiskey. I like whiskey. I’m not afraid to say that. I’ve blogged about whiskey (or whisky) once before: Why Kaizen is an Important Differentiator for Japanese Whisky. I also have a personal Kaizen story that I need to write about...
Last Thursday, I flew to Ohio after my 93-year-old grandfather was moved from the hospital to hospice. He passed away peacefully Saturday morning in the company of my dad and his three siblings. So, I have a heavy heart even…
My wife and I are getting ready to leave tomorrow night for a two-week vacation, so it jogged my memory about this story I saw back in December in the WSJ: Airlines Try to Make Coach Classier. Anything that makes long…
I travel a lot and, thanks to my work, I’m pretty well attuned to the idea of not blaming individuals for systemic problems in an organization. Or, at least I try to be good about this. I’m human, so I…
If you have to add a warning or instruction label to something that should be obvious in its use, then the item is probably badly designed. I think that’s a pretty good design principle for products or software. Slapping on…
