Continuous improvement in practice that everybody can do
938083
I preordered the book as soon as it was announced and waited eagerly as the date for publishing approached. My high expectations were not dissapointed as I read the book cover to cover in a few days. I immediately noted down some great quick win examples that we can use at our hospital to start a kaizen journey. I love the idea of small cycle change as the hospital already has enough big change projects. After talking to the CEO about the book he got me to order 10 copies, one for each of the C-level people (and a few spare).

If you are looking for a book packed with proven examples of continuous improvement at work in hospitals, you don't need to look further than here.
3616640
Most people already know the things taught in this book, but how many of us are actually doing them? Inside you'll find 21 timeless principles that will greatly improve the quality of your life and propel you towards success. By continually re-reading this book you'll stay on track for excellence.
2709506
This simple book contains great ideas to improve any organization.  Was simple concepts, it helps managers and staff understand their value and make a difference.  The simple metrics keep everyone on track with actions valued by customers.
4086602
Marty Klubeck has done it again--provided clear, detailed instructions on how you can be a better and more effective manager. In the Professional Development Toolbox, Klubeck offers a process for improving the skills and ability to perform tasks that make your people more productive. Having more productive employees in turn strengthens the company and makes you, the manager, far more valuable to the organization.

As we expect from Klubeck, the book is remarkably well organized. And he's no Ivory Tower theoretician but instead has long toiled in the trenches honing his insights and understanding of how human nature can derail the best improvement plans. For example, he makes much of one of the hardest parts of training: follow through. It's not enough to develop a plan and clap yourself on the back for a job well done. Rather, you need to stick with the plan through to the finish line or it will never work. And even then you need to know a few tricks--which he offers--to break through the inevitable resistance.

While I would like to have seen more personal stories to help illustrate the principles, Klubeck's conversational style and clear language make it easy to absorb the lessons and put them to good use. "Just following the guidance in this book," writes Klubeck, "promises to provide great returns for the time and resources you'll invest." Of that there is no doubt. In fact, any new manager looking to have an immediate impact could do no better than applying the principles in The Professional Development Toolbox. Equally valuable for veteran managers and trainers, the book can make your job easier and your team far stronger.
2971973
Excellent book.  Everyone can benefit from this both in there professional and personal life.  This writen in a way to provide excellent example that are easy to implement.
1252591
Steve Siebold has put together a valuable resource for anyone looking to improve their thinking habits and performance. By juxt apposing common attitudes and thought processes with the successful attitudes and thought processes of world class achievers Mr. Siebold has provided a glimpse into the source of the success of those great achievers. The action steps provide practical exercises to use daily. If you want an edge and to fine tune your level of performance in any endeavor, I recommend this book.
2898809
This book is a quick read with very doable, practice, and effective strategies. It is confidence building for a new principal, and a repair for all principals.
1077096
A well written book with good ideas for improving a build and deployment process. The authors make an excellent case for reducing software project risks by working towards the goal of continuous delivery. The vision of a completely automated system from code check in to enterprise deployment is compelling. They also include references to specific tools and techniques that are useful to this creating a complete deployment pipeline. The chapters of the book are fairly independent allowing you to read the areas that are most important to you. Achieving the goal outlined in this book will not be easy  or quickly done in most environments, but even getting most of the way down the path towards a fully automated continuous delivery system will yield great benefits.
2050392
When change happens, it can transform the way business is done.  Healthcare is no different.  This book, edited by Jan Oldenburg ,shares stories from the front lines of the healthcare system in its current state.  By getting information and examples from those who are participating in shifting the way healthcare works (Full disclosure: my story, "Living Well With Lupus", is one of those), this book has become my go to resource.  Patients are no longer considered consumers; they are considered actively participants in their care and treatment.  This volume includes essays and stories from people who are Healthcare professionals and shares insightful stories from patients while including the ways that policies and practices can implement the information learned from the person's point of view.  I have told everyone I know, both online and in person, to get this book because, at one point or another, every person will be a patient and should know how to participate in the healthcare system.
4805709
"Sticking To It" is a breakthrough tool for building excellence within one's self and within organizations. In most organizations, executing on strategy has always occurred as a challenging, uphill struggle. Lee Colan shares the secrets proven at America's Most Admired Companies for achieving extraordinary results. The book clearly communicates the adherence formula, and is packed with valuable insights, potential traps, and a starting-point adherence assessment for making the journey. Consistent with Lee's principles, the book is written concise for simplicity to understand and ease of implementation and execution. I really enjoyed reading this book (multiple times) and applying it to my organization and myself. I recommend it to anyone who wants access to elevating life's results both personally and professionally with power and ease.
2314559
This little book can go anywhere, and gives excellent examples of continuous process improvement tools.  The explanations are straightforward, and you don't need to be an engineer or statistician to  understand and apply the tools, techniques, and concepts presented.
3138258
As a working mother in the fast paced, always-on tech industry, I'm always looking for ways I can shave time and be more effective ... whether I'm trying out the latest app to streamline my workflow or testing a new technique to improve outcomes. In Your Best Just Got Better, Jason provides actionable, easy to implement steps  to identify the things you have done in the past that made you successful and how to consistently repeat them, all while incorporating new habits for continuous improvement. This coupled with the tools that help you get more of the things done that will make an impact will help you achieve your goals and give you more time to do the things you really care about. Highly recommend this book.
1861754
For those entrenched in school improvement, Dr. Kramer and Dr. Schuhl have provided a clear and shared focus on how any educational institution can channel the power among its staff to achieve academic excellence for ALL learners. The authors have placed at the fingertips of their readers an abundance of ready to use resources to guide their work in school improvement.
After reading a well-written, matter-of-fact approach to doing the right work, it is impossible for any educator to not respond to student learning. A quick, engaging read that results in an immediate reflect and take action response to continuous improvement for ALL. cjsj
4210604
Great resource to aid in any area of improvement in the church.  This DVD is not just a "here's how you do it" but it gets to the heart of the matter - creating a culture where improvement is highly valued.  These 12 steps will put your ministry on the road to improvement - great resource!
3470584
It is a wonderful read, very easy to follow, full of useful practical tips covering wide range of situations. Even the most experienced presenters will find helpful tips that might give new angles for them or at the least serve as reminders to ensure their performance is maintained at the highest level

Anyone seeking to train others in the skills would do well to have this book as the recommended reading. Thoroughly recommended
3639535
Corrective Action for the Software Industry is the latest in Denise Robitaille's series of short, simple, and straightforward how-to-manage-quality books.  This is the first of the books that focuses on applying quality practices to a specific industry; and accordingly Denise is joined by her first co-author, Johanna Rothman, who is prominent in the software industry.

About two-thirds of software effort is spent on maintenance, mainly correcting products after they've been implemented.  Ironically, although the software industry frequently indulges in [equally frequently disappointing] costly new large-scale initiatives and tools aimed at home-run performance improvements, the industry seldom devotes much effort to correcting the actual causes of the specific product problem symptoms it keeps fixing.

The great strength of this book is that it alerts software folks to the need to go beyond mere remediation fixes of the immediate problem and also take corrective actions to prevent the same type of problem from occurring again.  Both the product itself and the processes producing it are candidates for corrective action.

The book describes seven corrective action steps, including not only verifying the implementation but also verifying the action's effectiveness (which too often is neglected).  I fear many in software may resist the book's emphasis on formal procedures and documentation, although the approach is proven and widely accepted in other industries.
4916058
I've been working in process improvement the past 20 years at multiple levels from engineer on up through VP and most recently as a consultant, and on many occasions have seen initiatives fail not because of a lack of technical skill (that's rarely the case in my experience), but because the "human" focus was lacking.  McCarthy hits home in this book by giving readers a practical road map to follow for tapping into the people side of process improvement.

The people side of process improvement is becoming even more important as lean and six sigma move further into the transactional world (i.e. services, education, healthcare). Initially, when lean and six sigma was found only in the manufacturing industry, the human side of improvement wasn't as important as it is in the transactional world.

Much of the improvement in manufacturing comes from changing tooling, technology, and machines-the "hard" stuff that does what you tell it to do each and every time. There is no question that humans are involved in making the changes, but once a solution is put in place it is not as dependent on people making it work long term, unlike in the transactional world.

Little, if any, time is spent giving process improvement professionals insight into why people behave as they do.  This is an area that is sorely lacking in the process improvement literature McCarthy's book attempts to fill.  Anyone who has ever worked on a project that has failed because of a "people" issue will benefit from reading this book.  If you haven't worked on such a project, believe me, if you do process improvement work long enough the day will come.  Read this book before that day to save yourself a lot of heartache!