Tag: best practice

Operational Excellence Enabled by Leadership in Technology

November 9, 2024 No Comments

In 2025, our new book, Navigating the Data Minefields: Management’s Guide to Better Decision-Making will be released by CRC Press. This is an accompanying book to our 2023 book, Smart Manufacturing: Integrating Transformational Technologies for Competitiveness and Sustainability. Both books focus on the use of advanced information technologies to attain and sustain Operational Excellence. Today,

Let’s Test Artificial Intelligence

October 31, 2024 No Comments

This author is working on a book to be published in early 2025 that addresses issues about the decision to procure and implement today’s exploding technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI). So, for this edition, we wanted to try something new. We are going to ask Chat GPT how to sell Artificial Intelligence and glean knowledge

The Times They Are a Changin!

September 10, 2024 No Comments

Creative destruction is the dismantling of long-standing practices in order to make way for innovation and is seen as a driving force of capitalism. We live in an era of hyper-change. Technology to be sure, but all social constructs are under duress. The question is, how will all of us at an individual level deal with

Is Chivalry Dead?

August 6, 2024 No Comments

Some still believe that an individual’s word is his/her bond. Or that the Marquess of Queensberry Rules still apply. Sadly, for many, these statements are outdated. Blockchain is a, “decentralized digital ledger that securely stores records across a network of computers in a way that is transparent, immutable, and resistant to tampering.” This is the

A Model for Technology Adoption

July 18, 2024 No Comments

Oh My, I am Swamped by this Firehose of New Technologies. How can I Understand, Much Less Use These Tools? Like most of us, our job is not about new bigger, better, faster IT. We have the daily grind to attend to and quarterly metrics to make. What we need from IT providers (internal and

What Does ‘Systemic’ Actually Mean?

April 19, 2024 No Comments

The word Systemic is tossed around quite loosely these days. Especially when discussing social issues and politics. But what does it really mean when we say something is systemic by nature? By one definition it is, “Of or relating to a system or a system and other relating to or affecting the entire body or

Artificial Stupidity

March 11, 2024 No Comments

Listen closely and pay attention as our menu has changed. The frustration to the automated phone operator are legend. All of us have had our issues with this form of (non) customer service. Recently this pundit placed a call at a number provided by the vendor and went though all the (voice) menu items, only

How Effective at Multitasking are We?

February 27, 2024 No Comments

According to no less than the Cleveland Clinic, ” Studies (regarding multitasking) show it makes us less efficient and more prone to errors.” Cleveland Clinic goes on to make the case: When tasks are easy and routine such as, “like listening to music while walking, or folding laundry while watching TV,” these are generally not

Burrattery

January 29, 2024 No Comments

Burr! Its winter in the northern hemisphere and many shiver from the cold. The ‘Many’ include batteries. We have know for generations that cold weather negatively affects electrical batteries. So, it should come as no surprise that Electric Vehicles (EVs) performance can suffer greatly when the temperatures are extremely cold. This phenomenon is not limited

V R T

October 22, 2023 No Comments

In our forthcoming book, “Navigating the Data Minefields: Management’s Guide to Better Decision-Making” we coined the term, Valid, Reliable and Timely (VRT). “This term identifies all data dimensions including its temporal component.” Check Up When we go to the doctor we expect that the information conferred by this professional is Correct, Consistent with the current

Data Management for the Non-Technical Executive

August 25, 2023 No Comments

“Per McKinsey research from June 2022, nearly 70 percent of the top economic performers, compared with just half of their peers, are using their own software to differentiate themselves from their competitors.” McKinsey went on to state that: Digital products are driving the need to embed software across the board Increasingly, more value is being

Valid and Reliable?

May 18, 2023 No Comments

The first thing a statistician, data scientist, medical researcher, engineer, social scientist or anyone depending on data is to assess its quality. As of this writing, the recent release of the Durham Report suggests that the FBI was lax in their assessment of the alleged Russian influence in the 2016 presidential election cycle. This resulted

Seems Like Yesterday

April 20, 2023 No Comments

Hard to believe that 13 years ago the offshore oil and gas industry changed forever. On April 20, 2010 the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded, later sank. “Approximately 134 million gallons of oil had spilled into the Gulf, the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history.” One recent LinkedIn comment suggested that nothing had changed

And Just Like That!

January 24, 2023 No Comments

Often attributed to the movie character, Forest Gump the title phrase can be interpreted as an abrupt change in one’s life. The past few years have brought significant changes to many of us. Illness, job change, moving to a new location, kids out of school and so it goes. Disruption can be intimidating, yet it

Clickbait Redux

April 18, 2022 No Comments

We are offered the world at the tip of our fingers, But! There are many prices to pay. Theft by scam simply by clicking on a great opportunity is getting more sophisticated all the time. Recently, this pundit was offered a once in a lifetime possibility if only I would listen to an MS Office

100

January 10, 2022 No Comments

This edition marks the 100th post in our Critical Mass Blog series. We have sought to provide thoughtful, unbiased insight into the contemporary business and organizational challenges we all face. Since our first blog post on November 27, 2017 our world has turned over in ways none expected. Likely, this trend will continue. This series

Resolve 2022: Close More Deals!

January 5, 2022 No Comments

This edition is taken from our forthcoming book tentatively titled, Techniques for Successfully Closing Deals in the 21st Century. New Year’s Resolutions We all make them and in many cases they are short lived, often falling by the wayside before March 31. So as we ponder what the new year will bring, most in

Getting to Diverse and Inclusive Teams

December 28, 2021 No Comments

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Team Models There is a tendency to see DEI through the lens of initiatives or often a process semi-outside the daily ‘organizational’ grind. Does this represent reality? Organizations spend countless sums training employees and others they depend on for Operational Excellence performance. They often trust global Teams to add stakeholder

Are Your DEI Wheels Spinning?

July 20, 2021 No Comments

Originally published as a LinkedIn article on July 6, 2021, this updated version is reprinted here with the permission of the author. Links to relevant sources are added. Lately, many LinkedIn posts bemoan the state of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. The seeming slow take up of great ideas. Some argue that DEI initiatives are no

Roadmap to Decision Making In the ‘Smart’ Era

June 27, 2021 No Comments

“Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide.” — Napoleon Bonaparte Volumes have been written on decision-making and this pundit has offered his share of insight and comment on the subject as well. Some of our comments regard the appropriateness of the human intercession in electronic decision making. Others

ESG Implementation–Strong v Weak Revisited

June 4, 2021 No Comments

“A healthy corporation acts on the interests of its stakeholders and customers” — Ari Melber, Journalist Currently, organizations are being implored to implement Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) driven business models. Proponents even suggest that investment in organizations that do not have this imprimatur should be avoided or even divested. However, one wonders what has

Its the Heart

May 18, 2021 No Comments

“A good, quick, small team can beat a big, slow team any time.” — Paul William “Bear” Bryant, legendary college football coach In the early 1990s my former wife and I, both avid sailors decorated our boat for the local Christmas Boat Lane Parade. While we had some help, most of the work was performed by the

Point of View

May 11, 2021 No Comments

What Are We Doing? An interesting sign of the times. Individuals on social media who identify themselves by name, photo, job (even senior) title, organization etc. are taking controversial positions on a variety of often emotional subjects. In the old days discussions about , sex, politics and religion were off limits in the corporate

You’re Kidding, Right?

April 12, 2021 No Comments

Not Again In 2018 we posted an opinion regarding social media driven sales ‘cold calling.’ As noted then, the comments went along the lines, “I reviewed your profile and I know I can help.” This unsolicited approach continues to be blown off by this and other pundits/potential customers as amateurish. Recently, the tactic has

Post Covid-19 Operational Performance

March 25, 2021 No Comments

Not the So-Called New Normal The light at the end of the Covid-19 tunnel may not be the train many still believe. Populations are being inoculated at very high rates. Moreover, there is ample evidence in my metropolitan area that the general population no longer believes or adheres to the ‘advice of experts.’ This

Is Your Remote Team Aligned?

January 28, 2021 No Comments

Recently, my team and I were tasked with a delicate decision making process. Due to its nature and signatory level, team members were only authorized to explore and present options. The final decision was mine alone. Our project governance model clearly defined this decision making process. One day I received a call from remote members

Covid-19 Positive: Telemedicine Kicked into High Gear

December 5, 2020 No Comments

Crisis Drives Change In 2001 this writer approached the Houston medical community, post tropical storm Allison which flooded many basements in the Houston Medical Center with the loss of experimental data and other records. We proposed the development of an Internet based solution to hold and manage medical records of all types. The response to

Input Response: Cycle Time Reaction

November 23, 2020 No Comments

Melvin—a story of growth. At beginning of my oil and gas career, I was partnered with my mentor to be and at the time my supervisor; Melvin. A gruff old cuss, he was a long-time south Louisiana ‘Cajun’ field engineer. Little did I know at the time the next months would be life changing for

How Dare You!!

November 14, 2020 No Comments

Lessons in Leadership—how dare you put young people in jeopardy for loss of life or failures they will live with the rest of their life? As we end Veteran’s Week, we are reminded of President Herbert Hoover’s comment, “Older men declare war. But it is the youth that must fight and die.” Hoover was president

Radar: Technology Game Changer!

August 30, 2020 No Comments

The battle of Leyte Gulf in 1944 with over 200,000 individuals involved is possibly the largest naval battle in history. Hopefully, one of the last ones. In that battle, the submarine USS Darter initially detected (on radar) the Japanese task force early on October 23. Other US naval vessels spotted that armada shortly thereafter on