Business Services

Practical Actions. Real Results.

Industry 4.0 has brought on challenges and opportunities that draw upon the fundamentals of quality management and the talents of quality practitioners with the onset of Big Data, Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learrning, et al. Success in today’s market requires a tight relationship between Info Technology, Quality, HR, with elevation of data skills to the C-suite to effectively achieve high performance with clear alignment to business goals and proper resource allocation. Just as “quality” has evolved over the decades with good and bad experiences, the lessons learned are key to evolving to Industry 4.0 requirements.

Being a unit advisor and corporate manager to Florida Power & Light at winning the Deming Prize (the first non-Japanese company to be awarded the prize by the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers, global director at Microsoft and VP quality at Allegheny Energy, with many subsequent clients has provided me a rare global perspective from the C-suite to the worker level.

Whether through keynotes, presentations, instruction, or targeted consulting engagements, I can clearly provide practical actions and real results. Be prepared for candid and frank specific actions that support strategies with decades of experiences leading and owning strategies as well as observing organizations “looking good” versus “acting good.”

Let me help you be a high performance organization!

industry 4.0 | transformation | People Development | performance management

Most popular topics requested:

Business Silos Be Gone!

Business alignment and policy deployment remain a big challenge in organizations. Now more than ever in Industry 4.0, the enterprise has to operate as an enterprise, not a series of vertical silos. There are ways to accomplish this with strong executive leadership and a process for identifying strategies, really understanding the priorities and sequencing of resources, and linking compensation and performance management to long term results of all the players. Often, not taking into account required dependencies can sadly slow success. While it’s good to hit your numbers, it’s better to hit your numbers as a results of your plan, and not being lucky or compromising a longer term strategy.

Sigma Shmigma®

Systematic problem solving has gotten much attention since the 1970’s. Six Sigma got a lot of attention from Motorola and GE. Many improvements and good things happened as a result. Many bad things and unfavorable behaviors also resulted. Not everything needs to have the i’s dotted and t’s crossed or demonstrate use of every tools and technique associated with Six Sigma to get results. This talk points out the good, bad, and ugly from the C-suite perspective as well as the quality practitioner. As a heads up, number of black belts or certifications is not an adequate indicator of success!

Quality 4.NO!SM

Yikes! As if “quality” already has a wide variety of definitions of what it means, we are now complicating it more by adding a 4.0 to it!  No! This is like when everyone added the word “sigma” to everything to position for relevancy.

Industry 4.0 is real and is known for the changes in data, automation, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and talent changes in the workplace. Quality plays a big role in it based on one’s definition of quality. I view it at the enterprise level looking at strategy, measures, customers, technology, people, marketplace, etc. The C-suite is not talking Quality 4.0, they are talking enterprise performance. Quality practices, tools, and techniques play very necessary and supportive roles if positioned properly, particularly with Info Tech, Data, and HR.

Partial list of keynotes and presentations:

⦁ Excellence Achieved: Getting Leadership, Quality Professionals and the Workforce on the Same Page World Conference on Quality Improvement, Anaheim, CA, USA 2022
⦁ QC Circles in the Age of Digitization ICQCC- Tokyo, Japan, 2019
⦁ “Improving Improvement: Evolving a Continuous Improvement Culture General Motors, Warren MI, USA 2018
⦁ “Influencing Organizational Quality: Down, Up, and Out” – World Conference on Quality- ASQ, Charlotte, NC, USA 2017
⦁ “Getting in Synch: Bridging the Gap between Execs & Lean/ Six Sigma Talent” – ASQ Lean Six Sigma Conference, Phoenix, AZ, USA, 2017
⦁ “Acceleration to Performance Excellence” (Private company annual meeting), Oct 2016
⦁ “Business Silos Be Gone:” Accelerating Profitability through Process Management (Key Speakers) APQC Process Conference 2015
⦁ 2015 CEO Challenges and Answers, Florida Sterling Executive Roundtable, Orlando, FL USA 2015
⦁ “Transformation: Moving Forward for Better”- Western Union, Hallandale, FL 2014 (Premiere Speakers)
⦁ “Innovation and Quality,” South Florida Manufacturers Association Annual Meeting, Coral Springs, FL, USA 2014
⦁ “Go Big and Bold,” Oswego High School Commencement Address, Oswego, NY, USA (2014)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RboMKwn8I7A
⦁ 2014 CEO Challenges and Answers, Florida Sterling Executive Roundtable, Orlando, FL, USA 2014
⦁ “Leadership in the 21st Century,” ASQ Emerging Leaders Kickoff, Dallas, TX, USA 2013
⦁ 2013 CEO Challenges and Answers, Florida Sterling Executive Roundtable, Orlando, FL, USA 2013
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81Qwp4QA95w

⦁ “Leadership: Managing through the Evolution of Quality Management,” Accenture, Toronto, Canada 2013
⦁ “Performance Improvement Teams: Role, Reality, Results,” Sterling Conference, Orlando, FL, USA 2013
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcIzEbunn0o
⦁ Answering Today’s CEO Challenges with Quality, ASQ World Conference) Anaheim, CA, USA, 2012
⦁ ASQ Executive Roundtable-“The Future of Quality” St. Louis, MO USA 2010
⦁ Utilities Supply Management Association, San Antonio, TX USA 2010
⦁ Lean Six Sigma IPQC-Orlando, FL USA 2009
⦁ Six Sigma Leadership Conference, The Conference Board, Chicago, IL USA 2008 
⦁ Lean,  ASQ Phoenix, AZ USA 2008
⦁ Praxair-Practical Quality Leadership Buffalo, NY USA 2008
⦁ Energy Association of Pennsylvania- Customer Satisfaction, Hershey, PA USA 2007
⦁ International Convention for Quality (ICQ), Today’s Quality, Tokyo, JP 2005
⦁ ASQ Six Sigma Council Annual Conference- Phoenix, AZ, USA 2004
⦁ Best Practices on Six Sigma Conference- Seattle, WA, USA -2003
⦁ Global Benchmarking Council Meeting – Denver, CO, USA 2003
⦁ Return Keynote Speaker for Florida Sterling Conference – 2003
⦁ 10th Anniversary of the Florida Sterling Conference- 2002
⦁ Glasser Lecture Series, Rochester Institute of Technology – Rochester, NY, USA – 2002
⦁ Product Support Services Global Summit – Microsoft- Seattle, WA, USA-2001
⦁ International Convention Quality Circles – Beijing, China 1997
⦁ Benchmarking- UK Council- Stratford-upon-Avon, UK- 1996
⦁ Quality and Privatization, Pisa, Italy- 1996
⦁ Total Quality Management and Privatization- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil- 1993

Answering The Conference Board CEO Challenge® 20122013 Florida Sterling Conference Teams: Roles, Reality, Results

Mike is also available through Premiere Speakers and Key Speakers

Keynote Speaker, Florida Sterling Conference

Testimonials

 “You have made bodacious contributions to AYE! The seeds you have planted will continue to yield fruit.”

Paul J. Evanson, Chairman, CEO & President, Allegheny Energy, Inc.

“Mike is an outstanding leader and has tremendous knowledge and experience in quality strategy, quality planning and execution. MIke has great people skills and is sincere and always willing to help.”

Dr. J Zhou, retired VP of Ford 

“Mike is a dynamic speaker that knows his topic and quality
systems.  I loved the energy, engagement with audience, humor, and frankness.”

Attendee, World Conference on Quality Improvement