ASQ Phoenix October 10, 2024 Virtual Program Meeting
6:00pm – 8:00pm Phoenix (UTC: -7)
AGENDA: All times are Phoenix (MST):
6:00 pm Welcome
6:05 pm Brief Announcements
6:15 pm Guest Speaker
7:15 pm Q&A and Networking
7:45 pm Phoenix Section business
8:00 pm Adjourn
Title: Guerilla Tactics for Quality Leadership: Getting Things Done Without Formal Authority
Speaker: Steve Gompertz
Target Audience: Anyone, whether in a formal leadership position or not, who wants to improve on making meaningful change happen and stick.
Session Description: The term “guerilla tactics” likely conjures images of ragtag armed fighters skulking about the jungle to ambush a better outfitted target. Obviously, that’s not what this workshop/session is about when it comes to changing your organization’s culture around quality. A better definition in this context paraphrased from Google’s Dictionary, is that of a member of a small independent group taking part in activities performed in an impromptu way, often without authorization. In business we would more typically refer to such people as mavericks, leaders, change agents, or even loose-cannons, heretics, or disrupters. Regardless of which of those labels you consider positive or negative, the common theme is that they are people with strong convictions who persist in driving change.
In changing quality culture, the goal isn’t to crush our opponents, but to convert them; along with everyone else. That conversion is the entire focus. Your goal shouldn’t be just to implement a new process, system, or requirement, but winning over hearts and minds so that everyone truly engages in the change (I know, lots of cliches). Even those who agree with the need for change often still fear it; most often because they don’t know exactly what the change will be, how it will impact them, or how to get there. And change agents often aren’t sure how to address each of those legitimate concerns.
A perception of needing permission often hinders the desire to lead change. It can then be frustrating when we are unable to achieve understanding and support for our ideas, or only get support for a portion or modified version of what we really want to do from those giving that permission. The old saying goes, “ask for forgiveness, not permission.” The guerilla tactics approach is about making change happen without waiting for permission and without jeopardizing your career. As in guerilla warfare, the goal is to avoid head-on confrontations with the “enemy”; avoid detection and achieve objectives without the other side necessarily being aware that you’re succeeding. Quality guerillas use the same approach. This workshop/session introduces approaches to making changes without permission and without jeopardizing your career.
Proposed Agenda:
--What are “Guerilla” Tactics?
--Common Quality Leadership Challenges
--Hide the Vegetables: Teaching New Concepts Without Anyone Realizing It
--Measurement Without Fear: Measuring Processes Rather Than People
--Less is More Documentation: Applying Lean Thinking to Documentation
--The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Quality Leaders: Covey’s Insights Applied to Quality Leadership
Speaker Bio:
Steve Gompertz (CMQ/OE, CMDA, RAC-US, CMII) is a leader in Quality Systems management with over 30 years of experience in the medical technology industry. His career includes roles in quality systems development and implementation, project management, engineering automation, configuration management, audit, and software development for companies including Pelican BioThermal, St. Jude Medical (now Abbott), Boston Scientific, Medtronic, Vital Images, and Control Data. He is now a consultant to the medical technology industry providing guidance on quality systems and regulatory compliance.
Steve holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Lehigh University, and certifications in quality management, medical device auditing, regulatory affairs, project management, and configuration management. Steve started his professional career in software development and then moved into systems implementation project management. After joining the medical device industry, he transitioned from implementing quality-related IT solutions to managing quality organizations and processes. Steve also helped St. Cloud State University develop and is a Sr. Adjunct Instructor in the “M.S. in Medical Technology Quality” program. He is a Distinguished Speaker with the Society for Quality Assurance (SQA) and was awarded the 2023 Charles W. Britzius Distinguished Engineer Award by the MN Federation of Engineering, Science, and Technology Societies (MFESTS).
LOCATION: via Zoom
COST: Free. Open to all.
We will be using Zoom Meeting to broadcast the October 10, 2024, ASQ Phoenix monthly Program meeting. Register in advance for this meeting:
Zoom registration link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAuc--sqj0pEtL3RRlweAwIypAHyvcQ8TBs
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