Memories of Workplace Philosophy Theories Past

[Masquernom]

In our small consulting company, we didn't have any programs like Sigma whatever. We just sold work, completed projects, thrilled clients, and at the end of the year, split the big bonus pot!

You don't know what you missed. In my large company, you could implement a project that doubled production at lower cost. But if your project budget was $1,000,000, and you spent $1,100,001, you were in big trouble...

 

[Olbidness]

I remember my first interview for an ISO9000 compliance audit, a company representative standing behind the auditor mouthing the answers to the questions like a stage mom.

SAP software so flawed that we referred to it as Stop. All. Progress.

TQM Pareto charts, Xbar and R, upper control limits, lower control limits

Franklin Planners time management.

Operational Control Management.

And now I see the entire business unit has been sold to a “B” player with the usual shedding of benefits.

 

[Markola]

Our comically ham-fisted CEO brought in a Senn Delaney, Inc. fossil a couple of years ago at the height of #Me Too to teach us a new “culture.” The consultant had a bunch of dated slides still featuring Enron and made comments from the podium about some of the women’s appearance, so the next day he was put on an airplane back to the 20th century. Apparently, we needed to shop for a different “culture” than that one.

 

[Bryan Barnfellow]

I remember my first interview for an ISO9000 compliance audit, a company representative standing behind the auditor mouthing the answers to the questions like a stage mom.

SAP software so flawed that we referred to it as Stop. All. Progress.

TQM Pareto charts, Xbar and R, upper control limits, lower control limits

Franklin Planners time management.

Operational Control Management.

And now I see the entire business unit has been sold to a “B” player with the usual shedding of benefits.

Yes, I remember well the illusion of control that my "DayTimer" provided. It was always a source of amusement to my wife (a poet). I even had the little ruler that could be ring binded in.