A thread in the ASQ LinkedIn group piqued our interest a few months back. It got us thinking about our favorite quality-related books and provided some excellent insight into a few we haven’t read yet. We know life is busy, but we all know the importance of continuous improvement Our list of quick and invaluable quality-related “must read” books includes: The Daily Drucker: 365 Days of Insight & Motivation for Getting the Right Things Done (Peter F. Drucker) – This little gem is a quick and easy way to start the day thinking in a quality mindset. More than a few great ideas and inspiration came from this one, and it can be used more than once. The Five Most Important Questions (Peter F. Drucker) – This is a very quick read, perfect for a short flight. In it, Drucker discusses self-assessment, the customer, providing value, measuring results and planning. This one is likely to require “pen and paper” or Evernote to get the full benefit. You’ll want to document your answers. Quality Improvement Made Simple & Fast (Matthew J. Maio) – We have done a write-up on this book before and continue to highly recommend it. While the length, only a 44 page booklet, may be deceiving, the content is rich and ready to be applied. This book will guide you through Plan>Do>Study>Act and is written in a way that’s fun to read. The templates in the back are invaluable. The Quality Toolbox (Nancy R. Tague) – This book should be standard reading in college courses and a staple on any business person’s bookshelf. In it, you will find a way to answer any question (or problem) you have. It gives you the tools you need to get stuff done. Rather than trying to read it cover-to-cover, this one works best if you make a goal of reviewing one tool per week. There’s even a chapter on “How to Use this Book.” 101 Good Ideas: How to Improve Just About Any Process (Karen Bemowski & Brad Stratton) – This book is conveniently segmented in a way that lets you skip around and pick what you want to learn. It offers examples and tools for improving a process, communicating quality, training for quality, getting feedback, managing meetings organizing/analyzing data, auditing and more. The ideas presented are general in nature, but provide enough information to get you going in the right direction. “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” ~Dr. Seuss “It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it.” ~Oscar Wilde
