In every aspect of business (and life), problem solving is a given requirement. And quality assurance — whether it’s products and services, marketing campaigns, idea development or even medical treatment — is based on problem solving.

To ensure quality in what we do, there are specific, quantitative methods like Six Sigma, which are now reaching beyond manufacturing floors to other functional areas of business. Quality standards like ISO 9000 are now being sought even by creative companies. In each of these methodologies or standards, quality control is focused on problem solving that is continuous and pervasive. Most importantly, they drive to be effective.

It’s that last element — effectiveness — that concerns me. Solving a problem requires finding the root cause. Without finding the root cause of problems you most likely will be treating symptoms. Quality control tools seek to get to the root cause of problems so they won’t have to be solved repeatedly. Or create ultimate failure.

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The Markets Institute

You might note that I haven’t posted for a while. While I would like to say that I’ve been busy at the Winter Olympics, the truth is I’ve been heads-down on the launch of a new non-profit, non-partisan research unit, The Markets Institute.

The idea for the Institute came from the incredible amount of data continually collected by Moddition. While we focus on clients, to do what we do, we literally have to track virtually every industry, every sector, from their ideas to the final sales of their products and services.

With all that incoming information and analysis that goes into extracting useful understanding, there was a great deal of value that could come from looking at the big picture, rather than just at solutions for a specific client.

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Dubai World vs. Innovation?

Let’s get past the credit issues of Dubai, which will get cleared up, and look at what the Emirate can do to create a long-term, viable future of providing real  value. Up front, it won’t be about tall buildings or unique landscaping — it’s about global problem solving. These ideas apply to any company, anywhere.

As background Dubai has been working for years now to create a global center of trade motivated primarily by its diminishing oil deposits. Rather than wait for its oil to dry up, the monarchy determined to turn Dubai into something unusual — a cross between a trading and shipping port and a theme park. The purpose was to create an area so attractive to global businesses that Dubai would become the place to transact business and enjoy a premium lifestyle.

When Dubai’s incredible ambitions were publicized the reaction was frenetic and near frantic: Dubai was the new “It. ” And if you weren’t a part of It you would be left behind. Dubai, viewing the nearly insane response, borrowed and built to keep up with what appeared to be a global onslaught of demand.

Unfortunately the truth was that the hype being generated for Dubai (not by Dubai) was self-feeding and not solidly connected to reality. Like a snake eating its own tail, eventually the hype could not sustain itself and died.

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You don't need much to get to that "Ah-Ha" moment

Survive the recession but not the recovery? File that under “most unfortunate irony.”

“Innovation” is thrown around today like re-engineering was in the ’90’s — as something magical that will cure every economic and company woe. Innovation is expected in products, services, business processes, research, social communications, and of course technology. We know that without rethinking just about everything we do, we’re never get going, let alone get ahead.

But what I run into every day are businesses balking at innovating anything besides ways to cut costs — and those tendencies are understandable. Many companies are purely in survival mode, having let go everyone they could, reeled in every cost and cut back every activity possible. And that latter item is a real problem — cutting back on every activity often means cutting back on innovation.

As someone who has designed a great many products and services I know that it can take some serious cash to innovate and create. Money that just isn’t available right now for too many companies.

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