The target Since 1978 China has had a One Child Policy. The aim of the policy is to reduce population growth in the country. The theory is that this will curtail demand for natural resources and so enable economic development. Adherence to the target is managed by stringent financial penalties for those parents who’d like […]
Archives for April 2011
Are you Awake? Or Sleeping?
I didn’t sleep well last night, I tossed and turned, I kept looking at the alarm clock flashing away 11:45, 12:03, 01:42, 02:56, 03:37, 05:23 Blink, Blink, Blink I didn’t get a wink of sleep. Have you been there? The truth of the matter is that each time I woke and looked at the clock […]
What can 19th Century Cholera Teach us about 6 Sigma?
In 1854 there was an outbreak of Cholera in Central London. Dr John Snow had a theory that the disease was water borne and so plotted the deaths on a street map to see if he could prove the case. He showed that the majority of deaths were happening to people who lived near the […]
Making Process Improvement Really Easy, Easy Enough for Dummies
This morning I read an article about Operational Excellence. It started to tell me that I have to define my value streams from the point of the customer, then went on to discuss 6 sigma in a transactional environment, and then, just as my eyes started to roll to the back of my head, told […]
How to Outclass an Old Bloke
I went for a run along the banks of the Thames this morning, right through central London. Fabulous views, enough to get the most hardened coach potato out of his chair. I was going fine until an old bloke overtook me, he wasn’t going much faster, but he was much older. My ego cut in, […]