Paul Naysmith

Quality manager

Expro Group

Paul Naysmith is the author of Business Management Tips From an Improvement Ninja and Business Management Tips From a Quality Punk. He’s also a Fellow and Chartered Quality Professional with the UK’s Chartered Quality Institute (CQI), and an honorary member of the South African Quality Institute (SAQI). Connect with him at www.paulnaysmith.com, or follow him on twitter @PNaysmith.

Those who have read Paul’s columns might be wondering why they haven’t heard from him in a while. After his stint working in the United States, he moved back to his homeland of Scotland, where he quickly found a new career in the medical-device industry; became a dad to his first child, Florence; and decided to restore a classic car back to its roadworthy glory. With the help of his current employer, he’s also started the first-of-its-kind quality apprenticeship scheme, which he hopes will become a pipeline for future improvement ninjas and quality punks.

Wed, 01/04/2017 - 12:00
Managing Motivation A quality alternative to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Wed, 01/04/2017 - 12:00
If you have ever used Maslow’s hierarchy of needs out of context, and especially as they relate to motivation in the workplace, I will track you down and tape you to a lamppost with a sign around your neck explaining your major error. Maslow’s…
Happy Birthday, Magna Carta Some pros and cons of legacy documents
Tue, 05/19/2015 - 16:53
This June will you be wishing the Magna Carta a very happy birthday? An 800-year-old document might not necessarily warrant a lovely slice of cake, but I’m sure someone somewhere will be celebrating this anniversary. No doubt many readers will be…
Goodbye, America This Scot uproots to Caledonia
Thu, 10/16/2014 - 13:27
I have four clocks hanging on my office wall, each one individually set for a strange and different time zone somewhere on this planet. I need to know these various times, as I am sure to engage with someone somewhere else at some point during the…
What Will Scottish Independence Mean for Quality? A major quality failure in the 17th century may offer some clues
Mon, 09/08/2014 - 09:44
If your preferred media outlet has yet to cover the current topic of conversation about Scottish independence, the following may be, well, news to you. On Sept. 18, 2014, the people living in Scotland will be given the opportunity to vote to become…
What Is the Cost of Quality? Quibble about the definition. What matters is what you do about it.
Wed, 07/23/2014 - 12:11
Recently I walked headlong into a conversation on quality costs, or the cost of poor quality (COPQ), or the cost of quality, or some other term I’ve forgotten from that discussion. I realized that this area is very well-developed in the world of…
Where the Magic Happens When was the last time you experienced something new?
Tue, 07/01/2014 - 16:35
From where I sit, flying high in the air, I can see the deep royal blue of the Atlantic. White waves are cresting around an island below, outlining the green and brown blob that, without a map, is nameless and unknown to me. I’m on my way to one of…
Quality Beyond Manufacturing Applying Deming’s approach in a service company
Thu, 04/24/2014 - 17:40
It was yesterday, a glorious sunny distraction of a day, and while alternately admiring the world outside my window and reading the latest issue of CQI’s Quality World, I came across a plea for help. In the letters section, a reader implored the…
The Ghost of Walmart Future A consumer’s-eye view of the superstore’s death spiral
Tue, 03/04/2014 - 15:24
It’s Saturday morning and Mrs. N. has a project for me: assembling her new bicycle. It has arrived in an imposing brown box, and I’m attempting to interpret the instructions. Looking over the variety of nuts, bolts, screws, and connectors in a…
Right on Target Business continuity management in the age of data theft
Mon, 02/03/2014 - 10:58
I’m one of those 40 million customers who had their bank card and PIN stolen while shopping at Target, one of America’s largest chains of general super-stores. Like most of the affected consumers, I first heard about the breach from my bank,…
Bridge Ices Before Road Sometimes it’s critical to get an outside perspective on your problem
Tue, 12/03/2013 - 09:03
For work purposes, I first made my way to the United States on a short business trip in October 2007. I remember it vividly. I was not long married, and my boss was putting me on the long haul into Texas and Louisiana. Fresh in my mind was the…