Bill Kalmar

Writer and speaker

William J. Kalmar has extensive business experience, including service with a Fortune 500 bank and the Michigan Quality Council, of which he served as director from 1993 through 2003. He served on the Board of Overseers of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program and has been a Baldrige examiner. He was also named quality professional of the year by the ASQ Detroit chapter. Now semiretired, Kalmar does freelance writing for several publications. He is a member of the USA Today Vacation Panel, a mystery shopper for several companies, and a frequent presenter and lecturer.

Thu, 04/07/2022 - 12:02
Keep Your Pantyhose On Suggestions for saving money and improving quality of life
Thu, 07/29/2010 - 06:00
The current economic uncertainty has many of us seeking ways to cut back on expenses and streamline our lifestyle. Using grocery discount coupons or looking for those “buy one, get one free” meal tickets have become commonplace. Restaurants have…
Yes, We Are Good Losers! Not to mention a class act
Wed, 06/16/2010 - 06:00
Permit me to take a break from all things quality- and customer service-oriented and talk about what’s really important. Baseball. That’s right; I feel the need to respond to the “perfect game” controversy from a Detroiter’s point of view. We…
Time To Shine a Red Apple for a Teacher Send a teacher a note telling him how positively he affected your life.
Mon, 05/24/2010 - 06:00
A s the school year is winding to a conclusion, scores of children are anxiously awaiting the beginning of their summer vacation. I suspect that there are also an equal number of teachers preparing to clean out their desks and use the next…
Ah, Technology We live in an era of quality, innovation, and home espresso machines.
Mon, 05/10/2010 - 07:00
T hose of us who are senior citizens (or as we are sometimes called, those in the autumn of our years) have seen a lot of changes in the world.  If you took a snapshot right now of what is in your home, your automobile, or what you can purchase…
Smoke ’Em if You Got ’Em But not around me!
Mon, 04/26/2010 - 11:54
Quality has many identities. There is quality in the manufacturing of automobiles, quality in food preparation, quality in education, quality in surgical procedures, quality in document preparation, and of course air quality, which is the…
Undercover Boss? How About Undercover Hermit? Get out of your offices and go meet your employees.
Tue, 04/06/2010 - 06:00
In the last several months, a new reality TV program entitled “Undercover Boss” has surfaced. The premise is that a CEO or top executive of a company travels to a store or factory of the company where the senior manager pretends to be an entry-…
Let’s Demand that 2 + 2 Always Equals 4 School standards should never be lowered.
Tue, 03/09/2010 - 16:36
One of the elements of a successful community is a strong school system. Real estate brokers will always discuss the educational resources in a community when showing homes to prospective buyers. There should be no argument that schools are the…
Did I Hear That Correctly? Kalmar is hearing things, and it isn't pretty.
Mon, 02/22/2010 - 05:00
Have you noticed that the world is getting crazier by the minute? Every day we hear about someone in search of his or her 15 minutes of fame or someone who operates on a different wave length than the rest of the civilized world, and in some…
Hello? Is That You, Flossie? Kindle's and iPads and video phones, oh my!
Mon, 02/15/2010 - 05:00
In March 1876, Alexander Graham Bell uttered these now famous words, “Mr. Watson, come here—I want to see you.” That day marked the beginning of an extraordinary time in communication—the advent of the telephone. Since then there have been…
Just Wondering Thoughts of a rainy day
Mon, 02/01/2010 - 05:30
Every now and then I like to relax in my comfortable Lazy Boy chair and contemplate what’s going on in the world and how it affects my life. Being retired gives people that option. Obviously it is beyond me to change any of the following thoughts,…