Davis Balestracci

Consultant, teacher, and author

Davis Balestracci is a past chair of ASQ’s statistics division. He has synthesized W. Edwards Deming’s philosophy as Deming intended—as an approach to leadership—in the second edition of Data Sanity (Medical Group Management Association, 2015), with a foreword by Donald Berwick, M.D. Shipped free or as an ebook, Data Sanity offers a new way of thinking using a common organizational language based in process and understanding variation (data sanity), applied to everyday data and management. It also integrates Balestracci’s 20 years of studying organizational psychology into an “improvement as built in” approach as opposed to most current “quality as bolt-on” programs. Balestracci would love to wake up your conferences with his dynamic style and entertaining insights into the places where process, statistics, organizational culture, and quality meet.

Tue, 07/14/2020 - 12:03
Supermotivation Survey
Mon, 06/03/2013 - 16:19
How true are the following statements as you perceive things in your work environment? 1 = Not true at all
2 = True to a small extent
3 = True to some extent
4 = Mostly true
5 = Completely true 1. Employees in this…
Measurement As a Framework for Strategy Transformational measurement is key to every aspect of improvement
Wed, 05/08/2013 - 10:43

“What if I were to tell you that one of the most important keys to your organization’s success can be found in a very unlikely place—a place many of you may consider to be complicated, inaccessible, and perhaps even downright boring? What if…
Off to the Milky Way Use moving ranges to redirect a vague meeting about a vague problem
Tue, 04/09/2013 - 10:20
I received the following note from a physician who is very interested in improvement: “I am not sure I understand what a process behavior chart and a moving range chart do to the discussion, and what do the colored lines represent? aka ‘Still…
The Exception or the Rule? The improvement battle continues
Thu, 03/28/2013 - 15:39

As a consultant, it’s easy to lose touch with reality and become a platitude-spouting machine. I always like hearing from my readers because it keeps me grounded—and I try my best to reply to them all. My heart lies with the hard-working…
What Are You Tolerating? Cultures can’t be built on nonsensical data and wasted effort
Thu, 02/14/2013 - 12:31
What exactly is “culture?” As Jim Clemmer puts it, “Culture is ‘the way we do things around here’… especially when the boss isn’t looking.” As I asked in my January 2013 column: Do cultures’ (unwritten) expectations unwittingly create the leaders…
Postponing the Struggle for Shared Accountability Too many company cultures are ‘perfectly designed’ to put autocrats at the top
Mon, 01/21/2013 - 11:03
At the end of my December 2012 column, “Evolving Beyond Platitudes to Holistic Improvement,” I described three different management styles. Management expert Peter Block saw the need to evolve away from traditional management, and in “As Goes the…
Evolving Beyond Platitudes to Holistic Improvement Effective improvement people will never be out of work
Mon, 12/17/2012 - 13:03
The 24th Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Annual Forum took place on Dec. 9–12, 2012. It is probably the leading health care improvement event in the world. I have presented there for 20 consecutive years and watched it evolve from barely…
The Final Common Cause Strategy ‘Statistical control’ (common cause only) is a major achievement
Fri, 12/14/2012 - 15:58
Previously I discussed three common cause strategies (links below) that help to expose all existing, underlying special causes of variation. They also provide necessary insight into how the current process came to be and allow construction of a…
Another Strategy for Determining Common Cause Cut new windows but try not to upset the daily routine
Mon, 11/05/2012 - 15:36
Remember the early days of TQM? When I present to healthcare audiences, all I have to do is mention “lab turnaround time” to get a collective groan and smile. That was always one of the initial forays into what was called total quality management (…
Four Data Processes, Eight Questions, Part 2 Minimizing human variation in quality data
Fri, 10/12/2012 - 16:51
Human perception of variation and how we execute the methods of four data processes—measurement, collection, analysis, and interpretation—were discussed in part one of this column. Because human variation can compromise the quality of data and…