From bright spots to a system. Build a whole-organization approach to improvement in my fall course, starting Sept. 9: davidmwilliamsphd.com/qos-series-d...
Dave Williams
@davewilliamsatx.bsky.social
Senior Advisor I Coauthor, Quality as an Organizational Strategy and The QOS Field Guide I Creator, Mr. Potato Head PDSA Exercise I DavidMWilliamsPhD.com
New Research: Quality as an organizational strategy: building a system of improvement #FrontiersIn #HealthServices www.frontiersin.org/journals/hea...
Many improvement projects get chartered but never progress to testing changes. Executing projects to results requires a shared method, capability building, & portfolio management—while learning what works. Managing a portfolio to results is essential. davidmwilliamsphd.com/2026/01/01/q...
QOS: Activity 5 - Managing Improvement Efforts - David M. Williams PhD
This is part of a series on Quality as an Organizational Strategy (QOS). Read the introduction or explore other activities: Activity 1Read More
davidmwilliamsphd.com
Planning that enables learning and guides where to act is critical. It connects strategic objectives to specific places that shift the org forward and move metrics. Planning to improve and operate. Read more: davidmwilliamsphd.com/2026/01/01/q...
QOS: Activity 4 - Planning for Improvement - David M. Williams PhD
This is part of a series on Quality as an Organizational Strategy (QOS). Read the introduction or explore other activities: Activity 1Read More
davidmwilliamsphd.com
We have data like never before. But you can still be data-rich and knowledge-poor without a theory behind collection and how to act. A system for obtaining and using information is essential—converting data to action. davidmwilliamsphd.com/2026/01/01/q...
QOS: Activity 3 - System for Obtaining Information - David M. Williams PhD
This is part of a series on Quality as an Organizational Strategy (QOS). Read the introduction or explore other activities: Activity 1Read More
davidmwilliamsphd.com
Leaders struggle to see how their organization works as a system. Many processes across departments. But how are they linked? How are they designed to achieve the measures that matter? Viewing the org as a system enables learning across it. davidmwilliamsphd.com/2026/01/01/q...
QOS: Activity 2 - Organization Viewed as a System - David M. Williams PhD
This is part of a series on Quality as an Organizational Strategy (QOS). Read the introduction or explore other activities: Activity 1Read More
davidmwilliamsphd.com
Most organizations display their mission statement. But is it actually used to guide decisions & focus their system. How do you move purpose from the wall to the work so it guides improvement, shapes decisions, and connects daily work to what matters. davidmwilliamsphd.com/2026/01/01/q...
QOS: Activity 1 - Establish and Communicate the Purpose of the Organization - David M. Williams PhD
This is part of a series exploring Quality as an Organizational Strategy (QOS). Read the introduction or explore other activities: Activity 2Read More
davidmwilliamsphd.com
Most CQOs are first or second-generation in the role. First built the elements: training, metrics, safety programs. Second face integration: connecting elements into coherent systems. The role evolved from builder to architect. davidmwilliamsphd.com/2026/01/23/c... #improvementscience #quality
The Chief Quality Officer: Evolution of Leading Quality - David M. Williams PhD
Twenty years ago, the title “Chief Quality Officer” barely existed in healthcare. Today, many health systems have one. But having a CQORead More
davidmwilliamsphd.com
When a dozen Breakthrough Collaboratives failed, the problem wasn't the method—it was using it at the wrong stage. BTS spreads proven changes. Most orgs need to start earlier and match your learning system to change maturity. New post👇 davidmwilliamsphd.com/2026/01/10/m... #improvementscience
Matching Learning System to Change Maturity - David M. Williams PhD
Over the last 20 years, the Breakthrough Series Collaborative structure of learning sessions and action periods has been adopted to pursue improvementRead More
davidmwilliamsphd.com
The best professional development? Improvement projects. When staff study their own work, they find insights no consultant could. They see where handoffs break down, where info gets lost, why workarounds became normal. Result: Frontline experts. davidmwilliamsphd.com/2025/12/19/i...
Improvement Projects Create Frontline Experts - David M. Williams PhD
Leaders build people to be experts in their roles—people who produce results for the clients and patients they serve. This starts withRead More
davidmwilliamsphd.com
AI can help us learn about systems and analyze data. But teams getting measurable results pair those tools with something timeless: clarity of purpose, fidelity to testing, commitment to fundamentals. That's what moves dots in the direction of goodness. davidmwilliamsphd.com/2026/01/02/t...
The Real Path to Impact in the New Year - David M. Williams PhD
My college-age kids were home for the holiday break. At dinner one evening, my son asked an open-ended question that sparked aRead More
davidmwilliamsphd.com
The QOS Field Guide is out—a practical companion to Quality as an Organizational Strategy (QOS) and a #1 Amazon New Release in Quality. It helps leaders put QOS into action with tools, examples, and a roadmap for building a learning system. 📘 QOS a.co/d/94S2HFg 📘 The QOS Field Guide a.co/d/0V2Kyyi
Patients are using AI chatbots to fill in gaps or supplement their experience with the healthcare systems. This can be a positive or create new frictions. How can a healthcare system keep up with this innovation and evolve to continue to meet patient needs? Source: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/16/w...
Frustrated by the Medical System, Patients Turn to A.I.
nytimes.com
From Building to Accelerating. Over the past decade, many leaders have laid a strong foundation for quality. The structures and people are in place. Now the question is: how do we move from a good start to accelerating quality across the system? davidmwilliamsphd.com/2025/11/06/m...
Moving from Developing to Accelerating - David M. Williams PhD
Healthcare leaders are constantly watching —CMS star ratings, Leapfrog safety grades, and U.S. News “Best Hospital” rankings. Strong results bring a momentRead More
davidmwilliamsphd.com
A great new paper on advanced PDSA using planned experimentation by Dr. Shafer at CHOC Children's. His project was to improve examination of ocular abnormalities in newborns. You can read the full paper here. bmjopenquality.bmj.com/content/14/4...
Improving completion of the red reflex examination at neonatal intensive care unit discharge: a practice improvement initiative and multisite planned experiment
Background Completing the red reflex examination (RRE) of the eyes to screen for ophthalmologic abnormalities is an essential component of the newborn physical examination. An abnormal RRE should prom...
bmjopenquality.bmj.com
I am no pioneer at using AI in improvement work. I run small PDSA tests everyday to learn how it works and where it’s useful (and not). Here are four learning cycles and what I discovered. davidmwilliamsphd.com/2025/09/30/f...
Four PDSA Tests of Artificial Intelligence - David M. Williams PhD
Photo by Hitesh Choudhary on Unsplash I’m not an AI pioneer. On Everett Roger’s adoption curve, I’m somewhere between an early adopterRead More
davidmwilliamsphd.com
I have a major piece in Bloomberg Citylab today. Should the US let transit fail, as Pennsylvania is already doing? And if not, what are the arguments we need to let it succeed? www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Should We Let Public Transit Die?
Urban-rural hostility is fueling a public transportation crisis in US cities. But demands to abandon bus and train riders ignore the economic and social costs of cutting service.
bloomberg.com
I listen to @kutnews.bsky.social for news and @kutx.bsky.social for Austin music everyday. I also watch @pbsnews.org on @austinpbs.bsky.social nightly. I just increased my monthly membership. Join me.
One struggles for leaders is figuring out how to focus attention on the work that best serves the customer and will get the desired results. A great place to begin is your vector of measures. Here are steps to take and questions to ask... davidmwilliamsphd.com/2021/02/07/u...
Using Your Vector of Measures to Guide Action - David M. Williams PhD
By David M. Williams, Ph.D. Figure. Vector of Measures Displayed in Shewhart Charts (Source: QOS) One of the toughest struggles for leadersRead More
davidmwilliamsphd.com
People will manipulate a system if they feel it doesn't allow them to be their best. Here's an interesting example of researchers embedding hidden prompts in manuscripts to trick AI LLMs that journal reviewers may be potentially using. asia.nikkei.com/Business/Tec... @thebenedictevans.bsky.social
'Positive review only': Researchers hide AI prompts in papers
Instructions in preprints from 14 universities highlight controversy on AI in peer review
asia.nikkei.com
Powerful benchmark: compare a new employee on day 1 with the same person 6 or 12 months later. Are they still eager to find purpose, contribute meaningfully, and make a difference? QOS is an alternative—methods that transforms how people work together. bit.ly/QOSbook
A large proportion of EMS patients do not benefit from ER transport. ET3 tried to change that. A failure not captured in this paper was the scale of the initiative without a pilot to create a change package and results. Still opportunity to improve. www.healthaffairs.org/content/fore...
Learning From The Failure Of A CMS Emergency Medical Services Model | Health Affairs Forefront
The Emergency Triage, Treat, and Transport model, which CMS ended early in 2023, failed due to problems with program implementation, resource allocation, financial incentives with ongoing focus on fee...
healthaffairs.org
The science writer Robert P. Crease suggests there are three crucial properties that units of measures must possess: 1) accessibility, 2) proportionality, and 3) consistency.
We used to have radio on TV…King, Imus, etc. Cable news today feels stale…same show different talkers. Bothsidesism. No learning. Podcasts & YouTube bring back the long interview & complexity & nuance. Love to see cable news follow. Via @brianstelter.bsky.social www.vanityfair.com/news/story/e...
How Ezra Klein’s YouTube Makeover Points to Podcasting’s TV Future
Major news outlets, like ‘The New York Times’ and ‘The Atlantic,’ and ex-cable stars are finding audiences on YouTube. “It is television,” says ‘Mediaite’ founder Dan Abrams. “Anyone who still thinks ...
vanityfair.com
The application deadline is Friday. Don't miss this opportunity to be part of a select cohort of leaders in the only advanced improvement science program for emergency services. ⏳ Apps close April 18 🔗 davidmwilliamsphd.com/ems-course/
Next Level Improvement Science for EMS - David M. Williams PhD
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davidmwilliamsphd.com
Dave Williams@davewilliamsatx.bsky.social · last yr.🚑 EMS leaders—are you ready to take improvement to the next level? Join Mike Taigman and I for a master course designed for EMS leaders to achieve results-driven improvement. Now accepting applications. #EMS #fire #ImprovementScience davidmwilliamsphd.com/ems-course/
The applications deadline is one week from today. Don't miss this opportunity to be part of a select cohort of leaders in the only advanced improvement science program for emergency services. ⏳ Apps close April 18 🔗 davidmwilliamsphd.com/ems-course/
Next Level Improvement Science for EMS - David M. Williams PhD
Read More
davidmwilliamsphd.com
Dave Williams@davewilliamsatx.bsky.social · last yr.🚑 EMS leaders—are you ready to take improvement to the next level? Join Mike Taigman and I for a master course designed for EMS leaders to achieve results-driven improvement. Now accepting applications. #EMS #fire #ImprovementScience davidmwilliamsphd.com/ems-course/
Powerful benchmark: compare a new employee on day 1 with the same person 6 or 12 months later. Are they still eager to find purpose, contribute meaningfully, and make a difference? QOS is an alternative—methods that transforms how people work together. bit.ly/QOSbook
Quality as an Organizational Strategy blends the theories of systems thinking, variation, knowledge, and psychology with methods for developing a learning organization to pursue continuous, results-driven improvement. Getting Started on Deming Institute Podcast: podcast.deming.org/getting-star...
In Their Own Words: Getting Started with Quality as an Organizational Strategy: A Conversation with Cliff Norman and David Williams
Why would any leader choose to take on a transformation that requires rethinking how they lead, how their organization functions, and how they learn? In this episode, we dive deeper with Cliff No...
podcast.deming.org
