//What is your difference?

What is your difference?

2017-10-07T22:29:02+00:00

Quality & Me

Subir shares his own personal efforts to work toward continuous improvement within his own community, among his friends and family.

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Books by Subir

The Power of LEO
The Ice Cream Maker
The Power of Design for Six
The Power of Six Sigma
Organization 21c

In the past two decades, I have helped countless organizations improve their processes to find greater success. But over the years, something began to haunt me. I noticed that some organizations using the exact same process or methodology realized enormous savings, while others stumbled. I kept wondering, what is the difference?

I have found my own answers to that: it is not process alone, it is also the ‘mindset’ of each of the employees at all levels and functions of an organization that makes a big difference. In my forthcoming book, The Difference: When Good Enough Isn’t Enough I share the secrets of the ‘caring mindset’. But I wanted to know what others had to say.  I have reached out to people who inspire me, and asked them this simple question:

“What’s the one thing that made the biggest difference in your life and work?”

The answers I have received are astounding.

  • David Meerman Scott reflected on a key mistake that he and many others make.
  • James Altucher spoke of the types of people you need to avoid.
  • Chris Guillebeau boiled it down to one shift in his mindset that changed everything.

And there are so many others. People are reaching out to me to share their experiences as they move to make a difference: in their homes with their families, at their workplace, in their communities… and beyond.

In the coming weeks, I will be sharing what people share with me under the #MyDifference hashtag on social media.

I invite you to share what has made the difference in your life. Get everyone’s attention and use the hashtag #MyDifference.

You can also join me on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to read more personal accounts of how others found a positive difference that changed their life for the better.

What is your difference?

When is the last time you said. “I don’t know”?

Being straightforward means you know when to speak up even if you don’t have the answer. When I admit I don’t know something, it doesn’t mean I can’t learn or solve a problem.  In fact, I generally work harder when I don’t know something than when I do.

Step back so you can move forward

When I need to recharge my batteries, I usually go for a long walk. Sometimes by myself, sometimes with one of my kids. I always end up feeling refreshed and reenergized when I return. It’s critical that you’re passionate about what you do—otherwise, what’s the point? However, there’s a difference between passion and obsession. Let me explain.

Impact of Quality of Learning

Is it culture, the weather, geography? Perhaps ignorance of what the right policies are? Simply, no. None of these factors is either definitive or destiny. Otherwise, how to explain why Botswana has become one of the fastest growing countries in the world, while other African nations, such as Zimbabwe, the Congo, and Sierra Leone, are mired in poverty and violence?

Center for Bangladesh Studies at UC Berkeley

The Subir & Malini Chowdhury Center for Bangladesh Studies at the University of California, Berkeley has an ambitious mission ahead. At the top of their list are innovative projects that aim to improve garment-industry safety, apps to solve social problems, and gathering data on antibiotic-resistant bacteria found on fruits and vegetables. And that's only a month after it opened on March 30.