From Perfectionism to Hybrid Meetings: What We Learned After QIT
Just two days after ASQ Raleigh’s Quality in the Triangle (QIT) conference, eighteen quality professionals (fifteen in the room and three online) gathered Thursday evening to look back at what worked and look ahead at what’s next. It was part conference debrief, part planning session, and the room was full of people who clearly care about building a strong local quality community.
What stood out at QIT
The clear favorite was Dr. Amna Shabbir’s keynote, “The Confidence Cure: From Perfectionism to Excellencism: Building Executive Presence.” Her message resonated: perfectionism drives stress, while striving for excellence drives results. That idea carried right into our discussion.
AI was the other big theme, with four sessions drawing strong interest:
- Leading with AI: Practical Quality Engineering Strategies for the Modern Enterprise, Sanjay Murthy
- Augmenting Excellence: AI in Continuous Improvement, Amita Sherwood
- AI Risks and Data Integrity Fundamentals in Regulated Environments, Sara Haddad
- From Reactive to Proactive: How AI is Transforming Quality Investigations in Manufacturing and Life Sciences, Chris Andrassy
Attendees who’ve been to other conferences also brought a practical idea for next year: two-sided name badges with proof of attendance and recertification unit (RU) information printed on the back, making it easy to claim RUs.
Hybrid: it worked!
This was a milestone for us. Using our section’s Webex account, we ran a successful hybrid meeting, letting members join from across the Triangle and beyond. Hybrid does bring its own challenges, so we talked about choosing larger rooms, managing background noise, and planning AV carefully.
An AI course is coming
Building on the energy from QIT, one of the most exciting topics was a planned AI course for quality professionals: four to six sessions combining instruction with discussion. The group weighed the trade-offs, with some suggesting a bigger, quieter room and others valuing the convenience of our current format. Stay tuned for details.
ASQ Raleigh Planning
Great programming takes people, and nobody should have to carry the load alone. Ideas included:
- Small program committees for specific event types, such as dinner meetings or site visits, with five to ten people each taking one small task per event
- Partnering with neighboring ASQ sections and other professional organizations on virtual events, expanding our speaker pool and audience
- Engaging local companies and executives to support meetings with space, speakers, and sponsorship
- Bringing back favorites like facility tours and dinner meetings
We were also candid about the challenges: recruiting speakers, engaging students, and serving members spread across a large region. Naming them openly is the first step to solving them.
Join us!
Give back: Food Bank volunteer event, Saturday, October 24
Join fellow members at the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina in Raleigh. A few hours of your time makes a real difference, and it’s a great way to get to know the section. Register at https://cerv.is/0225rASQ. Questions? Contact Ashley Norris at ashleynorris@projectfarma.com.
Upcoming SIG meetings, 4:30 to 6:30 pm, Eagles Room, Frontier RTP (and online)
We meet the second Thursday of every month. Topics are still taking shape, and this is your chance to shape them: tell us what you’d like to discuss when you register or reach out to tim@aligncollaboration.com. Bring a colleague!