ASQ

As Camp Quincy comes to a close, one thing is clear: every day in quality brings a new opportunity to learn, solve problems, and improve.

Quincy helps you start each day with clarity and direction, whether you're working through a challenge, exploring a new topic, or planning your next step forward. Like watching the sunrise at camp, each day is a chance to reset, refocus, and move ahead with purpose.

The journey doesn’t end here. Keep exploring new possibilities with Quincy and continue building your AI skills with ASQ resources designed to help quality professionals navigate what’s next.

Explore more AI learning resources:

☀️ Generative AI: The Good, the Bad, and the Unknown
https://asq.org/quality-press/display-item?item=H1660

☀️ Artificial Intelligence and Quality
https://asq.org/quality-press/display-item?item=H1648

☀️ Digital Skills to Go: Generative AI
https://asq.org/training/spgai2025ska-digital-skills-to-go-generative-ai

Your next quality challenge is waiting. Keep learning, keep improving, and let Quincy help guide the way.

The 2027 Lean and Six Sigma Conference is coming to Louisville, Kentucky, February 28–March 2, 2027!

Explore how you can move beyond boundaries, silos, and basic tool application to drive enterprise-wide transformation and build a culture of continuous improvement.

Choose from sessions across three focus areas:

🔹 The Language of Leadership
🔹 From Strategy to Ex*****on
🔹 High-Impact Methodologies

Don't miss out on early-bird savings; reserve your spot today! https://asq.org/conferences/six-sigma

Join ASQ for Lean Six Sigma Green Belt in Milwaukee and make the most of everything the city has to offer after class!

📍 Milwaukee, WI
📅 September 28–October 2 AND October 26–30, 2026

Week 1: Learn + Experience Milwaukee
- Build your Lean Six Sigma skills
- Celebrate the end of the week at Milwaukee Oktoberfest
- Explore Southside Dining Week
- Catch live music around the city

Week 2: Learn + Explore Milwaukee
- Continue building your Green Belt expertise
- Catch the Milwaukee Bucks in action
- Take a Third Ward Ghost Walk
- Check out the Halloween Village downtown

Build skills you can put to work, connect face-to-face with fellow professionals, and experience Milwaukee while you’re here.

Register for Lean Six Sigma Green Belt in Milwaukee: https://asq.org/training/lean-six-sigma-green-belt-lssgb2025asq

We are now accepting 2027 World Conference on Quality and Improvement proposals and reviewer applications! Share your innovative strategies, success stories, and lessons learned, or offer your expertise to review proposals. This is your chance to establish yourself as a thought leader and enrich the quality community.

Submit a WCQI proposal: https://tinyurl.com/WCQI27Proposal
Become a reviewer: https://tinyurl.com/WCQI27Reviewer

Quality shows up in the moments you least expect, and those situations often reveal the most about us. How you respond to challenges, communicate under pressure, and approach problem-solving all reflect your commitment to quality.

For additional insight, read Teresa Whitacre-Lytle's article, Quality in Every Moment, in this month's issue of Quality Progress: https://asq.org/quality-progress.

Where have you applied quality thinking outside of work? We'd love to hear your story!

Not every question needs a deep search or a long process. Sometimes you just need a quick answer, a second opinion, or a place to think out loud.

You can have a casual chat with Quincy to ask quick quality questions, brainstorm ideas, clarify concepts, work through a problem step by step, or get unstuck when you need momentum.

Think of it as a cabin conversation with a reliable camp counselor where you can talk through ideas and get trusted quality guidance.

💡 Did you know? While English is Quincy's primary language, it can understand, translate, and respond in more than 60 languages, helping quality professionals around the world get the answers they need.

Need a camp counselor you can chat with anytime? ASQ membership gives you access to Quincy whenever questions arise.

https://asq.org/membership

Not sure which quality course is right for you?

Whether you're building your foundation, improving processes, solving recurring problems, strengthening your quality system, or leading aerospace audits, ASQ has an upcoming course designed to help you reach your next goal!

Follow the chart to find your best fit, then take the next step in your quality journey.

📅 September courses are filling now.
➡️ Register: https://members.asq.org/virtual-learning

Which course did you land on?

Ready to lead process improvements that deliver measurable results?

The Lean Six Sigma Green Belt course gives you the practical skills to reduce waste, eliminate defects, and improve performance using the proven DMAIC methodology. Through hands-on exercises and project-based learning, you'll build the confidence to lead improvement initiatives in your own organization.

What sets this course apart?

- Learn face-to-face with experienced instructor Chad Smith, who brings more than 18 years of continuous improvement experience across global organizations.

- Receive individualized coaching and feedback on real-world improvement projects.

- Gain practical experience with Lean Six Sigma tools you can apply immediately.

Whether you work in manufacturing, healthcare, logistics, financial services, or another process-driven industry, this course will help you strengthen your problem-solving skills and drive lasting business results.

Join us September 28-October 2 and October 26-October 30 at the UWM School of Continuing Education. Additional details and registration information can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/LSSGB-MKE

Every camper knows that a successful adventure starts with the right gear! Before you head out on your next quality journey, let Camp Counselor Quincy help you pack your Quality Survival Kit:

Root Cause Analysis Rope, for helping you trace problems back to their source.

Process Improvement Pocket Knife, a versatile tool for tackling challenges and finding opportunities to improve.

Audit Preparation Compass to help you keep on course before your next audit.

Continuous Improvement Hiking Boots, built for making steady progress, one step at a time.

Process Map Trail Guide, helping you map your process and navigate the path to improvement.

Best Practice Pocket Guides, provide practical and trusted guidance to help you navigate quality challenges with confidence.
(Browse our collection and use code PocketGuides2026 throughout August to save 10% on each guide purchased! https://members.asq.org/asq-Pocket-Guides)

No matter the challenges you encounter on your trail, Quincy can help you stay prepared with the tools, resources, and guidance you need to move forward with confidence.
Become an ASQ member today and add Quincy to your quality survival kit!

https://asq.org/membership

What if chasing "best practices" is quietly holding your organization back?

Calling a method the "best" implies it's perfect. And perfection leaves no room to grow. That mindset can quietly cap your progress.

Here's a better approach: focus on good practices, proven methods you can adapt, refine, and optimize over time.

A few principles worth embedding:

- Choose good over best. Good practices invite improvement instead of freezing it in place.

- Build collective excellence. Organizations thrive when they move past isolated learning and share knowledge openly.

- Apply structured evaluation criteria. Clear standards and active knowledge sharing drive sustainable, continuous improvement.

- Create an adaptive framework. Embed these practices into a collaborative system that fuels long-term growth and innovation.

The takeaway: excellence is a shared, evolving journey your whole team shapes together, not a fixed destination.

Miguel P. de la Pisa explores this shift in the latest "Try This Today" column. Read the full piece here: https://asq.org/quality-progress.

Which are you leaning on today, good practices or best practices?