New spin (literally) on an old quality tool

I love the Pareto chart. It’s one of the simplest quality tools, yet one of the most powerful, and underused tools out there. It’s so easy to get buried down into an issue, and forget that it’s not the one that should be focused on.

However, when I recently presented a Pareto chart to a Senior VP of an organization we are working with, I noticed everyone in the room had tilted their head to the side, in order to read what each category said underneath each bar.

It quickly occurred to me that anytime you present a Pareto chart with more than a couple words per category, you should flip your Pareto chart on its side, so that the categories are easily legible, and you don’t give your customer a sore neck (since you’re already a pain in their neck as it is!)

Have any other helpful tips? Let us know…