Program Abstract

Much credit has been given to advances in technology in changing our daily lives.  What advances could be achieved if we "think about our thinking" and begin to think together.

• What does it mean to work together? 

• Is there more to this casual expression than meets the eye, or mind? 

• Can we work together if we hand off our work to others, upon meeting our requirements to them, and subsequently separate ourselves from the downstream results?

• What does it mean to learn together under such circumstances?  Furthermore, does a focus on zero defects hinder progress towards working together?

These questions and many others will be raised during a unique exploration of the potential of "people power" in the 21st century.  Join in and find out more about the exciting developments on "better thinking about thinking" that are underway within Boeing.

About the Speaker

Dr. William (Bill) Bellows is an Associate Technical Fellow in the Enterprise Thinking Network at Boeing’s Rocketdyne Propulsion & Power business unit in Canoga Park, CA.  In this capacity, Bill provides expert consulting, facilitation, and instruction within Boeing in the implementation of enterprise thinking activities, including Deming’s System of Profound Knowledge, Taguchi Methods, variation management, resource management, and the thinking skills of Dr. Edward de Bono.  He also provides leadership in the implementation of what he calls inthinking, or “better thinking about thinking”, and its application to continuous investment. 

Bill’s background in “Quality” dates back to 1987, when he was employed as a heat transfer analyst by AVCO Lycoming, a gas turbine engine manufacturer in Stratford, Connecticut.  At that time, he was exposed to the quality improvement techniques of Dr. Genichi Taguchi and subsequently led the division’s first applications of “Taguchi Methods” to resolve an ongoing crisis in tank engine performance. The successful resolution of this crisis led to his leadership role in many more applications over the next two years and the unofficial title of “Taguchi Methods” expert. 

Bill’s “Quality” education expanded once again in February 1990, at which time he first met Dr. Deming at Western Connecticut State University.  Bill attended all three of his presentations – to students, to faculty, and to the general public, and thereupon became a student of Deming as well as Taguchi.  Several months later, he was offered a position in the “TQM Office” of the Rocketdyne Division of Rockwell International.  He joined the TQMO staff in the capacity of the division’s “Taguchi Methods” expert and thereupon worked to integrate Deming’s System of Profound Knowledge” into Taguchi’s design system.  The concept of inthinking represents an integration of the thinking of Taguchi and Deming with the theories of other eminent thinkers that Bill has been introduced to in the past 15 years.  In recognition of his efforts to lead a thinking transformation within Boeing based on Deming’s management philosophy, Bill was promoted to the position of Associate Technical Fellow in 2001.

Outside of Boeing, Bill is a founding board member as well as co-president of the In2:InThinking Network, a group organized in 2001 to promote “inthinking”.  His is also a board member of the W. Edwards Deming Institute and the Los Angeles chapter of the Volunteers of America.

Bill earned his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York.  His hobbies and interests include long distance running as well as serving as a referee and coach for youth soccer.  Bill and his family reside in Valencia, California.