The leaves are still on the trees outside my office window, but I can tell we’re close to the changing colors and the beauty of autumn. The signs of fall are all there: schools are back in session, football has started and the AME International Conference is on the horizon.
While you might not initially think to mark the seasons using the AME International Conference, it is a culminating event and a highlight of each year for our volunteers, staff and anyone who has been energized by one of our previous conference.
But, I promise, this isn’t a message about our conference — though you really should register now! We continue to roll out incredible programming like today’s announcement about the Pathway to Excellence Supply Chain Forum.
This is a message about cycles.
Like the cycle of the seasons changing, in our community PDCA is a common cycle — Plan, Do, Check, Adjust — and lean, operational excellence practitioners are constantly evaluating and reevaluating our efforts and processes. Like the seasons, each step in the PDCA process has distinct features. Each builds off the last step and transitions to the next. The seasons remind us to stay the course and continue the cycle as we look for ways to continually improve.
And this is a message about marking time and remembering.
I suspect most of you are like me, and you know exactly where you were 19 years ago on this day. You likely remember the images, and you probably also remember the emotions.
Shock.
Sadness.
And then…hope.
Unity.
While we lost so much on that day — family, friends and colleagues for sure, but also our sense of security — we also felt a deep connection to each other. This unity was not just between U.S. residents, but also a connection with many people in Canada and around the globe. As we continue to process what we experienced on that day, we can take some comfort in knowing that we have the strength to overcome adversity and to rebuild. We will never forget those we lost on 9/11. It is important to mark this day and it is also important to remember how we came together.
As always, please stay safe and keep looking out for one another.
