If you are a manager in an organization, especially one that faces a complex, dynamic environment, you should be interested in learning how the principles of the High Reliability Organization (HRO) can help you. Your aim should be to develop an organization that moves continuously toward greater reliability of critical outcomes, using every failure as an opportunity for improvement. … Continue reading

High Reliability Organizations (HROs) achieve such a status through persistent and detailed efforts to improve outcomes, even seeking “perfect reliability.” But, how do you get there from where you are?

Chassin and Loeb, writing about healthcare, have summarized the requirements into three broad domains: leadership, process, and culture. The approach these authors describe is intended to help hospitals and other healthcare organizations adopt HRO principles and performance, but it applies equally well to other types of organizations. All complex organizations seeking to improve outcome quality and reliability will have to scrutinize the same domains and begin to install changes. … Continue reading