Make a Data Driven Decision with your Career!

Ed Melski
Team Leader & Certified DMAIC Master Black BeltAfter getting a holistic view of my business as an IMLP, I decided to take a technical path off program by joining the GE Appliances application architecture team.  This was right at the beginning of the Internet Boom, and our business was rapidly changing its structure to create a web presence for our customers.  I built a technical foundation that I’ve carried with me throughout my career, and it also helped me find where I can differentiate myself.  Below is one of those defining moments in my career while I was in that role.

8:00 AM Wednesday, Spring 2000 – Executive Conference Room

The conference room is filled with all of the IT leaders for GE Appliances and our CIO was running the meeting.  He was conducting an operations review on our web apps.  When I was asked why a particular web server was not performing to spec, I gave a gut-felt answer, based on the experience I had picked up while on the team.  Then, I was asked if I had data to support it... and I didn’t have an answer.  As a problem solver, this question challenged me to dive in deep to make a data-based decision. 

1 Week Later – Executive Conference Room

All of the IT leaders assembled for the ops review again.  The same server came up again, but this time I had data.  I leveraged the Six Sigma tools that I had learned about while on program and made a decision that was different than my gut feeling, but at the same time made myself, my team, and the leaders confident in the solution.

I am now a Certified DMAIC Master Black Belt and offer mentoring / guidance to IMLP’s and other co-workers who need to make data-based decisions.  I get satisfaction in my job everyday knowing I’m a part of helping them add value.