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42 The PCB Magazine • May 2017 by Dan Beaulieu If this is the first time you've heard the name David Dibble, or his company, Dibble Leaders, then you're in for a treat. David is one of our industry's foremost thought leaders when it comes to systems optimization and leadership development. He has worked with many com- panies, both in our industry and in the medi- cal field. From starting his own PCB company and growing it into a successful firm, David has a record of success. I thought it would be inter- esting to have a talk with David and learn more about him and his company and more impor- tantly, to hear how he can help companies in all industries be better, particularly the PCB in- dustry. Dan: David, it's great to finally have a chance to talk with you; thanks for doing this. For starters, please tell us a little bit about yourself. What is your background? David: My pleasure, Dan. Out of college I start- ed a PCB company with $5,000, in an old ware- house. Over time we built the company to about $10 million in sales, doing mostly mil- spec and technically challenging commercial work. In the process, I became an expert in sys- tems/process optimization and was one of the pioneers in the quality movement in the ear- ly 1980s. Since 1990 I've been consulting and training, helping leaders solve problems and improve their businesses. My work with compa- nies is usually twofold: We take a systems-based approach to improving the parts of the business that will deliver the greatest ROI while assist- ing the CEO to expand his or her skill sets—be a better leader. Dan: Fascinating, from PCBs to systems expert. How did you come to start Dibble Leaders? David: I saw basic flaws in both process improve- ment and leadership. Programs such as Six Sig- ma, Lean or Lean Sigma have, in most cases, un- derperformed and in some cases outright failed to produce on their promise. Sustainability has proved elusive. I also saw few leaders who were even close to being systems thinkers. Leaders, in general, were focused on the wrong things in at- tempting to solve problems or grow their busi- David Dibble on the Hiring Process: Getting the Most from Systems Excellence FEATURE INTERVIEW