Davis Balestracci Jr., MS, began his career as an internal industrial statistical consultant, most significantly with 3M, where he received several corporate awards for his innovative teaching and applications of statistical methods. After being exposed to W. Edwards Deming's philosophy in 1983, his interests evolved to a broader application of statistics and cultural psychology to develop leadership capabilities to transform organizations. Since 1992, his primary involvement has been with healthcare. Davis holds a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering and a master of science degree in statistics, yet describes himself as a "right-brained" statistician. (He is a pipe organist and has also done graduate work in orchestral and choral conducting.)He is well known for his provocative, challenging, yet humorous and down-to-earth public speaking style. He is a regular speaker at Institute for Healthcare Improvement forums in the United States and Europe. People attending his presentations appreciate his acute awareness of the daily realities of implementing statistical approaches to quality and cultural transformation, including the inherent frustrations of dealing with "those darn humans."In 1995, at the invitation of Dr. Donald Berwick, Davis participated in a project sponsored by the Harvard Institute for International Development. He was part of a team that taught healthcare improvement methods to 80 participants from Egypt, Israel, Palestine, Morocco and Jordan.In 2001, he became an independent consultant, naming his company Harmony Consulting, LLC, to reflect his unique synthesis of left-brain (analytical) and right-brain (psychological) approaches to quality, as well as "the passion of Beethoven composing symphonies" with which he approaches his work. (When visiting the consulting firm's website, www.davisdatasanity.com, select the "brain" in the left margin to view a demonstration of this concept.)In addition to his domestic work in the United States (36 states), he has consulted and given seminars in Israel, Palestine, Vietnam, Norway, Denmark, New Zealand and Australia. From 2003-07, he developed a special relationship with the national health services of England and Wales doing extensive statistical education as a major part of government-sponsored improvement initiatives. Davis was the chair of the Statistics Division of the American Society for Quality in 2003-04 and since January 2004 has regularly shared his unique approach writing regularly for Quality Digest.
