In this century, there are many various and continuously changing demands placed on the (So called) Quality professionals: Auditors, Technicians, Engineers, Managers and Champions (If I have left any others out, please forgive).

What skills have you had to take on board, to expand your skills set and, thus make yourself more usefull (Read employable) to your current and prospective employers?
I believe we are entering a particular and almost peculiar phase in the Quality profession regarding the needed and expected skill set requirements of Quality professionals.
No longer does the QM or others associated with Quality, presume to be involved with a prescribed set of task elements. The QM of this century by neccessity must needs, be a multi-skilled and continuously educated person who proactively seeks out the latest benchmarks for personal and corporate improvement.
It's clear that, a system shall only support you, if you are proactive and productive.
Back to the group.
Wallace.

In this century, there are many various and continuously changing demands placed on the (So called) Quality professionals: Auditors, Technicians, Engineers, Managers and Champions (If I have left any others out, please forgive).

What skills have you had to take on board, to expand your skills set and, thus make yourself more usefull (Read employable) to your current and prospective employers?
I believe we are entering a particular and almost peculiar phase in the Quality profession regarding the needed and expected skill set requirements of Quality professionals.
No longer does the QM or others associated with Quality, presume to be involved with a prescribed set of task elements. The QM of this century by neccessity must needs, be a multi-skilled and continuously educated person who proactively seeks out the latest benchmarks for personal and corporate improvement.
It's clear that, a system shall only support you, if you are proactive and productive.
Back to the group.
Wallace.
What a lovely question, Wallace!

I am not sure whether or not I have become "skilled" in the following matters, but, it has been necessary to read about, become acquainted with and maintain familiarity with the following, which have helped me considerably:

Business economics.
Law (especially contract and tort).
Information technology tools and developments.
Effective presentation.
International current affairs.
Various types of finance and accounting tools and techniques.
Business management (a constantly source of new techniques and developments.
A smattering about government and politics.

And, as for survival:
Coping with Murphy's Law when trying to deal with airports, flight delays and checked luggage, hotel reservations, car rentals and taxi drivers.

Another facet of the Quality profession, I have noted as a trend is that, Many quality folk are almost coerced into expanding their knowledge and use of quality tools and techniques, to the detriment of their professional credibility and corporate usefulness.
Being "a jack of all trades" is very attractive on a resume yet, in reality it all too often is openly displayed as a "master of none" in practice.
Tools such as Six sigma, Kaizen and CI tools in general, have indeed overwhelmed many well intentioned quality folk and, the outcome has been to produce many gifted quality folk who are in reality "Jack of all trades yet, Master of none.
I have been through a Green belt Six sigma course and, I can honestly say, the course taught me nothing new yet, many of my colleagues have went on to other positions, using their various training cert's to pump up their resume. The result of this activity? Well, I have met some of those folks again and, they didn't last too long using their brief training cert's, to prove they were masters of none.
Back to the group.
Wallace.

Do you mean the "Peter Principle" is alive and well?
Peter Principle
n.
The theory that employees within an organization will advance to their highest level of competence and then be promoted to and remain at a level at which they are incompetent.

You hit the nail on the head Wes (Again)
Wallace.