Already Mired in Sales Slump, Gap Closes Two Most Popular Internet Stores

What? What? Ok, I don’t know what they have to deal with but still this strikes me as crazy. It baffles me that they think it is acceptable to go offline for days to make a change, even a major one.

Steve Brant, in All The News That’s FIT To Print, mentions that the New York Times applied some of Deming’s ideas in the past. He also links to several articles that mention those attempts.

One article is from the The New Yorker by Ken Auletta, 1993: Opening Up The Times:

In the current issue of AMSTAT News (American Satistical Association) the President’s letter is focused on Statistical Consulting and W. Edwards Deming. He makes a good point, echoing those others have been making for quite some time:

ASA bio of Deming - Curious Cat biography of Deming

The Curious Cat Management Improvement library offers the following articles related to Statistical Consulting:
(more…)

Email lists have been going out of style, but they can be a useful way to interact with a shared community (when moderated properly). The Theory of Constraints (TOC) email list (Yahoo group) CriticalChain, is useful for those interested in TOC concepts.

Another good email list is the Deming Electronic Network list.

Topic: Management Improvement

I have added a new section to Curious Cat Management Improvement Connections titled: Deming on Management.

W. Edwards Deming’s management ideas have greatly influenced modern management practice. Many quotes and thoughts are attributed to him. Sometimes these represent his ideas accurately, and sometimes they do not. In the Deming on Management section, I attempt to clearly indicate what he actual said and include some of my thoughts on the topic.

For example, Dr. Deming is often incorrectly quoted as saying: “you can’t manage what you can’t measure.” In fact, he stated one of the seven deadly diseases of management was running a company on visible figures alone.
(more…)

Lean manufacturing transforms operations at Saxonburg company:

Topic: Management Improvement

The Toyota Way Goes Bottom-up by Subir Roy, Business Standard (India). An interview with managing director of Toyota Kirloskar: Atsushi Toyoshima.

None of the 3 main internal goals are directly related to profit. See the previous Curious Cat post on this topic: the Purpose of an Organization. Toyota is the most profitable automobile company in the world. I believe other companies would be wise to learn from them.

In several ways this article from India shows the incredible globalization taking place. The paragraph above has an American who influenced Japan who are now influencing India. And the comments of a Japanese, Toyota executive stationed in India are being listened to worldwide (such as by me, in America, and now you - wherever you are). It just struck me, in this particular instance, how small a world it has become in some ways.

Streamlined by Derek Smith, Kokomo Tribune.

Ideas from the Tiger’s Head by Simon Caulkin, The Observer. This is a remarkably nuanced short article on control charts given that it is a newspaper article (which normally overly simplify such concepts to the point not much of value is left).

Previous post relating to the last sentence: Dangers of Forgetting the Proxy Nature of Data

Measures of Success interview of Alex Knight by Michaela Rebbeck. The interview discusses a model of measurement based on Theory of Constraints ideas.

This implies you must know what was expected, a great reminder of Deming’s statement that Management is Prediction.

Six Sigma Interview with Alan Harrison, Weir Pumps Ltd:

Google is at it again. They have announce Google Talk:

The rumors sure got this one right. Google Talk is already, and will continue to get Google a huge amount of publicity. It sure seems like the love affair with Google is cresting. Those pointing out problems (privacy…) are increasing. It will be interesting to see how much longer Google can retain the golden touch.

Toyota Production System Steers JAL Group Cargo Operations at Narita, press release from Japan Airlines (via Lean Manufacturing Blog)

I don’t think I have ever seen such a press release. It reads like a good article for actually learning about their lean efforts. Unlike most press releases, it is actually worth reading.
(more…)

My response to the message, Has Six Sigma been a failure? on the Deming Electronic Network email list (DEN).

I think Six Sigma has been a success. Do I think it the best option? No, I would prefer a Deming based approach. But I think Six Sigma can be a successful improvement strategy. Like most any management strategy, many applying it do so poorly (hacks as Deming would say). But if most any DEN participant worked with the leading thinkers in the Six Sigma community you would find they fit very well within the community of the DEN, though with some distinguishing traits.

To varying extents the Six Sigma thinkers might not accept the level of importance we place on certain items, things like: “joy in work,” co-operation (vs. Competition), the need to change the organizations culture, the importance of unmeasurable factors, or eliminating performance appraisals. But the best minds (as I see it) in the Six Sigma community share our beliefs, to a large extent. The approach they have taken is to work with the current culture more than most of us would like, if we could instead have the culture move toward a more Deming based culture.

Many Six Sigma proponents have done great things: Gerry Hahn, Roger Hoerl, Soren Bisgaard, Bill Hill, Ron Snee, Forrest Breyfogle. They happen to all be statisticians, I believe; as were most (though not all) of those who taught with Deming. I think there is a connection. Statisticians that follow the applied statistics school of thought fit very well with Deming’s ideas, and with the good practice of Six Sigma.
(more…)

After efficiency study, L.A. jail saves time processing crime by Dan Laidman Los Angels Daily News (pointy hired boss broke the link so I removed it)

The City of Madison Police Department applied Deming’s ideas in the 1980’s. Quality Improvement and Government: Ten Hard Lessons From the Madison Experience by David C. Couper, Chief of Police, City of Madison, Wisconsin, USA.

Doing More With Less in the Public Sector: A Progress Report from Madison, Wisconsin by William G. Hunter, Jan O’Neill, and Carol Wallen, June 1986.

Transforming Aggression into Creative Problem Solving by Margaret J. Wheatley and Geoff Crinean

A previous post making this point: Managing Fear

I think, some can leap to the conclusion that managing fear means you must avoid doing anything that may bother some people. That is not the case. If things need to be changed, that still must happen; even though people may fear change.

But managers must understand the psychological effects of fear and seek to move forward in the most effective way possible. That means taking into account the effect of the change, and the way the change is brought about, on those affected by the change.

The ABCs of Rank and Fire Management by Mark Edmondson

Previous Posts on the failures of Performance appraisal Process:

• Performance without Appraisal
• Why Go Through the Painful Performance Process

Going Lean in Health Care a report from the Institute for Healthcare improvement based on presentation by James Womack and others. This report is an another excellent resource from IHI, which I have mentioned before is doing great things. This is defineately worth reading.

(more…)

CMMI Webcast Scheduled for August 18th

David Anderson will present the Microsoft Solutions Framework for CMMI Process Improvement material live at 11am Pacific Daylight Time on August 18th. After the presentation he will answer questions in a chatroom session.

Register for the webcast

Prevoius Curious Cat Management Improvement posts on David Anderson’s ideas:

• Agile Management
• Stretching Agile to fit CMMI Level 3

Collaboration Rules by Philip Evans and Bob Wolf: