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Audio CDs of the 2005 W. Edwards Deming Deming Institute Conference presentations ($100).
I attended the conference and posted: “Mike Beck gave an excellent presentation at the Deming Institute conference about the United Technology Corporation management improvement system. I plan on posting more about the session.” I have not posted an update :-0 but now you can hear it yourself. I also thought the “Back to the Future” presentation by Larry Smith was excellent. You can also read this article, on the same topic (manufacturing at Ford in the 1970s to today) by him.
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Area health systems put customer service first by MaryBeth Matzek
ThedaCare’s march toward lean began when Toussaint started looking for a way to improve quality and service while cutting costs. He found what he was looking for in an unlikely place - a factory that produces lawnmowers and snow blowers.
The model Ariens used was adapted from a system put in place by Toyota, the Japanese automotive manufacturer. As part of the system, teams are formed to look at processes and find ways to improve them - whether it’s cutting out an unnecessary step or finding a better way to serve the customer.
In response to: Why executives order reorgs
“We trained hard… but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up into teams we would be reorganized. I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing; and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion; inefficiency, and demoralization.”
These lines, from the Satyricon of Petronius written 2,000 years ago…
Unfortunately it seems this quote is not actually his. Instead apparently someone attributed the quote to him to give it the weight of time. I think that the sentiment expressed rings true speaks to the experience of many.
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The cover story in latest issue of Industry Week focuses on what people have missed when applying ideas from the Toyota Production System.
Learning From Toyota — Again by John Teresko:
Continuous Improvement In The Executive Suite by Patricia Panchak:
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China’s Economy Grew 9.9% in 2005, Overtaking France
Gross domestic product rose to 18.2 trillion yuan ($2.3 trillion) after expanding 10.1 percent in 2004, statistics bureau commissioner Li Deshui said today in Beijing. Investment in urban areas jumped 27.2 percent last year, he said.
2003 data, from Geohive (their source the World Bank):
| United States: | $10.9 trillion |
| Japan: | $4.3 trillion |
| Germany: | $2.4 trillion |
| United Kingdom: | $1.8 trillion |
| France: | $1.7 trillion |
| Italy: | $1.5 trillion |
| China: | $1.4 trillion |
| Spain: | $.8 trillion |
| Canada: | $.8 trillion |
| Mexico: | $.6 trillion |
| South Korea: | $.6 trillion |
| India: | $.6 trillion |
Related posts:
My comments on, Take off the Blinders:
I think the question of what other companies have management practices worth studying is interesting. The answer could be very helpful as others could learn from what those companies do. There are at least two difficulties in identifying the: 1) defining what set of criteria would indicate successful organizations 2) most often even companies that are doing many things well leave much to be desired (so picking organizations worth studying can be difficult and even once that is done deciding which practices to credit for the success is often mostly a matter of opinion).
Many organizations do some things very well: Google, Dell, Amazon, Ritz-Carlton, Grameen Bank, MIT, Gates Foundation global health, Ameritrade, SAS, the Container Store, Home Depot, Apple, Snap-on tools, Wikipedia, McDonald’s. Southwest Airlines does some things very well (shouldn’t they get extra credit for actually being profitable when all around them go bankrupt). Solectron does some things very well, but they have been doing poorly financially for quite some time.
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Lean Software Development: A Field Guide - the first 3 chapters of this new book are available online. Excellent, recommended for anyone interested in lean thinking ideas.
Lean Software Development: An Agile Toolkit for Software Development Managers by Mary Poppendieck and Tom Poppendieck, 2003.
via Got Boondogle:
Look interesting, so I went on amazon.com and Quest for the Dawn by Shoji Kimoto was available for $1, through a 3rd party, plus $3.49 shipping. I really like many of the things the internet makes easy.
And relating to the zero defects post earlier today. I never thought of it as a defect when I couldn’t order an obscure book, in a minute or two, from home and have it delivered to me. Deming was right that: “Absence of defects does not necessarily build business… Something more is required.”
Related: Shigeo Shingo’s Influence on TPS
Zero Defects by Norman Bodek:
I believe it is possible to have zero defects (in a sense). But I do not believe it is a good management strategy to practice what those I have heard in the past preaching zero defects.
A Dichotomy by Norman Bodek. Wow, you really have to look to find this article after you follow the link. I think the site could really benefit from improving the usability of the site (similar to lean ideas on making things visible and easy to find):
Karl Hartig displays some excellent charts that he created (for the Wall Street Journal) on his web site. The charts seem very similar to what would result from applying Edward Tufte’s ideas. Rarely do I see charts that do such a good job of visually displaying data. The lack of such effective visual display of information is another example of how much improvement could be made just by applying ideas that are already published.
The Energy production consumption chart is especially well done I think - pdf version of the energy chart.
Via, The best charts I’ve ever seen.
Edward Tufte’s books are great:
An Interview with Edward R. Tufte by Mark Zachry and Charlotte Thralls
Edward Tufte’s web site
Engines of Democracy by Charles Fishman, Fast Company:
I found this great podcast via the post - School Architecture: Doing the Wrong Thing Right.
As usually Ackoff provides great ideas, in an interesting and entertaining manner. This talk focuses on learning (and education and teaching) and doing the right things (effectiveness). In talking to educators Ackoff criticizes the educational system. Throughout the speech he does his normal excellent job of explaining system thinking. Enjoy.
Russell Ackoff Talk at Great Schools By Design Summit (mp3 podcast)
How to Communicate with Me by David Anderson. A nice post, with practical advice on improving communication.
Overcoming the barriers to effective innovation (pdf format) by Pierre Loewe and Jennifer Dominiquini
Related posts:
Who’s Driving Quality Today by Laura Smith, Quality Digest.
When we decided to revisit the quality gurus issue, one thing was immediately apparent: There isn’t any one guru who stands out above the rest. In fact, the quality profession is remarkably free of fads at the moment. Six Sigma has settled into the mainstream, and ISO 9001 has become firmly entrenched in Corporate America. So while we wait for the “Next Big Thing,” we’re also waiting for the next big guru.
Who does Quality Digest select this time? Dennis Arter, Paul Borawski, Joe Bransky, Michael Carmody, Subir Chowdhury, Joe De Feo, Ellen Domb, H. James Harrington, Mikel Harry, Harry Hertz, Robert H. King, Denise Robitaille, Ola Rollen, Shin Taguchi, Jack West and Donald J. Wheeler.
Who would I select, as the leaders of management improvement (lean thinking, six sigma, systems thinking, continual improvement, customer focus, innovation, leadership, quality management, theory of constraints…) thought and practice today? (more…)
I finished reading two very popular books this weekend: Freakonomics and Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell. While both books were enjoyable and interesting, they really seemed to offer a few good or interesting ideas stretched to fill a book. That is the same thought I had after reading The World is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman. I found all of them fine. I found them to be worth reading, but I don’t know they warrant as much attention as they have received.
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GM must take back concepts that Toyota has capitalized on by W. Harrison Goodenow:
Lean Accounting (Lean Beans) by Sue Sondergelt
A nice short article introducing accounting issues which influence organizational behavior in the counter-productive ways.
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In my recent post on improving Google one suggestion I made was:
Today while using Yahoo they provided this option (named “block” by Yahoo). Good. Using Yahoo Search I can now block site that hide content behind pay, or registration, walls and spam sites. Obviously it would be better if they blocked the spam sites themselves but this is a useful feature for those that sneak through.
I would also prefer if Yahoo would let me block all pages that don’t display the content (that content that prompted Yahoo to suggest the link for the terms entered) without going through some paid or registration wall. But this block feature is useful in the case that they don’t do so. They seem to be starting down that path (looking on the preference page but I still get many sites that are returned as matches that don’t go directly to the content that was matched against).
Public Management-The Bush Administration II by Paul Soglin:
Newt Gingrich is also a supporter of Deming’s ideas: “I’m a disciple of Edwards Deming. I really believe in a culture and system of quality.”
Any time I find myself in the company of Newt Gingrich, I become a little concerned, especially since he tends to bounce around and not ‘drill down’ to learn how things work. In addition, I don’t accept all of Deming’s teachings as universal truth. If anything I am more a student of Peter Scholtes, a Deming student who wrote the invaluable The Leader’s Handbook: Making Things Happen, Getting Things Done
Paul Soglin also stated: (more…)
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