Monthly Archives: September 2008

Does the Data Deluge Make the Scientific Method Obsolete?

The End of Theory: The Data Deluge Makes the Scientific Method Obsolete by Chris Anderson “All models are wrong, but some are useful.” So proclaimed statistician George Box 30 years ago, and he was right. But what choice did we … Continue reading

Posted in Creativity, Data, Innovation, Science | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Making Life Difficult for Customers

Companies seem to think technology is an excuse to provide bad service. Or maybe they don’t need any excuse at all to do so, based on how often they provide bad service. My latest experience with lame pointy haired boss … Continue reading

Posted in Customer focus, IT, Management, Software Development | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Management Blog Posts From September 2005

Here are some posts from the blog 3 years ago, this month. I took the photo on my visit to North Cascades National Park. Measurement and Data Collection – I have found it helpful to ask: what will you do … Continue reading

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Dr. Deming’s 15th Point

Guest post from John McConnell, Wysowl Pty Ltd Dr. Deming opened his first Australian seminar in 1986 with the question, “What are we here to do”? After some discussion he answered his own question with, “To learn”, and “To have … Continue reading

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Conference Calls with Scholtes and Joiner

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne’s Enterprise Thinking Network Ongoing Discussion series this month features conference calls with Peter Scholtes (Thursday, September 25th, Noon to 2pm Pacific Time – USA) and Brian Joiner (Friday the 26th, Noon to 2pm Pacific Time – … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Deming, Management | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The Ergonomics of Innovation

The Ergonomics of Innovation by Hayagreeva Rao and Robert Sutton the IHI case teaches us that innovations spread quickly when organizations focus relentlessly on selecting and spreading ideas in ways that ease the burden of thought and action for everyone … Continue reading

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Guess What? Manufacturing in the USA is a Good Idea

More people learning about manufacturing truths lean thinkers have known for a long time. Made (again) in America Thomasville Furniture and Exxel Outdoors, a maker of camping gear, have both said they now are making products in the U.S. that … Continue reading

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Webcast on the Toyota Development Process

Kenji Hiranabe talks about Toyota’s development process (webcast). Kenji shares a presentation he attended earlier this year by Nobuaki Katayama, a former Chief Engineer at Toyota, and the lessons he learned from him. Continue reading

Posted in Lean thinking, Management, Toyota Production System (TPS), webcast | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Agile PDSA

Dr. Deming encouraged the use of the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle to improve. Agile Management encourages a similar mindset – to test out ideas in practice and adapt quickly. A key to both strategies is to quickly iterate over possible solutions. Tesco … Continue reading

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Management Improvement Carnival #43

The management improvement carnival highlights posts helping managers do a better job on topics such as: leadership, customer focus, lean manufacturing, process improvement, managing people and innovation. Continue reading

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