Category Archives: Management

Management Excellence

My comments on, Take off the Blinders [the broken link was removed]: 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 … Continue reading

Posted in Data, Deming, Lean thinking, Management, quote | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Toyota’s Early History

via Got Boondogle: A book that I recently finished is “Quest for the Dawn” by Shoji Kimoto. “Quest for the Dawn” is a fascinating true story set from about 1930 to the mid 1950s of a bold business quest to … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Management, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Zero Defects

Zero Defects by Norman Bodek: Do you believe it is possible to have Zero Defects? I am not talking about six sigma at all. I believe it is possible to have zero defects (in a sense). But I do not … Continue reading

Posted in Deming, Management, Quality tools, quote, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Great Charts

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 … Continue reading

Posted in Data, Management | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Management Improvement Leaders

Who’s Driving Quality Today by Laura Smith, Quality Digest. Ten years ago, in our March 1995 issue, we profiled 45 “New Quality Gurus.” Although it was one of our more popular articles, some of the “gurus” and their causes have … Continue reading

Posted in Management, Popular, quote | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Public Management II

Public Management-The Bush Administration II by Paul Soglin: Since that time, John Hunter posted a comment in reference to W. Edwards Deming: Newt Gingrich is also a supporter of Deming’s ideas: “I’m a disciple of Edwards Deming. I really believe … Continue reading

Posted in Deming, Management, Public Sector, quote, Systems thinking | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Lean Consumption

Lean Consumption [the broken link was removed] by James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones, Harvard Business Review. An excellent article on the topic of their book: Lean Consumption. The Principles of Lean Consumption The concepts underlying lean consumption boil … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Customer focus, Lean thinking, Management | Tagged | Comments Off on Lean Consumption

Customer Service is Important

Double Trouble, Don Oldenburg, Washington Post: Digging into the details, Stevenson, a mechanical engineer, did a double take at what looked to him like a double charge. Verizon was billing his sweetie for the local plan, for the new regional … Continue reading

Posted in Customer focus, Management, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

Agility vs. Six Sigma

My response to the agilemanagement list: I agree with David Anderson [the broken link was removed], in this thread [this broken link was also removed], as well as pretty much everything else actually. If I understand his writing correctly I … Continue reading

Posted in Innovation, Management, Process improvement, Six sigma | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Public Sector and Deming

In, Public Management-The Bush Administration, Paul Soglin, former Mayor of Madison Wisconsin, quotes one of Deming’s 14 obligations of management: W. Edwards Deming’s point number ten is, “Eliminate slogans, exhortations, and targets for the workplace.” In looking for online background … Continue reading

Posted in Deming, Management, Public Sector, quote | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments