Category Archives: Systems thinking

Peter Scholtes on Teams and Viewing the Organization as a System

Posted on August 7, 2018 by John Hunter

In this presentation Peter Scholtes provides an explanation of teams within the context of understanding an organization of a system: We will not improve our ability to achieve our purpose by empowering people or holding people accountable. I know that … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Psychology, Respect, Systems thinking, webcast | Tagged blame, curiouscat, Customer focus, management, organization as a system, Peter Scholtes, Psychology, respect for people, teams | Comments Off

The Best Form of Fire Fighting is None at All

Posted on July 30, 2018 by John Hunter

The best form of problem solving is to avoid problems altogether. At the point you have a “fire” in your organizaiton you have to fight it. But it is better to create systems that avoid fires taking hold in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Systems thinking | Tagged long term thinking, mistake-proofing, organization as a system, problem solving, Systems thinking | Comments Off

Good Project Management Practices

Posted on May 2, 2018 by John Hunter

I find myself working as a project manager, or a program management consultant more frequently in the last few years. As would be expected by those reading the Curious Cat Management Improvement blog, my project management views are based on … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Psychology, Systems thinking | Tagged agile management, curiouscat, long term thinking, management concepts, organization as a system, prioritize, productivity, project management, Psychology, work in process | 3 Comments

Poorly Stratified Data Leads to Mistakes in Analysis

Posted on April 18, 2018 by John Hunter

Stratification can help provide insight into the nature of the real world situation. Determining what is a sensible conclusion to draw and what is not is aided by an understanding of statistics and expert knowledge of the situation the data is drawn from. Continue reading →

Posted in Data, Management, Statistics, Systems thinking | Tagged critical thinking, curiouscat, Data, evidence based management, management, Statistics | 2 Comments

Looking in the Mirror at Customer Focus

Posted on September 5, 2017 by John Hunter

Most organizations say they are focused on meeting and exceeding customer needs. But, as a customer, this often isn’t what I experience. Delighting customers is critical to long term business success. Satisfied customers will remain your customers until they see … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, Innovation, Management, Systems thinking | Tagged culture, Customer focus, customer service, Innovation, Japan, management, strategy | 1 Comment

Don’t Expect Short Quotes to Tell the Whole Story

Posted on July 25, 2017 by John Hunter

When people try to use a short quote as an accurate encapsulation of a management concept they will often be disappointed. It is obvious that Dr. Deming believed that organizations failed to use data effectively to improve. He proposed that … Continue reading →

Posted in Data, Management, quote, Statistics, Systems thinking | Tagged Data, Deming, quote, Statistics, Systems thinking, variation | 4 Comments

Technological Innovation and Management

Posted on June 7, 2017 by John Hunter

Technological innovation brings great opportunity for improving results and our quality of life. But transforming potential benefits into real results comes with many challenges. ASQ has asked their Influential Voices to explore the idea of the fourth industrial revolution: “this … Continue reading →

Posted in Data, Innovation, Systems thinking | Tagged ASQ Influential Voices, Data, Innovation, organization as a system, Systems thinking, technology | 2 Comments

Lessons on Competition from Mother Nature

Posted on May 30, 2017 by John Hunter

An interesting short article by Joel Barker with some ideas to think about, Surviving the Fittest: New Lessons on Competition from Mother Nature As a result of this emerging body of research, we now must reexamine our competitive paradigm and … Continue reading →

Posted in Competition, Systems thinking | Tagged complexity, interactions, Investing, risk, Systems thinking | 1 Comment

Improving Management with Tools and Knowledge

Posted on May 10, 2017 by John Hunter

Too often today I hear people disparaging management tools/concepts (PDSA cycle, mistake proofing, flowcharts, design of experiments, gemba…). The frequently voiced notion is that tools are being applied and not helping improve management in the organization. But it seems to … Continue reading →

Posted in Quality tools, Systems thinking | Tagged culture, interactions, management concepts, management system, management tool, Quality tools | 1 Comment

Organizations as Social Systems

Posted on May 2, 2017 by John Hunter

Organizations are social systems made up of people. Social systems often amplify what happens. If good things happen, more good things often follow. When bad things happen, more bad things often follow. To improve it is wise to this into … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Psychology, Systems thinking | Tagged leadership, organization as a system, Systems thinking | 2 Comments