-
Categories
- Books
- Career
- Carnival
- China
- Competition
- Creativity
- curiouscat.com
- Customer focus
- Data
- Deming
- Design of Experiments
- Economics
- Education
- Fun
- Health care
- India
- Innovation
- Investing
- IT
- Lean thinking
- Management
- Management Articles
- Manufacturing
- Performance Appraisal
- Popular
- Process improvement
- Psychology
- Public Sector
- Quality tools
- quote
- Respect
- Science
- Six sigma
- Software Development
- Statistics
- Systems thinking
- Tags
- Theory of Constraints
- Toyota Production System (TPS)
- Travel photos
- UK
- webcast
ASQ Influential Voices blogs Books Career Carnival commentary continual improvement Creativity curiouscat Customer focus customer service Data Deming Economics engineering Google Health care Innovation internet Investing IT John Hunter leadership lean manufacturing Lean thinking management Management managing people Manufacturing organization as a system Popular Process improvement Psychology Public Sector Quality tools quote respect for people Six sigma Software Development Statistics Systems thinking tips Toyota Toyota Production System (TPS) webcast
-
Category Archives: Systems thinking
The Best Form of Fire Fighting is None at All
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 on The Best Form of Fire Fighting is None at All
Good Project Management Practices
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
Poorly Stratified Data Leads to Mistakes in Analysis
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Cater to Customers Desires to Achieve Customer Delight
Customer delight requires understanding your customers needs and desires. Often even your customers don’t understand these well. Businesses that have a deep appreciation for what their customers, and potential customers, desire and that create systems to deliver solutions that delight … Continue reading
