Category Archives: Systems thinking

Psychology of Improvement

Even if ideas are good and have significant importance (high value to customers, reduce waste dramatically, improve safety…) implementing the ideas can be difficult. Getting people to make an effort to improve a situation by simply laying out the dry … Continue reading

Posted in Creativity, Deming, Management, Psychology, Respect, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Manufacturing Skills Gap or Management Skills Gap?

I stumble across articles discussing the problem of manufacturers having difficulty finding workers with the skills they need (in the USA largely, but elsewhere too) somewhat regularly. While it is true that companies have this problem, I think looking at … Continue reading

Posted in Lean thinking, Management, Manufacturing, quote, Respect, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Practical Ways to Respect People

What matters is not your stated respect for people but your revealed respect for people. Here are some ideas that I collected on how to practice respect for people. Don’t waste people’s time: have meetings only when necessary and provide … Continue reading

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Networking is Valuable But Difficult to Quantify

Networking works incredibly well. Unfortunately it isn’t as simple as peddling your bike where you want to go. The benefits of networking are unpredictable and not easy to control (to specifically target – you can do this, it just has … Continue reading

Posted in Career, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Interviewing: I and We

In response to: say “I” — not “we” — in your interviews If you are a manager you need to lead teams, lead projects and improve work systems. In an interview I believe you need to say specifically what you … Continue reading

Posted in Career, Management, Process improvement, Psychology, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Theory of Knowledge in Deming’s Management System: How Do We Know What We Know?

I contributed an article to the Process Excellence Network’s Deming Files that was published yesterday: How Do We Know What We Know?. I took on the task of explaining the theory of knowledge, as one article in a four part … Continue reading

Posted in Deming, Management, Management Articles, Psychology, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

When Companies Can Treat You Like an ATM, Many Will Do So

The End of Refrigeration One small custom chip, some relays, a transformer, a couple of heat sinks, and a bunch of passive parts. Maybe a build cost of $20-30 or so? But GE’s price to me was $250, plus $150 … Continue reading

Posted in Customer focus, Deming, Investing, Lean thinking, Management, Process improvement, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Avoiding Tragedy of the Commons for Software Development

Kanban and Tragedy of the Commons The “Tragedy of the Commons” archetype often manifests itself through “Shared Services”, when a small number of people with specific skills, work across different teams. Each team in isolation gets benefit from the Shared … Continue reading

Posted in Management, Software Development, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Engage in Improving the Management System

To actually improve management you need to engage in continual improvement of your management systems. This requires doing the hard work of challenging complacency. The job of those improving the practice of management is not to make everyone happy and … Continue reading

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Quality is Made in the Board Room

Dr. Deming stated “Quality is made in the board room,” page 202 Dr. Deming: the American who taught the Japanese about quality. I believe, once the board and executive leadership has put in place the right management system (one that … Continue reading

Posted in Deming, Management, Respect, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments