Tag Archives: culture

Learning from Customers

Posted on March 2, 2021 by John Hunter

Don’t make it hard for customers to be heard. Provide training and tools to employees to document customers voices. Train employees to learn as much as possible from customers. Value the time employees spend listening to customers and learning from … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, Management | Tagged critical thinking, culture, Customer focus, customer service, Data, feedback, learning | 1 Comment

Design the Management System with an Appreciation of Confirmation Bias

Posted on February 26, 2019 by John Hunter

To create strong organizations we must create management systems using an appreciation of psychology. We must understand that people have tendencies that must be addressed by designing a management system built to take advantage of the strength those people bring … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Psychology | Tagged critical thinking, culture, management, managing people, organization as a system, Psychology, respect for people, robust | 1 Comment

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

The Importance of Critical Thinking and Challenging Assumptions

Posted on July 12, 2017 by John Hunter

There are many factors that are important to effectively practice the management improvement ideas that I have discussed in this blog for over a decade. One of the most important is a culture that encourages critical thinking as well as … Continue reading →

Posted in Data, Management, Process improvement, Psychology | Tagged change, critical thinking, culture, curiouscat, Data, decision making, evidence based management, problem solving, Psychology, theory of knowledge | 4 Comments

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

Podcast: Building Organizational Capability

Posted on December 7, 2016 by John Hunter

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 420 features an interview with me, by Thomas Cagley, on Building Organizational Capability (download podcast). John Hunter in the podcast: Changing how organizations are managed makes a huge difference in people’s lives, not all … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Systems thinking | Tagged build capability, change, continual improvement, culture, Data, iteration, John Hunter, Joy in Work, leadership, management, organization as a system, podcast, Psychology, transformation | 2 Comments

Applying Toyota Kata to Agile Retrospectives

Posted on August 23, 2016 by John Hunter

Hakan Forss, King (interactive entertainment games), presentation at the GOTO Copenhagen 2015 conference. I strongly recommend Mike Rother’s book: Toyota Kata. Description from Workshop description “The Toyota Kata Experience” Kata means pattern, routine, habits or way of doing things. Kata … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Process improvement, Software Development | Tagged agile management, culture, kata, Lean thinking, Process improvement, retrospective, Software Development | 3 Comments

Culture Change Requires That Leaders Change Their Behavior

Posted on December 28, 2015 by John Hunter

This month The ASQ Influential Voices are reacting to Luciana Paulise’s post: Facing Cultural Barriers by Leaders to Strengthen a Culture of Quality [the broken link was removed]. As Luciana stated: leaders need to change their behavior first if they … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management | Tagged ASQ Influential Voices, change, culture, leadership, transformation | 3 Comments

Change Management: Create a Culture Seeking Continual Improvement or Use Band-Aids?

Posted on November 17, 2015 by John Hunter

Successfully shepherding change within an organization is often a challenge. Often change management strategies are mainly about how to cope with a toxic culture but exclude the option of fixing the toxic culture. Why not address the root causes instead … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Lean thinking, Management, Psychology, Respect, Systems thinking | Tagged change, culture, curiouscat, leadership, managing people, organization as a system, Psychology, respect for people, root cause, trust | 3 Comments

The Mission Statement Must Guide Action In Order To Matter

Posted on September 30, 2015 by John Hunter

Does Mission Matter? [the broken link was removed] That is the question raised this month by Pat La Londe for the ASQ Influential Voices. I have discussed a similar topic in a previous post: Vision can be a Powerful Driver … Continue reading →

Posted in Systems thinking | Tagged aim, ASQ Influential Voices, culture | 2 Comments