Tag Archives: Systems thinking

The Power of a Checklist

Posted on December 7, 2007 by John Hunter

Great article on The Checklist – If something so simple can transform intensive care, what else can it do? by Atul Gawande A decade ago, Israeli scientists published a study in which engineers observed patient care in I.C.U.s for twenty-four-hour … Continue reading →

Posted in Health care, Lean thinking, Management, Process improvement, Psychology, Quality tools | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Joel Barker Podcast

Posted on April 1, 2007 by John Hunter

Innovation with Joel Barker at the Cranky Middle Manager Show: Innovation isn’t necessarily all great. Unintended consequences are something to be considered- what Joel calls “Cascade Thinking”. What are the long-term consequences before you invest. “the answer to the problem … Continue reading →

Posted in Innovation, Management, Systems thinking | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Joel Barker Podcast

SWAT Raids – Systemic Failures?

Posted on February 18, 2007 by John Hunter

I have mentioned Reddit (an online community that is highly skewed toward software engineers who are a bit irreverent) before: Dell, Reddit and Customer Focus. The site highlights stories voted up by the community and so the makeup of the … Continue reading →

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

Innovative Marketing Podcast

Posted on January 25, 2007 by John Hunter

This podcast on Lego Mindstorms NXT, Lead Users, and Viral Marketing [the broken link was removed] is interesting. The discussion does a good job of explaining how factors like web 2.0 and “open source” can allow business to operate in … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Fun, Innovation, Science | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Focus on Quality and…

Posted on January 23, 2007 by John Hunter

Recipe For Success [the broken link was removed]: “Recipe for Success: Focus on Quality, Reduce Work-in-Progress, Balance Capacity against Demand, Prioritize” These four statements really boil down all my management teaching in to four actionable directives that will deliver significant … Continue reading →

Posted in Management | Tagged , | Comments Off on Focus on Quality and…

Systems Improvement Example

Posted on January 22, 2007 by John Hunter

Interesting paper – The Dynamics of Crowd Disasters: An Empirical Study [the broken link was removed] (see other interesting material on the website). Systems thinking allowed the engineers to design a solution that wasn’t about enforcing the existing rules more … Continue reading →

Posted in Science, Systems thinking | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Reacting to Product Problems

Posted on January 20, 2007 by John Hunter

Previously we posted on recalls at Toyota and Sony. Recently Toyota announced another large recall. Investor’s Business Daily writes on the topic in: The Ups And Downs Of Doing Product Recalls – Japan-Style [the broken link was removed]: Kitayama also … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Manufacturing, Systems thinking, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Reacting to Product Problems

Think Long Term Act Daily

Posted on January 17, 2007 by John Hunter

Great stuff from the DailyKaizen [the broken link was removed]: Over the last three months we have been working to incorporate PDCA discipline into our Model Line planning process. We are quite literally building a new management system in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Process improvement, Systems thinking | Tagged | 1 Comment

Performance Appraisals – Is Good Execution the Solution?

Posted on January 15, 2007 by John Hunter

Performance review proponents say the way it is done matters most[the broken link was removed] (based on reaction to: Performance appraisals get low marks[the broken link was removed]): Deming, it seems, has many fans. His view of performance reviews? He … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Performance Appraisal, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

How to Improve

Posted on December 12, 2006 by John Hunter

My management philosophy is guided by the idea of seeking methods that will be most effective.* There are many ways to improve. Good management systems are about seeking systemic adoption of the most effective solutions. What this amounts to is … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Process improvement, Quality tools, Respect, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments