Tag Archives: tips

Management Blog Posts From November 2006

Posted on April 26, 2012 by John Hunter

I have selected a few great posts from the Curious Cat Management Blog back in November 2006. What Could we do Better? – There are many important ideas to improve management. This is one of the most important tips to … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Process improvement, Quality tools, quote | Tagged blogs, curiouscat, Data, Deming, management, Process improvement, Quality tools, quote, tips | Comments Off

Don’t Treat People Like You Want to be Treated

Posted on December 2, 2010 by John Hunter

I have never understood the logic behind the idea that you should treat people like you want to be treated. I know I am different; I don’t want what lots of other people seem to want. If I treat them … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Psychology | Tagged commentary, communication, curiouscat, Deming, John Hunter, managing people, Psychology, tips | 13 Comments

Delighting Customers

Posted on July 26, 2010 by John Hunter

If you have customers that see you as adequate you will keep customers based on inertia. But you have several big problems awaiting you. Those trying to win your customers business only have to overcome inertia – which can be … Continue reading →

Posted in Competition, Customer focus, Deming, Management, Process improvement, quote | Tagged continual improvement, curiouscat, Customer focus, customer service, Deming, management, Process improvement, quote, Systems thinking, tips | 5 Comments

Actionable Metrics

Posted on July 22, 2010 by John Hunter

Metrics are valuable when they are actionable. Think about what will be done if certain results are shown by the data. If you can’t think of actions you would take, it may be that metric is not worth tracking. Metrics … Continue reading →

Posted in Data, Deming, Management, Statistics | Tagged curiouscat, Data, Deming, evidence based management, management, Statistics, tips | 4 Comments

Building on Successful Improvement

Posted on July 13, 2010 by John Hunter

Do ‘Quick Wins’ Hurt Lean Initiatives? This becomes very difficult, since in many organizations these executives have the strategic attention span equivalent to the life-cycle of a mayfly. When the ‘quick win’ approach is taken, the savings / impact becomes … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Psychology, quote, Systems thinking | Tagged build capacity, coaching, leadership, management, managing people, Psychology, quote, tips | 3 Comments

Classic Management Theories Are Still Relevant

Posted on June 7, 2010 by John Hunter

Good management is good management: it doesn’t matter if someone figured out the good idea 100 years ago or last week. Are “Classic” Management Theories Still Relevant? It did make me wonder about the staying power of management models, processes, … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, quote, Systems thinking | Tagged commentary, management, management experts, management history, Systems thinking, tips | 6 Comments

Interruptions Can Severely Damage Performance

Posted on May 12, 2010 by John Hunter

Interruptions can severely degrade your performance. The type of work you are doing impacts the cost greatly. I have spent some of my time programming web applications. When I am doing that interruptions are a huge drain on my performance … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Management, Psychology, quote, Respect, Software Development, Systems thinking | Tagged Creativity, curiouscat, John Hunter, management, managing people, Paul Graham, Psychology, quote, respect for people, Software Development, Systems thinking, tips | 7 Comments

Circle of Influence

Posted on February 9, 2010 by John Hunter

In, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Steven Covey discusses the circle of control, circle of influence and circle of concern. This provides a good framework from which to view issues as you look for improvement strategies. Within your … Continue reading →

Posted in Career, Creativity, Deming, Management, Popular, Psychology, quote, Respect, Systems thinking | Tagged curiouscat, John Hunter, Management, managing people, organization as a system, Popular, Psychology, quote, respect for people, tips | 9 Comments

Making Better Decisions

Posted on November 24, 2009 by John Hunter

I think the most important thing you can do to make better decisions is to learn from the decisions you make. It sounds easy, but very few people do so effectively. The best strategy to learn from decisions is to: … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Process improvement, quote, Systems thinking | Tagged Career, continual improvement, Data, John Hunter, learning, management, Process improvement, Quality tools, quote, Systems thinking, tips | 4 Comments

Carve Out Time to Think

Posted on April 29, 2009 by John Hunter

Dan Markovitz recently discussed the practice of the CEO of eBay to take thinking days, Why isn’t “thinking time” part of your standard work?, Some people think that it’s all well and good for a CEO to unplug himself — … Continue reading →

Posted in Management | Tagged Systems thinking, tips | 1 Comment