Monthly Archives: November 2010

Jason Fried: Why work doesn’t happen at work

Posted on November 26, 2010 by John Hunter

In this TED talk, Jason Fried, founder of 37 signals, discusses how people get work done. When asked where do you go when you really need to get something done, almost no-one says: the office (unless it is early in … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Management, Psychology, Software Development, Systems thinking | Tagged Creativity, management webcast, managing people, meetings, project management, Psychology, respect for people, Software Development, work, workplace improvement | 3 Comments

No True Lean Thinking or Agile Software Development

Posted on November 22, 2010 by John Hunter

“There is no true value of any characteristic, state, or condition that is defined in terms of measurement or observation.” – Dr. W. Edwards Deming. The value depends on your operational definition. Once you operationalize management ideas in a real … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Lean thinking, Software Development | Tagged agile management, curiouscat, Deming, John Hunter, kanban, Lean thinking, Software Development, theory of knowledge | 1 Comment

Management Improvement Carnival #116

Posted on November 20, 2010 by John Hunter

The management blog carnival is published 3 times a month with select recent management blog posts. Also try Curious Cat Management Articles for online management improvement articles: you can subscribe to an RSS feed for management articles now. Why Google … Continue reading →

Posted in Carnival, Management | Tagged management | Comments Off

Airport Security with Lean Management Principles

Posted on November 16, 2010 by John Hunter

The ‘Israelification’ of airports: High security, little bother We [Israel] said, ‘We’re not going to do this. You’re going to find a way that will take care of security without touching the efficiency of the airport.” … “The whole time, … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Customer focus, Deming, Lean thinking, Psychology, Respect | Tagged airlines, commentary, Creativity, evidence based management, Innovation, Lean thinking, problem solving, Quality tools, Systems thinking | 1 Comment

Annual Performance Reviews Are Obsolete

Posted on November 15, 2010 by John Hunter

Sam Goodner, the CEO of Catapult Systems, wrote about his decision to eliminate the annual performance appraisal. the most critical flaw of our old process was that the feedback itself was too infrequent and too far removed from the actual … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Innovation, IT, Management, Performance Appraisal | Tagged Data, feedback, in-process measures, managing people, Performance Appraisal | Comments Off

Worth Does Not Equal Wealth

Posted on November 11, 2010 by John Hunter

Warren Buffet often says he happens to be very good at something that is very financially rewarding – effectively allocating capital. He says this while making the point that plenty of other people are exceptionally gifted in ways that are … Continue reading →

Posted in Psychology, Respect | Tagged charity, commentary, control chart, Economics, ethics, Psychology, respect for people | Comments Off

Management Improvement Carnival #115

Posted on November 10, 2010 by John Hunter

Glyn Lumley is hosting the Management Improvement Carnival #115, adding some new blogs that haven’t been seen on the carnival before, which is always good. Highlights include: Tales of redemption through improvement at work – Roger White concludes a series … Continue reading →

Posted in Carnival, Management | Tagged management | Comments Off

Good Process Improvement Practices

Posted on November 8, 2010 by John Hunter

Good process improvement practices include: standardized improvement process (pdsa, or whatever) Going to the gemba – improvement is done where the work is done. You must go to the where the action is. Sitting in meeting rooms, or offices, reading … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Lean thinking, Management, Process improvement, quote, Respect, Six sigma, Systems thinking | Tagged continual improvement, curiouscat, Deming, gemba, John Hunter, Lean thinking, Process improvement, Quality tools, quote, respect for people, Six sigma, Systems thinking, Toyota Production System (TPS) | 8 Comments

Work and Life

Posted on November 4, 2010 by John Hunter

I believe in efficiency a great deal (it is a big part of the reason I took to Deming and lean manufacturing – I find waste annoying). Vacation sure can seem inefficient. All these people that could be working, not … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Psychology, Systems thinking | Tagged Economics, managing people, Psychology, respect for people, Systems thinking | 3 Comments

Management Improvement Internal Experts

Posted on November 3, 2010 by John Hunter

Having a group of internal experts in Deming, lean thinking, six sigma, etc. can be an good way to help the organization transform but they must 1) practice respect for people and 2) focus on building organizational capacity. Having, for … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Lean thinking, Management, Process improvement, Six sigma | Tagged change, Deming, lean six sigma, Lean thinking, management, Process improvement, project management, Six sigma | Comments Off