Monthly Archives: October 2011

Rethinking or Moving Beyond Deming Often Just Means Applying More of What Dr. Deming Actually Said

Posted on October 26, 2011 by John Hunter

Don Reinertsen – Is It Time to Rethink Deming? [the broken link was removed] AGILEMinds I feel very strongly about the value of Deming’s ideas. I am glad people challenge those ideas and try to push forward management thinking. Helping us manage organizations better (to get better results and allow people to better enjoy their jobs and lives) is why I value Deming’s ideas. To the extent we find better ideas I am very happy. I understand I will disagree … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Process improvement, Psychology, quote, Software Development | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Management Blog Posts From October 2006

Posted on October 25, 2011 by John Hunter

I have selected a few posts from the Curious Cat Management Blog back in October 2006 for those of you who were not reading this blog then. Why Pay Taxes or be Honest – “I don’t think acting illegally, immorally, unethically is excusable just because lots of other people are… It is sad how bad the behavior is that is considered acceptable.” Hiring the Right Workers – “The job market is an inefficient market. There are many reasons for this … Continue reading →

Posted in Quality tools, Respect | Tagged , , ,

Management Improvement Carnival #146

Posted on October 20, 2011 by John Hunter

The Curious Cat management blog carnival is published 3 times a month with hand picked recent management blog posts. I also collect management improvement articles through Curious Cat Management Articles, you can subscribe via RSS for new article additions. PDCA by Lee Fried – “By approaching all work through the Plan, Do, Check and Adjust (PDCA) cycle is incredibly powerful and transferable. It allows everyone to think and talk about their work in a consistent way and it creates a … Continue reading →

Posted in Carnival, Management | Tagged | 1 Comment

The Impact of Leadership on Business Outcomes

Posted on October 18, 2011 by John Hunter

Guest post by Joe Folkman Have you ever been part of an organization where things were proceeding smoothly, where goals were achieved, people were busy and the organization was doing well? Then, a new leader came and everything suddenly changed for the better. The energy level of employees went up substantially, pride in the organization increased, the effort and dedication of individuals jumped, bold objectives were enthusiastically accepted and even greater results were achieved. The differences were not only measurable … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, Psychology | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Deming Prizes for 2011 go to Companies Based in India, Taiwan and Thailand

Posted on October 14, 2011 by John Hunter

The Union Japanese Scientists and Engineers (JUSE) has awarded the Deming Prize to 3 companies in 2011: Sanden Vikas Limited (India) The CPAC Roof Tile Company Limited (Thailand) – I am not sure if this link is for the right company (often divisions of companies apply and wether CPAC is a part of Siam Cement company I am not sure). Unimicron Technology Corporation (Taiwan) Follow the links I included for the companies to see a bit about their management philosophies. … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Networking is Valuable But Difficult to Quantify

Posted on October 11, 2011 by John Hunter

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 fairly uncertain results). So networking can seem like you put in all this effort peddling up hill day after day, month after month, year after year, and yet you never get to see the beautiful rainbow or end up at … Continue reading →

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

Management Improvement Carnival #145

Posted on October 10, 2011 by John Hunter

The Curious Cat Management blog carnival highlights recent management blog posts 3 times each month. The posts generally focus on the areas I have focused on in the Curious Cat Management Guide since 1996 (Deming, evidence based management, lean manufacturing, agile software development, systems thinking…). Why Startup Hubs Work by Paul Graham – “The problem is not that most towns kill startups. It’s that death is the default for startups, and most towns don’t save them… Both components of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Carnival, Management | Tagged , ,

You’ve Got to Find What You Love

Posted on October 5, 2011 by John Hunter

Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Deming, Education, Fun, Innovation, Psychology, quote | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Interviewing: I and We

Posted on October 4, 2011 by John Hunter

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 did but also talk about what the team accomplished. A manager needs to have successful project and make other people successful. To me the important thing is getting great long term results, not doing lots of tasks themselves. Often figuring … Continue reading →

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

Management Improvement Carnival #144

Posted on October 2, 2011 by John Hunter

Kevin Meyer is hosting Management Improvement Carnival #144 on the Evolving Eexcellence Blog. Posts he chose to spotlight include: The Conversations You Are Not Having Are Killing Your Business – Art Petty describes ten key conversations or difficult decisions most organizations never get the guts to confront. Call Firefighting and Band-Aids What They Are, But Do Them in a Structured Way – Jamie Flinchbaugh acknowledges that those terms have a negative stigma, but tells us how they also have their … Continue reading →

Posted in Management