Category Archives: Deming

How Could They Know?

Posted on March 28, 2012 by John Hunter

I am a big fan of Dr. Deming’s ideas on management. The way I see one of the quotes of Dr. Deming used I don’t agree with. Dr. Deming said “How could they know?” to explain why people continued to … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management | Tagged Books, Career, commentary, Deming, leadership, learning, management | 6 Comments

Massively Unjust Executive Compensation Damages Companies and Investments

Posted on March 13, 2012 by John Hunter

For years I have believed the massively unjust executive compensation packages have been doing great harm to American businesses. As an investor, one of the big risks that has to be evaluated is how much of the business profits executives … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Respect | Tagged bonus, Deming, ethics, executive pay, incentives, Investing, motivation, overpaid executives, respect for people | 4 Comments

Keys to the Effective Use of the PDSA Improvement Cycle

Posted on March 6, 2012 by John Hunter

The PDSA improvement cycle was created by Walter Shewhart where Dr. Deming learned about it. An improvement process is now part of many management improvement methods (A3 for lean manufacturing, DMAIC for six sigma and many other modifications). They are … Continue reading →

Posted in Data, Deming, Management, Popular, Process improvement, Quality tools, quote, Systems thinking | Tagged continual improvement, curiouscat, Data, Deming, experiments, management, PDSA, Popular, Process improvement, Quality tools, quote | 15 Comments

Why Use Lean if So Many Fail To Do So Effectively

Posted on February 15, 2012 by John Hunter

If less than 1% of companies are successful with Lean, why are we doing it? Lots of us are not. I would say the efforts I see “fail” are because they don’t do it. They have something they call TQM, … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Lean thinking, Management, Process improvement, Six sigma, Systems thinking | Tagged commentary, curiouscat, Deming, John Hunter, lean management, lean six sigma, management, Quality tools, Six sigma | 11 Comments

Looking at Auto Manaufacturing in the USA

Posted on February 6, 2012 by John Hunter

America’s Dirty War Against Manufacturing Bob Lutz, the former head of GM, says it was neither uncompetitive wages nor unions that drove the Big Three into decline. It was a management with its eye focused on the bottom line and … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Economics, Manufacturing | Tagged cars, Deming, economic data, economy, lean manufacturing, Manufacturing, Toyota, USA | 1 Comment

Pull Consulting: Immediate Management Consulting As You Need It

Posted on February 2, 2012 by John Hunter

2013 Update – New method for by the minute consulting with John Hunter. As happens in this fast paced world this service is no longer available. The company has shut down their web site. I think the potential for consulting … Continue reading →

Posted in Career, Deming, IT | Tagged agile management, Career, coaching, John Hunter, Lean thinking, management consulting | Comments Off

We are Being Ruined by the Best Efforts of People Who are Doing the Wrong Thing

Posted on January 30, 2012 by John Hunter

Deming’s Second Theorem: “We are being ruined by best efforts.” What did Dr. Deming mean by this? Another quote by Dr. Deming might give you a clue? “Best efforts will not substitute for knowledge.” Irwin, the porcupine at the Animal … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Psychology, Systems thinking | Tagged Deming, Fun, management, Psychology, Systems thinking, theory of knowledge | 8 Comments

Web Seminar with Gerald Suarez: Better Thinking About Leadership

Posted on January 23, 2012 by John Hunter

In2In offers some great opportunities for those interested in management improvement. Their conference is excellent. They also offer various conference calls with speakers knowledgeable about Deming and Ackoff’s ideas. These normally take the form of conference call presentations (similar to … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Public Sector, Systems thinking | Tagged Ackoff, Deming, leadership, learning, Public Sector, seminar, training | 1 Comment

Trust But Verify

Posted on January 16, 2012 by John Hunter

The following are my comments, which were sparked by question “Trust, but verify. Is this a good example of Profound Knowledge in action?” on the Linked In Deming Institute group. Trust but verify makes sense to me. I think of … Continue reading →

Posted in Data, Deming, Management, quote, Respect, Systems thinking | Tagged Deming, evidence based management, in-process measures, Psychology, Quality tools, quote, respect for people, Systems thinking | 2 Comments

Taking What You Don’t Deserve, CEO Style

Posted on December 8, 2011 by John Hunter

The excesses to which CEO’s and their board buddies go to in taking from corporate treasuries what they don’t deserve continues to amaze me. The level to which the bad behavior is accepted is apparent in the lack of progress … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Economics, Investing, Management, Psychology, Respect | Tagged Deming, ethics, executive pay, leadership, management, overpaid executives | 5 Comments