Category Archives: Management

Pragmatism and Management Knowledge

Posted on August 22, 2007 by John Hunter

Is the Theory of Constraints (TOC) a Theory? [the broken link was removed]: I suppose it’s a question of precision then. There are many things that you could argue are useful, if you argue backward from the end result. Yet they are not predictive, or repeatable to any degree of precision. In addition to “last things” there should also be the “next things” that a theory allows for or predicts. As a pragmatist, it’s hard to argue with results. As … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Theory of Constraints | Tagged | 1 Comment

Tesco in the USA

Posted on August 22, 2007 by John Hunter

Tesco is opening Fresh and Easy stores in the USA: starting with Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix and Las Vegas. Tesco is the third largest retailer in the world and well known for using lean management methods. I added Tesco to my long term stock picks last year (and Warren Buffett owns about $2 billion dollars worth, too). Their recent press release offers hope for Tesco operating with lean thinking in the USA: “No where is our approach to serving … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Customer focus, Lean thinking, Management, Respect, Systems thinking | 1 Comment

Google Video Customer Service

Posted on August 21, 2007 by John Hunter

Google Video sold digital videos that were controlled by Digital Rights Management DRM (so the purchaser didn’t buy something they bought the right to view the digital media according to a set of constraints. I, and many others find these DRM deals a bad deal for customers. I think Google realized that DRM made their Google Video a bad business (though maybe they decided it was a bad business for other reasons). Well Google’s original method of existing the business … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, Google, IT, Management | 1 Comment

Improvement Tools and Improving Management

Posted on August 21, 2007 by John Hunter

Tools are just tools [the broken link has been removed] by Lee Fried We have begun to shift away from a tool driven approach to one more centered on improving our management systems. This makes the work far more difficult, yet far more rewarding. Great post. Great goal; and quite a challenge. My personal belief is while you are trying to make this change (which takes years) to become an organization that acts as a system you must balance education … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Education, Lean thinking, Management, Quality tools, Systems thinking | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Deming Institute Annual Conference: Oct 2007

Posted on August 20, 2007 by John Hunter

Learn how to do your work better, faster, and for less cost, plus find more time to plan your future and develop balance in your life – Attend The W. Edwards Deming Institute Fall Conference. Gain new insights to: * Reduce product and service variation * Enhance job satisfaction * Redesign organizations as a system * Appreciate the thinking behind the Toyota Production System * Discover the role of psychology in continual improvement * Understand trends in improving healthcare Speakers … Continue reading →

Posted in Career, Deming, Management, Toyota Production System (TPS)

More Bad Customer Service Examples :-(

Posted on August 19, 2007 by John Hunter

It is sad to see so many examples of bad customer service. I wish enough companies would adopt management improvement principles so that at least I could avoid dealing with the others altogether. Here are 2 more bad examples from the Washington post today. Cellphone Contracts – Hard to Get off the Hook Fed up with dropped calls and a string of defective cellphones, Corey Taylor said he became irate when he learned he’d have to pay $175 to get … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, Lean thinking, Management, Public Sector | 2 Comments

Don’t Empower

Posted on August 18, 2007 by John Hunter

I believe I learned this from Peter Scholtes, though maybe I am remembering it wrong or explaining it wrong (so give him the credit and if I mess it up it is my fault). I believe there is a problem with using the term empowered. Using the term implies that it one person empowers another person. This is not the correct view. Instead we each play a role within a system. Yes there are constraints on your actions based on … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Psychology, Respect, Systems thinking | 5 Comments

Are Google Management Practices Worth Studying?

Posted on August 16, 2007 by John Hunter

Larry Dignan asks “Is Google reinventing corporate management or just living off the fruits of one big breakthrough?” Well, I believe Google offers a great deal for managers to study – see our posts on Google management practices. But that is not the same as reinventing corporate management. Most companies have no way of just replacing their management system with a “Google management system” – they don’t have the managers to make it work, or the staff or the systems … Continue reading →

Posted in Innovation, IT, Management

Management Improvement Carnival #17

Posted on August 16, 2007 by John Hunter

Please submit your favorite management posts to the carnival. Read the previous management carnivals. Take your friends to the Gemba with you by Lee Fried – “Over the last six months we have been developing and refining visual systems to support standard work, communication, leveling and problem solving. The staff and managers have worked hard on their systems and their work is beginning to show fruits of their labor.” Opportunity Calls by Mike Wroblewski – “‘Mike, we have some problems.’ … Continue reading →

Posted in Carnival, Management

Providing Customer Service – Web Hosting

Posted on August 16, 2007 by John Hunter

Web Hosting how to: Save your server and customer when digg/reddit/slashdot effect hits his/her website One of your customers gets lucky – a huge burst of traffic hits his website. If you don’t do something quickly, your server will go down pretty soon. What’s your call? “Suspend website, of course”. WRONG! … Instead, consider other ways to solve this problem. I will share one method with you, we were successfully using it when I was working in one web hosting … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, IT, Management, Systems thinking

Cool Workspaces

Posted on August 15, 2007 by John Hunter

Beautiful work spaces acknowledge the people that work in those spaces and show a respect for employees as people. Photo by Michael Moore of the VW Phaeton assembly plant in Dresden (more photos of the plant) via: 10 Seeeeeriously Cool Workplaces Related: Why Office Design Matters – 5s

Posted in Creativity, Management, Respect | 2 Comments

Stop Demotivating Me!

Posted on August 14, 2007 by John Hunter

Esther Derby has the right idea in Stop Demotivating Me!. Some of my previous posts on this topic: Stop Demotivating Employees – Problems Caused by Performance Appraisal – Why Extrinsic Motivation Fails… Esther’s article points out a number of problems with how many managers operate: Empty phrases. It seems like there’s an unending supply of (supposedly) inspirational directives: Just do it! Failure is not an option! Think outside the box! … Employees are not trustworthy. I once worked for a … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Psychology, Respect | 7 Comments

Six Sigma in Software Development

Posted on August 13, 2007 by John Hunter

Six Sigma makes inroads in software development organizations “A lot of big companies are developing their own software engineering variance of Six Sigma training,” said Siviy, “putting software-specific examples into the normal Six Sigma curriculum.” However, she said, it’s early in the adoption curve. “In the software world there is a real lack of case studies that show applications of Six Sigma in software engineering,” she said. And those that use Six Sigma in software are often reluctant to share … Continue reading →

Posted in Design of Experiments, IT, Management, Six sigma, Software Development

Corporate Blogging

Posted on August 10, 2007 by John Hunter

Good article on the topic of company blogs and the new thinking needed to manage given the new communication system created by the internet, blogs etc.: Company bloggers can help put out fires [broken link has been removed]: “Our legal people and others were e-mailing and calling and asking me: ‘What are you doing? This is bad. You can’t do that,’ ” Menchaca says of his post on the Direct2Dell blog last August. “But I said: ‘This is what blogs … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Innovation, IT, Management | 4 Comments

Great Marissa Mayer Webcast on Google Innovation

Posted on August 9, 2007 by John Hunter

Marissa Mayer speech at Stanford on innovation at Google (23 minutes, 26 minutes question and answers). She leads the product management efforts on Google’s search products- web search, images, groups, news, Froogle, the Google Toolbar, Google Desktop, Google Labs, and more. She joined Google in 1999 as Google’s first female engineer. Excellent speech. Highly recommended. 9 ideas: (inside these are Marissa’s comments) [inside these are my comments] Ideas come from anywhere (engineers, customers, managers, executives, external companies – that Google … Continue reading →

Posted in Google, Innovation, Management, Popular, quote, Software Development, webcast | 6 Comments

Data Can’t Lie

Posted on August 9, 2007 by John Hunter

Many people state that data can lie. Obviously data can’t lie. There are three kinds of lies: Lies, damn lies and statistics – Mark Twain Many people don’t understand the difference between being manipulated because they can’t understand what the data really says and data itself “lying” (which, of course, doesn’t even make sense). The same confusion can come in when someone just draws the wrong conclusion from the data that exists (and them blames the data for “lying” instead … Continue reading →

Posted in Data, Management, Psychology | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments