Category Archives: Psychology

Analysis Must be Implemented by People to Provide Value

Posted on March 25, 2014 by John Hunter

Guest Post by Bill Scherkenbach Every time I look at this picture, I think of Dr. Deming’s words to drive out fear and take joy in your work. We were talking in my home office when Sylvester saw a good … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Psychology | Tagged Deming, guest post, Joy in Work, photos, Psychology, Statistics | 1 Comment

Kleptocrat CEOs and Their Apologists

Posted on March 10, 2014 by John Hunter

I am disgusted by the lack of ethical and moral fiber of many CEOs of the largest corporations (along with their cronies and apologists) in the USA. This lack comes out in many ways (see all the scandals at the … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Investing, Psychology | Tagged business, commentary, ethics, executive pay, Investing, overpaid executives, respect for people | 2 Comments

Taking Risks Based on Evidence

Posted on November 14, 2013 by John Hunter

My opinion has long been that football teams are too scared to take an action that is smart but opens the coach to criticism. So instead of attempting to make it on 4th down (if you don’t understand American football, … Continue reading →

Posted in Competition, Creativity, Data, Innovation, Management, Psychology | Tagged Creativity, evidence based management, experiments, fear, Innovation, leadership, Psychology, risk, sports | 3 Comments

Stated Versus Revealed Preference

Posted on July 9, 2013 by John Hunter

My father provided me a good example of the flawed thinking of relying on stated preference when I was growing up. Stated preference is, as you might deduce, the preferences voiced by customers when you ask. This is certainly useful … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, Popular, Psychology | Tagged Bill Hunter, Customer focus, food, Popular, Psychology, Quality tools, Statistics, theory of knowledge | 8 Comments

Experience Teaches Nothing Without Theory

Posted on June 11, 2013 by John Hunter

Experience teaches nothing. In fact there is no experience to record without theory… Without theory there is no learning… And that is their downfall. People copy examples and then they wonder what is the trouble. They look at examples and … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Psychology, quote | Tagged curiouscat, Deming, learning, Psychology, quote, theory of knowledge | 9 Comments

Executive Leadership

Posted on May 21, 2013 by John Hunter

Senior executives must lead management improvement efforts. When senior executives only give lip service to management efforts the result is normally the same: little happens. When Dr. Deming was working with companies after the 1980’s NBC white paper, If Japan … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Psychology, Systems thinking | Tagged ASQ Influential Voices, business, Deming, executives, leadership, management, productivity | 7 Comments

94% Belongs to the System

Posted on April 24, 2013 by John Hunter

I should estimate that in my experience most troubles and most possibilities for improvement add up to the proportions something like this: 94% belongs to the system (responsibility of management), 6% special. Page 315 of Out of the Crisis by … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Popular, Psychology | Tagged blame, curiouscat, Deming, Joy in Work, managing people, organization as a system, Popular, quote, respect for people, Systems thinking | 15 Comments

What Does Respect for People Actually Mean?

Posted on March 11, 2013 by John Hunter

“Respect for People” is a great short hand statement. There is a great deal of complexity packed into those words. At the simplest level respect for people requires systems that are designed with people in mind – systems are not … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management, Psychology | Tagged lean management, managing people, respect for people | 2 Comments

Your Brain Can Jump to Incorrect Conclusions

Posted on February 27, 2013 by John Hunter

How our brain works without us realizing it often is hugely beneficial, but it also creates some faulty conclusions at times. The video gives a good synopsis of the quick intuitive leaps our brains make all the time. These are … Continue reading →

Posted in Fun, Psychology | Tagged learning, Psychology, system thinking, theory of knowledge | 2 Comments

Podcast Discussion on Management Matters

Posted on February 19, 2013 by John Hunter

I continue to record podcasts as I promote my new book – Management Matters: Building Enterprise Capability. This the second part, of 2, of my podcast with Joe Dager, Business 901: Management Matters to a Curious Cat. The first part … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Deming, Management, Psychology, Systems thinking | Tagged Books, build capability, Data, Deming, John Hunter, Joy in Work, management, podcast, Psychology, Six sigma, Software Development, Statistics, Systems thinking | 1 Comment