Category Archives: Psychology

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 Rescue League Wildlife Center has to work a little harder for his breakfast in this clip. The wildlife center likes to provide animals in captivity puzzles and challenges to keep them interested in their environment so they stuck his breakfast … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Psychology, Systems thinking | Tagged Deming, Fun, management, Psychology, Systems thinking, theory of knowledge | 8 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 at dealing with those that are taking what they have no moral right to. As shouldn’t have to be explained (but maybe does) leadership isn’t about avoiding being indicted. The levels to which these people take from the organization they … Continue reading →

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

Dr. Deming in 1980 on Product Quality in Japan and the USA

Posted on December 5, 2011 by John Hunter

I posted an interesting document to the Curious Cat Management Library: it includes Dr. Deming’s comments as part of a discussion organized by the Government Accounting Office in 1980 on Quality in Japan and the United States. The document provides some interesting thoughts from Dr. Deming and others; Dr. Deming’s statements start on page 52 of the document. For those really interested in management improvement ideas it is a great read. I imagine most managers wouldn’t enjoy it though (it … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Psychology, Public Sector, Quality tools, quote, Respect, Statistics, Systems thinking | Tagged continual improvement, curiouscat, Deming, government, Japan, Lean thinking, management, management history, managing people, Process improvement, Psychology, Public Sector, quality, Quality tools, quote, respect for people, SPC, Statistics, Systems thinking, variation

Management Improvement Carnival #149

Posted on November 21, 2011 by John Hunter

Jon Miller hosts Management Improvement Carnival #149 looking at blog posts examining motivation, highlights include: a wonderful cat photo Kevin Meyer found some bright spots on his trip to India and documented them in several fun articles in Evolving Excellence. My favorite was leadership lessons from Ganesha, a set of mindsets and behaviors that are both motivating personally and constructive in motivating others. On productivity and motivation, one article began by explaining how researchers found that doing or saying something … Continue reading →

Posted in Carnival, Psychology | Tagged Carnival, motivation, Psychology | 1 Comment

Psychology of Improvement

Posted on November 16, 2011 by John Hunter

Even if ideas are good and have significant importance (high value to customers, reduce waste dramatically, improve safety…) implementing the ideas can be difficult. Getting people to make an effort to improve a situation by simply laying out the dry facts is not very effective. You need to engage in the management system to make your ideas something other people care about and want to do (you need to consider the psychology of getting things done in human systems). Often … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Deming, Management, Psychology, Respect, Systems thinking | Tagged build capacity, continual improvement, Deming, Process improvement, Psychology, respect for people, Systems thinking | 3 Comments

Practical Ways to Respect People

Posted on November 3, 2011 by John Hunter

What matters is not your stated respect for people but your revealed respect for people. Here are some ideas that I collected on how to practice respect for people. Don’t waste people’s time: have meetings only when necessary and provide agendas in advance. Use email effectively instead of presenting material in meetings that can better be presented in email. Don’t have complex benefit manuals, aimed at making lawyers happy, that employees are expected to use. Do what you say you … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Lean thinking, Management, Psychology, Respect, Systems thinking | Tagged coaching, curiouscat, Deming, John Hunter, lean manufacturing, long term thinking, management, managers, managing people, Psychology, respect for people | 12 Comments

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 commentary, continual improvement, curiouscat, Deming, John Hunter, management webcast, Process improvement, Psychology, quote, respect for people, Software Development | 10 Comments

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 customer service, guest post, leadership, Psychology | 6 Comments

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 Career, Creativity, Education, Innovation, inspiration, intrinsic motivation, jobs, Joy in Work, motivation, Psychology, respect for people, Software Development | 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 build capacity, Career, jobs, managing people, Process improvement, Psychology, Systems thinking | 2 Comments

Rude Behavior Costs Companies

Posted on September 26, 2011 by John Hunter

Approximately one-third of consumers surveyed reported they’re treated rudely by an employee on an average of once a month and that these and other episodes of uncivil worker behavior make them less likely to patronize those businesses. Customers rarely report such behavior to employee supervisors, and management systems are so poor they don’t deal with this problem (good systems will – Trader Joe’s or Crutchfield, for example) ensuring a relentless cycle of poor employee behavior that leaves consumers angry and … Continue reading →

Posted in Competition, Customer focus, Psychology, Respect | Tagged bad service, Customer focus, customer service, management research, Psychology, respect for people | 6 Comments

The Theory of Knowledge in Deming’s Management System: How Do We Know What We Know?

Posted on September 21, 2011 by John Hunter

I contributed an article to the Process Excellence Network’s Deming Files that was published yesterday: How Do We Know What We Know?. I took on the task of explaining the theory of knowledge, as one article in a four part series looking at the four components of Dr. Deming’s System of Profound Knowledge. The other 3 articles are: Systems Thinking and the Three Musketeers by Eric Christiansen The Trouble with Motivation by Jussi Kyllonen Variation, So Meaningful Yet So Misunderstood … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Management Articles, Psychology, Systems thinking | Tagged Deming, John Hunter, management, Management Articles, Psychology, Systems thinking, theory of knowledge | 1 Comment

Many Good Employees Want to Continue to Do Their Current Job Well

Posted on August 31, 2011 by John Hunter

Far too much focus on managing people is given to helping them get ahead. Yes many people want to be promoted, and it is good to help them. But I would guess a majority of people really don’t (at this time – they may want to look to promotional later) want to take on new responsibilities (even for more money). But much of the way many speak and coach is disconnected from this reality and really ends up being disrespectful … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Psychology, Respect | Tagged coaching, management, managing people, motivation, Psychology, respect for people | 1 Comment

Maslow on Dealing with Authoritarians

Posted on August 8, 2011 by John Hunter

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is well known as a fundamental principle of human psychology. Maslow also said: “It is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.” Maslow on Management is a great book I was referred to by Kelly Allan. The following quote, from page 92, is quite dramatic and showed an understanding that some people (many CEOs) will just take what isn’t theirs, if others don’t stand … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Management, Psychology, Respect | Tagged Books, management, managing people, Psychology, quote, respect for people

Respect People by Creating a Climate for Joy in Work

Posted on May 9, 2011 by John Hunter

Respect for people sure sounds great. And most of us have plenty of experience with organizations that dis-respect people continuously (both employees and customers). So what does respect for people mean at the core? For me: A system that lets people take joy in work and fixes root causes instead of finding people to blame. A huge part of the disrespect shown by companies to employees is through direct action. But another huge part is forcing people to deal with … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Psychology, Respect | Tagged Deming, Joy in Work, managing people, Psychology, respect for people | 8 Comments

Engage in Improving the Management System

Posted on April 14, 2011 by John Hunter

To actually improve management you need to engage in continual improvement of your management systems. This requires doing the hard work of challenging complacency. The job of those improving the practice of management is not to make everyone happy and just ignore that the words about improvement are not actually carrying through to changes in behavior. Do Executives “Get It?” So many times executives spout the importance of new initiatives like wellness programs, safety programs, or improvement projects like Lean, … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Lean thinking, Management, Psychology, quote, Systems thinking | Tagged business, commentary, continual improvement, Deming, John Hunter, lean manufacturing, management, management history, Psychology, quality, quote, Six sigma, Systems thinking, workplace improvement | 4 Comments