Category Archives: quote

Leading Improvement and Enjoying the Rewards

Posted on June 25, 2012 by John Hunter

The better job you do of managing the easier your job becomes. As a manager your primary responsibility is to improve the system: both the systems within your sphere of control and those outside of it. The more effectively you … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, quote, Systems thinking | Tagged coaching, curiouscat, leadership, management, managers, quote, Systems thinking, tips | 3 Comments

Management Blog Posts From November 2006

Posted on April 26, 2012 by John Hunter

I have selected a few great posts from the Curious Cat Management Blog back in November 2006. What Could we do Better? – There are many important ideas to improve management. This is one of the most important tips to … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Process improvement, Quality tools, quote | Tagged blogs, curiouscat, Data, Deming, management, Process improvement, Quality tools, quote, tips | Comments Off

The Customer is the Purpose of Our Work

Posted on April 9, 2012 by John Hunter

A customer is the most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, Management, Psychology, quote, Respect, Systems thinking | Tagged aim, Customer focus, customer service, food, Psychology, purpose, quote, respect for people | 6 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

Agile Story Point Estimation

Posted on February 8, 2012 by John Hunter

In agile software development tasks are documented as user stories. Then the level of effort for those stores can be estimated by assigning each story points. The velocity that can be produced in a period (called a sprint, for us … Continue reading →

Posted in Data, IT, Process improvement, Quality tools, quote, Software Development | Tagged agile management, project management, Quality tools, quote, Software Development, variation | Comments Off

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

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 … 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 | Comments Off

Manufacturing Skills Gap or Management Skills Gap?

Posted on November 7, 2011 by John Hunter

I stumble across articles discussing the problem of manufacturers having difficulty finding workers with the skills they need (in the USA largely, but elsewhere too) somewhat regularly. While it is true that companies have this problem, I think looking at … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management, Manufacturing, quote, Respect, Systems thinking | Tagged Career, Deming, hiring, jobs, lean manufacturing, long term thinking, management, managing people, Manufacturing, problem solving, quote, respect for people, Systems thinking, workplace improvement | 3 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 … 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

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 … 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