Category Archives: quote

When Performance-related Pay Backfires

Posted on August 3, 2009 by John Hunter

When Economic Incentives Backfire by Samuel Bowles, Sante Fe Institute Dozens of recent experiments show that rewarding self-interest with Economic incentives can backfire when they undermine what Adam Smith called “the moral sentiments.” Punished by Rewards, by Alfie Kohn, is … Continue reading →

Posted in Competition, Data, Deming, Economics, Management, Performance Appraisal, Psychology, quote, Statistics, Systems thinking | Tagged bonus, demotivate, executive pay, management, management research, motivation, respect for people | 4 Comments

Akio Toyoda’s Message Shows Real Leadership

Posted on July 26, 2009 by John Hunter

Speech by Akio Toyoda Since the birth of Toyota, the company’s philosophy has always been to “contribute to society.” … “Contributing to society” at Toyota means two things. First, it means, “to manufacture automobiles that meet the needs of society … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, Deming, Lean thinking, Management, Manufacturing, quote, Systems thinking, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged Customer focus, Deming, Japan, leadership, management, Manufacturing, purpose, quote, Systems thinking, Toyota, Toyota Production System (TPS) | 14 Comments

Peter Scholtes

Posted on July 11, 2009 by John Hunter

Peter Scholtes died peacefully this morning [11 July 2009] in Madison, Wisconsin. His family was with him. My father wrote about the First Street Garage project in W. Edwards Deming’s Out of the Crisis (pages 245-247). Peter (who was working … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, quote, Systems thinking | Tagged Bill Hunter, Deming, John Hunter, Madison, management, Peter Scholtes | 34 Comments

Dr. Russell Ackoff Webcast on Systems Thinking

Posted on May 13, 2009 by John Hunter

Dr. Ackoff is one of two management thinkers that any manager, that is serious about improving management results in their organization, should study (the other is Dr. Deming). There are plenty of others that are also great resources. From part … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Deming, Management, quote, Science, Systems thinking, webcast | Tagged Ackoff, Creativity, quote, Systems thinking, theory of knowledge, webcast | 4 Comments

Red Bead Experiment Webcast

Posted on April 22, 2009 by John Hunter

Dr. Deming used the red bead experiment to present a view into management practices and his management philosophy. The experiment provides insight into all four aspects of Dr. Deming’s management system: understanding variation, understanding psychology, systems thinking and the theory … Continue reading →

Posted in Data, Deming, Education, Management, Performance Appraisal, Psychology, quote, Respect, webcast | Tagged control chart, Data, Deming, Fun, management, management experts, Performance Appraisal, Psychology, Quality tools, training, variation, webcast | 3 Comments

How We Know What We Know

Posted on April 9, 2009 by John Hunter

Dr. W. Edwards Deming’s management philosophy is a system of management composed of four interdependent areas: knowledge about variation, understanding psychology, systems thinking and the theory of knowledge. The theory of knowledge is the least understood, and the least adopted … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Psychology, quote | Tagged Deming, John Hunter, management, Psychology, quote, theory of knowledge | 8 Comments

Jeff Bezos Spends a Week Working in Amazon’s Kentucky Distribution Center

Posted on March 28, 2009 by John Hunter

Photo of Jeff Bezos during the 2005 O’Reilly Emerging Technology Conference by James Duncan. Jeff Bezos, Amazon CEO, is working for a week in Amazon’s Kentucky distribution center. I hope, and based on his past, I believe, that he is … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Creativity, Customer focus, Deming, Lean thinking, Management, Process improvement, Psychology, quote, Respect, Systems thinking | Tagged Amazon, Bezos, gemba, leadership, management, Process improvement | 5 Comments

NUMMI, and GM’s Failure to Manage Effectively

Posted on February 25, 2009 by John Hunter

Gipsie Ranney recently sent me an article on her thoughts on NUMMI and the current problems with the Big Three car makers to post to the Curious Cat Management Improvement Library. NUMMI is the plant that Toyota and General Motors … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Lean thinking, Management, Management Articles, Manufacturing, quote, Respect, Systems thinking, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged cars, curiouscat, Deming, lean manufacturing, Management Articles, Manufacturing, respect for people, Toyota, Toyota Production System (TPS) | 2 Comments

Managing Passionate Employees

Posted on December 22, 2008 by John Hunter

Passion vs. Productive There are actually few organizations that can support passionate employees – even if they say they want them. That’s because the original industrial revolution was designed to support productivity. Productivity means you produce. That’s how you’re measured. … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Management, Psychology, quote, Respect, Systems thinking | Tagged commentary, curiouscat, John Hunter, management, managers, productivity, Psychology, quote, respect for people, Systems thinking, tips | Comments Off

Google Should Stay True to Their Management Practices

Posted on December 9, 2008 by John Hunter

I believe in Google’s past, present and future. They have shown a great ability to ignore the short term focus that dominates (and kills success) of so many companies today. I am happy to invest in Google for the long … Continue reading →

Posted in Google, Management, quote | Tagged Google, Innovation, management, quota, quote, short term thinking, Six sigma | 3 Comments