Category Archives: Respect

The Myth of the Genius Programmer

Posted on June 29, 2009 by John Hunter

Nice talk on fear of looking foolish. The speakers discuss the idea that visibility is good. Don’t hide. Make everything visible and the benefit from many people’s ideas. The talk focuses on software development but is true for any work. “criticism is not evil” – Very true. “At Google we are not allowed to submit code until there is code review.” At the bottom line they are repeating Deming’s ideas: improve the system – people are not the problem, bad … Continue reading →

Posted in Google, Psychology, Respect, Software Development, Systems thinking, Theory of Constraints, webcast | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Pixar Movie Management Magic

Posted on May 29, 2009 by John Hunter

Image of Wall-e, from the Pixar film of the same name. Pixar’s secrets on display in ‘Up’ “I think it comes down to two basic things: one is that we’re run by artists. … John Lasseter is a film director, as opposed to being from a business school or whatever. He has that side of him as well, but he’s always approaching these things as the same way we are. “Second, we have some pretty great people that they’ve managed … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Management Articles, Respect | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

In-N-Out Burger’s Six Secrets for Success

Posted on May 26, 2009 by John Hunter

In-N-Out Burger’s six secrets for out-and-out success [the broken link was removed] Listen to Your Customers — One of the company’s mottos is “Our customer is everything.” Applying that belief led to the company policy of preparing burgers just the way customers asked for them. Some of the customer favorites became popular and were eventually adopted as the restaurant chain’s “secret menu.” By listening to their customers, In-N-Out created menu choices other stores couldn’t duplicate. … Treat Employees Well — … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Customer focus, Management, Respect | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

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 of knowledge. Red Bead Experiment by Steve Prevette Various techniques are used to ensure a quality (no red bead) product. There are quality control inspectors, feedback to the workers, merit pay for superior performance, performance appraisals, procedure compliance, posters and … Continue reading →

Posted in Data, Deming, Education, Management, Performance Appraisal, Psychology, quote, Respect, webcast | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 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 going to the gemba (Genchi Genbutsu) to learn more about how Amazon operates. That would be great. He worked on wall street and understands the fake constraints they attempt to put companies (you must focus on short term profits, you … Continue reading →

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

Warren Buffett’s Letter to Shareholders 2009

Posted on February 28, 2009 by John Hunter

Warren Buffett published his letter to shareholders yesterday. As usual, it is of great interest to anyone interested in the economic, investing and management ideas. In 1995, MidAmerican became the major provider of electricity in Iowa. By judicious planning and a zeal for efficiency, the company has kept electric prices unchanged since our purchase and has promised to hold them steady through 2013. MidAmerican has maintained this extraordinary price stability while making Iowa number one among all states in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Economics, Investing, Management, Respect | Tagged , , | 2 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 run together as a joint venture. The article is excellent. The answer to a question asked by someone else on the tour was stunning to me. The person asked what kind of computerized inventory system they had at NUMMI. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Lean thinking, Management, Management Articles, Manufacturing, quote, Respect, Systems thinking, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

What Managers can Learn From Open Source Project Management

Posted on February 23, 2009 by John Hunter

What managers can learn from Open Source by Murray Cumming Motivation: People work on open source projects because they enjoy it. These happy developers are productive developers. Managers of open source projects must ensure that the developers feel valued and fulfilled. They must minimise the tedious aspects of the work to ensure that development remains interesting. Otherwise, projects fail. Although money can provide some incentive it does not provide as much. Managers who say that money is the greatest motivator … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, IT, Management, Respect, Software Development | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

$60 Million Bonus – For all Staff

Posted on February 15, 2009 by John Hunter

This is similar to a story I posted last November: Family Business Gives $6.6 million in Bonuses to Workers. I both cases long time owners sold their company to a foreign buyer and then gave a significant amount of the proceeds to long time employees. Miami banker gives $60 million of his own to employees After selling a majority stake in Miami-based City National Bancshares last November, all he did was take $60 million of the proceeds — $60 million … Continue reading →

Posted in Respect | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Helping Employees Improve

Posted on February 12, 2009 by John Hunter

One aspect of managing people is to provide positive feedback and show appreciation. Doing so is important. People benefit from encouragement and reinforcement. In addition to just telling them, take action to show your appreciation. The Dilbert workplace is alive and well. And even in above average management systems there is plenty of resistance faced by those looking to improve systems. For those employees that are making the attempt to improve the organization go beyond saying thanks: actually demonstrate your … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Fun, Management Articles, Popular, Respect, Software Development, Statistics, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Hire People You Can Trust to Do Their Job

Posted on February 5, 2009 by John Hunter

How great companies turn crisis into opportunity The right people don’t need to be managed. The moment you feel the need to tightly manage someone, you’ve made a hiring mistake. The right people don’t think they have a job: They have responsibilities. If I’m a climber, my job is not [just] to belay. My responsibility is that if we get in trouble, I don’t let my partner down. The right people do what they say they will do, which means … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Management Articles, Psychology, Respect, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Jeff Bezos and Root Cause Analysis

Posted on January 28, 2009 by John Hunter

Using quality tools really works. Lots of people don’t use them. Improving is often not any more difficult than just applying tools that have been used for decades. Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Quality tools, Respect | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

A Programmer’s View of the Universe

Posted on December 29, 2008 by John Hunter

A few weeks ago I wrote about integrating information technology and business process management. This post from Steve Yegge is interesting and discusses one reason I find that a good strategy. Programmers, by and large, are good, practical systems thinkers (this is in the management context, thinking of inter-related systems, whatever those systems are – not to be confused with a computer system). A programmer’s view of the Universe, part 1: The fish The first thing you notice as a … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Management, Respect, Software Development | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Cutting Hours Instead of People

Posted on December 23, 2008 by John Hunter

When financial and economic realities reach the point that labor costs must be cut I believe a good option to consider is cutting hours (and pay) instead of people. Continue reading →

Posted in Career, Creativity, Deming, Innovation, Management, Respect, Systems thinking | Tagged , , | 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. Passion is difficult to quantify … Managers want passionate employees, but don’t always know how to manage them. Passionate employees question things, probe and push. Who’s got the time to deal with that? Productive employees get things done. No questions … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Management, Psychology, quote, Respect, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Creating Customers For Life

Posted on December 18, 2008 by John Hunter

Shopping at Trader Joe’s is odd. The workers actually seem like they like that they have customers. Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Management Articles, Popular, Respect | Tagged ,