Category Archives: Systems thinking

Eliminate the Waste of Waiting in Line with Queuing Theory

Posted on December 15, 2011 by John Hunter

One thing that frustrates me is how managers fail to adopt proven strategies for decades. One very obvious example is using queuing theory to setup lines. Yes it may be even better to adopt strategies to eliminate as much waiting in line as possible, but if there is still waiting in line occurring and you are not having one queue served by multiple representatives shame on you and your company. Related: Customer Focus and Internet Travel Search – YouTube Uses … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, Data, Management, Process improvement, Quality tools, Statistics, Systems thinking | Tagged Customer focus, evidence based management, management, Process improvement, Quality tools, research, 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 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

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

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 the problem in that way might not be the most insightful view. Is the problem just that potential workers don’t having the right skills or the result of a long term management skills gap? To me, the current manufacturing skills … 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

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

Networking is Valuable But Difficult to Quantify

Posted on October 11, 2011 by John Hunter

Networking works incredibly well. Unfortunately it isn’t as simple as peddling your bike where you want to go. The benefits of networking are unpredictable and not easy to control (to specifically target – you can do this, it just has fairly uncertain results). So networking can seem like you put in all this effort peddling up hill day after day, month after month, year after year, and yet you never get to see the beautiful rainbow or end up at … Continue reading →

Posted in Career, Systems thinking | Tagged Career, jobs, marketing, Six sigma | 4 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

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

When Companies Can Treat You Like an ATM, Many Will Do So

Posted on August 29, 2011 by John Hunter

The End of Refrigeration One small custom chip, some relays, a transformer, a couple of heat sinks, and a bunch of passive parts. Maybe a build cost of $20-30 or so? But GE’s price to me was $250, plus $150 for the 20 minutes it took to pull out the old one and swap in the new one. Paying $400 for a big piece of physical gear plus a couple hours of labor didn’t bother me. Paying $400 for a … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, Deming, Investing, Lean thinking, Management, Process improvement, Systems thinking | Tagged Customer focus, customer service, Deming, Investing, Lean thinking, Systems thinking | 1 Comment

Avoiding Tragedy of the Commons for Software Development

Posted on June 15, 2011 by John Hunter

Kanban and Tragedy of the Commons The “Tragedy of the Commons” archetype often manifests itself through “Shared Services”, when a small number of people with specific skills, work across different teams. Each team in isolation gets benefit from the Shared Service, but when demand for the service exceeds its capacity, then nobody benefits. At a smaller scale, a team with a low “bus factor”, or a hero, can also suffer from a tragedy of the commons, when too much work … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Software Development, Systems thinking | Tagged agile management, kanban, programming, project management, Software Development, Systems thinking | 2 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

Quality is Made in the Board Room

Posted on April 8, 2011 by John Hunter

Dr. Deming stated “Quality is made in the board room,” page 202 Dr. Deming: the American who taught the Japanese about quality. I believe, once the board and executive leadership has put in place the right management system (one that respects people, continual improves using a standardized improvement process (that itself is being improved), practices evidence based management, focuses on customer value, improves processes rather than blames people, builds the capacity of the organization over time…) then quality is everyone’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Respect, Systems thinking | Tagged continual improvement, Deming, leadership, management, Process improvement, quality, respect for people | 3 Comments

Productivity Improvement for Entrepreneurs (and Everybody Else Really)

Posted on March 14, 2011 by John Hunter

The 3 Factors That are Limiting Your Productivity [the broken link has been removed] by Evan Carmichael Elimination is at the core of every successful business. You have to focus on what you’re really good [at], what drives your business forward, and what you’re legally required to do in order to stay in business. Everything else should be eliminated. … Just because everyone else does it or because you’ve always done it that way, it doesn’t mean you have to … Continue reading →

Posted in Career, Management, Process improvement, Systems thinking | Tagged Career, coaching, entrepreneur, leadership, management, Process improvement, productivity, Systems thinking, waste | 2 Comments

Learn by Seeking Knowledge – Not Just from Mistakes

Posted on March 7, 2011 by John Hunter

Being open to new ideas and new knowledge is what is needed to learn. Experimenting, seeking out new knowledge is even better. You can be successful and see an even better way to do things and learn from it. This seems the best way to learn to me – not to just learn from mistakes. Of course this means your goal has to be improvement not just avoiding more mistakes than before. Your actions are based on theories (often unconsciously): … Continue reading →

Posted in Career, Creativity, Deming, Innovation, Process improvement, Psychology, Systems thinking | Tagged Career, continual improvement, Creativity, Deming, experiments, fear, Innovation, learning, Process improvement, Psychology, Systems thinking, theory of knowledge | 6 Comments

Nigel Marsh: How to Make Work-Life Balance Work

Posted on February 25, 2011 by John Hunter

“I want you to pause for a minute, you wretched weaklings, and take stock of your miserable existence.” Nigel Marsh paraphrasing (or quoting, I can’t find the source though) the advice that Saint Benedict gave his startled followers. I wrote some about focusing on your whole life recently: Work and Life. Related: Medieval Peasants had More Vacation Time – Positivity and Joy in Work – We don’t Have to Accept Despair – The Importance of Management Improvement

Posted in Psychology, Systems thinking | Tagged problem solving, Psychology, Systems thinking

Management Improvement Carnival #123

Posted on February 21, 2011 by John Hunter

The Curious Cat Management blog carnival highlights recent management blog posts 3 times each month. The posts generally focus on the areas I have focused on in the Curious Cat Management Improvement guide since 1996 (lean manufacturing, Deming, agile software development, innovation, six sigma, customer focus…). Tradable Quality Hypothesis by Martin Fowler – “Instead it’s vital to focus on the true value of internal quality – that it’s the enabler to speed. The purpose of internal quality is to go … Continue reading →

Posted in Carnival, Management, Systems thinking | Tagged management, Systems thinking