Tag Archives: Deming

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 … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Psychology, Systems thinking | Tagged Deming, Fun, management, Psychology, Systems thinking, theory of knowledge | 8 Comments

Web Seminar with Gerald Suarez: Better Thinking About Leadership

Posted on January 23, 2012 by John Hunter

In2In offers some great opportunities for those interested in management improvement. Their conference is excellent. They also offer various conference calls with speakers knowledgeable about Deming and Ackoff’s ideas. These normally take the form of conference call presentations (similar to … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Public Sector, Systems thinking | Tagged Ackoff, Deming, leadership, learning, Public Sector, seminar, training | 1 Comment

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

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 … 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 … 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

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 … 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 … 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 … 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 … 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

Deming Prizes for 2011 go to Companies Based in India, Taiwan and Thailand

Posted on October 14, 2011 by John Hunter

The Union Japanese Scientists and Engineers (JUSE) has awarded the Deming Prize to 3 companies in 2011: Sanden Vikas Limited (India) The CPAC Roof Tile Company Limited (Thailand) – I am not sure if this link is for the right … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management | Tagged Asia, awards, Deming, Deming Prize, India, Japan, Thailand | 2 Comments