Tag Archives: learning

Interview of Bill Hunter: Statistical Variability and Interactions

Posted on July 25, 2022 by John Hunter

Interview of Bill Hunter on Statistical Variability and Interactions by Peter Scholtes, 1986: In this interview Bill Hunter describes how results are made up of the impact and interactions of many variables. Many of those variables we don’t know about or account for. What we normally do is try to figure out the most important variables for processes and then experiment with those variables to find the best options given what we are trying to achieve. Often the description of … Continue reading →

Posted in Data, Management, Statistics, webcast | Tagged Bill Hunter, experiments, interview, learning, Peter Scholtes, Statistics, variation, webcast

Learning from Customers

Posted on March 2, 2021 by John Hunter

Don’t make it hard for customers to be heard. Provide training and tools to employees to document customers voices. Train employees to learn as much as possible from customers. Value the time employees spend listening to customers and learning from them. Most customers won’t speak up, those that do speak up provide valuable insight. Don’t waste what they offer. Create a management system focused on continual improvement that is engaged in seeking out customer feedback and continually improving the value … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, Management | Tagged critical thinking, culture, Customer focus, customer service, Data, feedback, learning | 1 Comment

Interview of Bill Hunter: Improving Quality and Productivity in Organizations

Posted on September 29, 2020 by John Hunter

Interview of William G. Hunter on Improving Quality and Productivity in Organizations by Peter Scholtes. Bill taught a course at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, Improving Quality and Productivity in Organizations, which was co-sponsored by the business school, statistics department and industrial engineering department. There were a few undergraduate students, more graduate students and even more students who were working full time (many of whom only took this course – they were not pursuing a degree at the university). … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Psychology, Respect, Systems thinking | Tagged Bill Hunter, Education, learning, Madison, Peter Scholtes, Psychology, respect for people, webcast | 2 Comments

Seek to Improve How You Learn, Don’t Just Accept That You Can’t Do Better

Posted on March 3, 2016 by John Hunter

As a speaker or coach or teacher it is wise to learn what impacts how people absorb information and learn. Factoring those ideas into how you communicate (one on one, coaching, training, presenting…) is wise. Learning about how people learn and remember is important to allow you to communite well. And most people seem to understand this. But they also seem to have no shame in not improving their performance in relation to these common weaknesses. I have never understood … Continue reading →

Posted in Psychology | Tagged communication, learning, Psychology, tips | 1 Comment

Using Technology to Improve The Sharing of Knowledge

Posted on August 4, 2015 by John Hunter

This month the ASQ is asking Influential Voices to discuss methods to aid in sharing knowledge. Manu Vora kicked the discussion off with his post on The Gift of Knowledge Transfer Through Technology. My career has been largely shaped by the pursuit of better ways to communicate. I grew up surrounded by those seeking to improve management (Bill Hunter, George Box, Brian Joiner, Peter Scholtes…). When I was in grade school that focus was largely on statistics and the value … Continue reading →

Posted in Management | Tagged ASQ Influential Voices, Design of Experiments, internet, IT, learning, technology | 3 Comments

The Value of Professional Conferences. Also Why Has There Been So Little Innovation?

Posted on April 28, 2015 by John Hunter

In the most recent ASQ Influential Voices post, Julia McIntosh takes a look at the costs and benefits of professionals attending conferences. I still remember being in high school and George Box talking about the primary value of conferences was talking to colleagues in the hallway. This seemed very odd to me, as it seemed that the reason for going to a conference was to learn from the talks. I also didn’t really understand the value in catching up with … Continue reading →

Posted in Career, Customer focus, Education | Tagged ASQ Influential Voices, Career, conference, Creativity, Customer focus, learning, management history, Process improvement, process thinking, technology | 5 Comments

Children are Amazingly Creative At Solving Problems

Posted on July 8, 2014 by John Hunter

This story at NPR reminded my of Russell Ackoff talking about the creativity kids show in solving problems* – and how school often stifles that creativity. Preschoolers Outsmart College Students In Figuring Out Gadgets Children try a variety of novel ideas and unusual strategies to get the gadget to go. For example, Gopnik says, “If the child sees that a square block and a round block independently turn the music on, then they’ll take a square and take a circle … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Psychology | Tagged Ackoff, Creativity, learning, problem solving, Psychology, thinking | 2 Comments

George Box Webcast on Statistical Design in Quality Improvement

Posted on June 11, 2014 by John Hunter

George Box lecture on Statistical Design in Quality Improvement at the Second International Tampere Conference in Statistics, University of Tampere, Finland (1987). Early on he shows a graph showing the problems with American cars steady over a 10 years period. Then he overlays the results for Japanese cars which show a steady and significant decline of the same period. Those who didn’t get to see presentations before power point also get a chance to see old school, hand drawn, overhead … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Data, Innovation, Management, Process improvement, Psychology, Quality tools, Science, Statistics | Tagged control chart, Design of Experiments, Europe, experiments, George Box, interactions, learning, management history, Process improvement, Quality tools, Science, Statistics, webcast

The Education System

Posted on June 8, 2014 by John Hunter

The current topic for ASQ Influential Voices to address is the importance of the education system and the impact on the capability of employees. The education system is important and not very good in my opinion. As a kid I found it boring and constraining and a system designed more to extinguish my quest for knowledge than increase my desire to learn. As a kid I was told by adults that adults knew better and I shouldn’t complain. I was … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Public Sector | Tagged ASQ Influential Voices, Education, learning, USA | 3 Comments

Interview on PDSA, Deming, Strategy and More

Posted on May 8, 2014 by John Hunter

Bill Fox interviewed me and has posted part one of the interview on his web site: Predicting Results in the Planning Stage (sorry, the link has been hijacked to forward to an unrelated page [so obviously I removed the link], I have posted the interview which can now be reached here): Bill: John, what is your best process improvement strategy or tactic that has worked well for you or your clients? John: I would say the PDSA improvement cycle and … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Process improvement, Quality tools | Tagged curiouscat, Deming, experiments, interview, John Hunter, learning, management system, management tools, PDSA, Process improvement, Quality tools, strategy | 5 Comments

Experience Teaches Nothing Without Theory

Posted on June 11, 2013 by John Hunter

Experience teaches nothing. In fact there is no experience to record without theory… Without theory there is no learning… And that is their downfall. People copy examples and then they wonder what is the trouble. They look at examples and without theory they learn nothing. W. Edwards Deming in The Deming of America Our brains are good at creating theories, from our experiences, so that our brain can learn. However when this is done only subconsciously we can be led … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Psychology, quote | Tagged curiouscat, Deming, learning, Psychology, quote, theory of knowledge | 9 Comments

Peter Senge on Systems Thinking

Posted on May 28, 2013 by John Hunter

People must be willing to challenge their mental models in order to find non-obvious areas of high leverage – which allow significant improvement. System thinking is a term that is often confusing to people. From my perspective it is important to understand the importance of leverage. Understanding systems lets you find solutions that may not be direct, but provide powerful leverage. Another important point is looking at the organization as a system. Understanding the interdependence of the aspects of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Systems thinking | Tagged learning, long term thinking, Systems thinking, teams | 4 Comments

The Art of Discovery

Posted on April 18, 2013 by John Hunter

Quality and The Art of Discovery by Professor George Box (1990): Quotes by George Box in the video: “I think of statistical methods as the use of science to make sense of numbers” “The scientific method is how we increase the rate at which we find things out.” “I think the quality revolution is nothing more, or less, than the dramatic expansion of the of scientific problem solving using informed observation and directed experimentation to find out more about the … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Data, Innovation, Management, Process improvement, Quality tools, Science, Statistics | Tagged control chart, curiouscat, Data, evidence based management, experiments, George Box, Innovation, learning, Process improvement, quote, respect for people, Statistics, technology, webcast | 4 Comments

Your Brain Can Jump to Incorrect Conclusions

Posted on February 27, 2013 by John Hunter

How our brain works without us realizing it often is hugely beneficial, but it also creates some faulty conclusions at times. The video gives a good synopsis of the quick intuitive leaps our brains make all the time. These are extremely helpful, but occasionally lead us to fall into traps. I have discussed these idea before: The Illusion of Knowledge, Optical and Other Illusions. By understanding some of the traps our brain can fall into, we can improve our decision … Continue reading →

Posted in Fun, Psychology | Tagged learning, Psychology, system thinking, theory of knowledge | 2 Comments

How Could They Know?

Posted on March 28, 2012 by John Hunter

I am a big fan of Dr. Deming’s ideas on management. The way I see one of the quotes of Dr. Deming used I don’t agree with. Dr. Deming said “How could they know?” to explain why people continued to follow less successful practices (for example, page 55 of Out of the Crisis). How could they know of better practices, he would say. I must say I have always thought the answer to that question was pretty easy. They could … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management | Tagged Books, Career, commentary, Deming, leadership, learning, management | 6 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 a podcast) followed by some question and answers. The consistently get remarkable people like, Gerald Suarez, and earlier: Peter Scholtes and Brian Joiner. Gerald Suarez is kicking off the new InThinking Network monthly webinar series. I worked for Gerald at … Continue reading →

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