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Tag Archives: problem solving
Expand the View of the System to Find Ways to Improve Results
Here is an example of improvement made possible by expanding the view of the system (and viewing the results from the perspective of the customer instead of just looking at internal process measures). I was working to improve the processing … Continue reading
Posted in Management, Process improvement, Systems thinking
Tagged continual improvement, Customer focus, organization as a system, problem solving
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Interview of Bill Hunter, Brian Joiner and Peter Scholtes on Better Management Practices
Interview with Bill Hunter, Brian Joiner and Peter Scholtes (listen to the interview) on a Public Affair, National Public Radio about improving management practices in the USA. The interview is over 30 years old now but the better management ideas … Continue reading
Posted in Data, Deming, Management, Process improvement, Public Sector, Statistics, Systems thinking
Tagged application, Bill Hunter, Brian Joiner, Data, management, Peter Scholtes, podcast, problem solving, Psychology, Public Sector, respect for people, Statistics
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The Best Form of Fire Fighting is None at All
The best form of problem solving is to avoid problems altogether. At the point you have a “fire” in your organizaiton you have to fight it. But it is better to create systems that avoid fires taking hold in the … Continue reading
Posted in Management, Systems thinking
Tagged long term thinking, mistake-proofing, organization as a system, problem solving, Systems thinking
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The Importance of Critical Thinking and Challenging Assumptions
There are many factors that are important to effectively practice the management improvement ideas that I have discussed in this blog for over a decade. One of the most important is a culture that encourages critical thinking as well as … Continue reading
Children are Amazingly Creative At Solving Problems
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 … Continue reading
Posted in Creativity, Psychology
Tagged Ackoff, Creativity, learning, problem solving, Psychology, thinking
2 Comments
Root Cause, Interactions, Robustness and Design of Experiments
Eric Budd asked on The W. Edwards Deming Institute group (LinkedIn broke the link with a register wall so I removed the link): If observed performance/behavior in a system is a result of the interactions between components–and variation exists in … Continue reading
What is the Explanation Going to be if This Attempt Fails?
Occasionally during my career I have been surprised by new insights. One of the things I found remarkable was how quickly I thought up a new explanation for what could have caused a problem when the previously expressed explanation was … Continue reading
Posted in Creativity, Innovation, Management, Process improvement, quote, Software Development, Systems thinking
Tagged Creativity, curiouscat, experiments, John Hunter, problem solving, Psychology, Software Development, tips
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Manufacturing Skills Gap or Management Skills Gap?
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
Visual Management with Brown M&Ms
When you hear about rock musicians having a clause in their contract that they must have a bowl of M&Ms in their dressing room with all the brown M&Ms removed you could be excused for thinking: what will these crazy … Continue reading
Posted in Creativity, Quality tools
Tagged communication, Creativity, poka yoke, problem solving, Quality tools, visual communication, visual management
3 Comments
Nigel Marsh: How to Make Work-Life Balance Work
“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 … Continue reading
Posted in Psychology, Systems thinking
Tagged problem solving, Psychology, Systems thinking
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