Tag Archives: transformation

Podcast: Building Organizational Capability

Posted on December 7, 2016 by John Hunter

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 420 features an interview with me, by Thomas Cagley, on Building Organizational Capability (download podcast). John Hunter in the podcast: Changing how organizations are managed makes a huge difference in people’s lives, not all the time and I understand most of the time it doesn’t. But when this is done well people can go from dreading going to work to enjoying going to work, not every single day – but most days, and it … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Bell Labs Designing a New Phone System Using Idealized Design

Posted on October 19, 2016 by John Hunter

I remember hearing this same story when Russ Ackoff spoke at the Hunter Conference on Quality (which was named in honor of my father) in Madison, Wisconsin. If you haven’t heard this story you are in for a treat. And if you haven’t heard Russell Ackoff before you get to enjoy a great storyteller. "Tape" of Ackoff’s Bell Lab Lecture at the US Navy. If you would limit yourself to paying attention to 5 thinkers to advance your understanding of … Continue reading →

Posted in Innovation, Management, Process improvement, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Transform the Management System by Experimenting, Iterating and Adopting Standard Work

Posted on January 19, 2016 by John Hunter

In this short video, Dr. John Toussaint describes how ThedaCare applied leadership standard work to create a successful management transformation. The changes to the management system were tested by applying standard work for all positions in 2 parts of the organization (including all senior management positions) and learning and adapting and then spreading the new methods to the rest of the organization. Changes to the management system require the same testing and piloting of changes on a small scale as … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, webcast | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Culture Change Requires That Leaders Change Their Behavior

Posted on December 28, 2015 by John Hunter

This month The ASQ Influential Voices are reacting to Luciana Paulise’s post: Facing Cultural Barriers by Leaders to Strengthen a Culture of Quality [the broken link was removed]. As Luciana stated: leaders need to change their behavior first if they want to change the entire company culture W. Edwards Deming wrote in The New Economics: The first step is transformation of the individual. This transformation is discontinuous. It comes from understanding of the system of profound knowledge. The individual, transformed, … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Transforming a Management System – A Case Study From the Madison Wisconsin Police Department

Posted on March 10, 2015 by John Hunter

This post in an excerpt from The Quality Leadership Workbook for Police by Chief David Couper and Captain Sabine Lobitz (buy via Amazon). Transformational Steps A Case Study Madison, Wisconsin (1981-1993) Step 1: Educate and inform everyone in the organization about the vision, the goals, and Quality Leadership. This step must be passionately led by the top leader. Begin discussion with top management team and train them. Discuss and ask employees; get feedback from them. Share feedback with the chief … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, Data, Deming, Management, Respect, Statistics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Using Books to Ignite Improvement

Posted on February 7, 2008 by John Hunter

Recommended Reading From an Employee-Owned Company [the broken link has been removed] Soon after, another Web Industries employee picked up “Kanban Made Simple,” a guide for adopting Kanban, Toyota Motor Corp.’s just-in-time manufacturing process by John M. Gross and Kenneth R. McInnis. Within weeks, other employees were reading it. A group of machine operators used the book’s ideas to slash chronic late deliveries and improve scheduling processes. In the 18 months since Mr. Quarrey picked up “Ideas Are Free,” he’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Lean thinking, Management | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Transformation and Redesign

Posted on February 23, 2007 by John Hunter

Here is an excellent article from 1999: Transformation and Redesign at the White House Communications Agency (WHCA) (pdf link) by March Laree Jacques This article describes an organizational transformation effort undertaken at the White House Communications Agency. It shares the Agency’s efforts through the period of 1992-1998, beginning with a Deming-based approach to continuous quality improvement through implementation of a total organizational redesign using systems thinking precepts. It describes the obstacles to implementing quality concepts in a high visibility, high … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Management Articles, Public Sector, Systems thinking | Tagged , , ,

Transforming With Lean

Posted on January 31, 2007 by John Hunter

Dave Gleditsch, Chief Technology Officer, Pelion Systems, makes many excellent points in: Transforming Your Business To Lean: Lessons Learned [the broken link was removed]: First and foremost, we should always keep the customer at the forefront of the planning and implementation process. A key to success is in being able to find the customer in every single metric you choose to measure your Lean transformation progress by. Often measures become the focus and the reason for improvement is obscured. Improvement … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, Deming, Lean thinking, Management, Management Articles, quote | Tagged , | 1 Comment