Blog posts on Deming

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• Deming on Management: Psychology

  Within Deming’s SoPK the psychology component includes an appreciation of:

  • how will people are influenced by management policies (for example, targets or a culture of blaming individuals)
  • the innate desire people have to take pride in their work
  • how people resist change (and how to reduce that resistance)
  • confirmation bias (one way our brains can lead us astray)
  • what drives people to behave as they do
  • and much more - continue reading the rest of the post to learn more...

  continue reading: Deming on Management: Psychology
• Business 901 Podcast with Me: Deming’s Management Ideas Today

  Here are some links related to items I mention in the podcast:

  • The W. Edwards Deming Institute Blog
  • William Hunter, my father. Link to paper with Easaw Chacko on Building a Quality Movement within a developing nation, 1972. Developing Children’s Numeracy Using Dice
  • Shoichiro Toyoda, Honorary Chairman and director of Toyota: “There is not a day I don’t think about what Dr. Deming meant to us. Deming is the core of our management.”
  • Statistics for Experimenters by George Box, Bill Hunter and Stu Hunter.
  • City of Madison applying Deming’s management ideas...

  continue reading: Business 901 Podcast with Me: Deming’s Management Ideas Today
• Data is Important and You Must Confirm What the Data Actually Says

  Without an appreciation for the gemba, where the data was collected, it is easy to be mislead by the data.

  The most common waste of effort in examining data is reacting to the expected variation of a system as if it is something special. We have discussed this in many previous posts, for example, We Need to Understand Variation to Manage Effectively. After that, I think there is a good chance of failure to appreciate what the data is, and is not, telling us based on mistaken assumptions about what the operational definitions were...

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• Quality is a Journey to Excellence

  I recently uncovered this 2 day management seminar that Bill Hunter (my father) recorded in 1985 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The embedded clip shows the first section of a the seminar.

  The present system in the US has not provided for any meaningful contribution from the workers themselves to improve the methods of production and the quality of work life. They have no opportunity to exercise their judgement, imagination, creativity or versatility in ways that could contribute to their productivity and sense of dignity. It is no surprise that they undergo frustration and discouragement, feelings certainly not apt to contribute to their efficiency. The solution to our productivity problem is the necessity for management and labor to recognize the intrinsic value of the human being.

   Russell Schrader

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• Corporations Do Not Exist Solely to Maximize the Bottom Line

  The corporation should seek to benefit all stakeholders  (employees, customers, suppliers, etc.).

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• Profound Podcast with John Hunter – Curious Cat

  In this podcast I discussed a bit of my history with management improvement. My father introduced me to the ideas as I was growing up.  And that became formal during high school, when I attended a class for City of Madison employees (during the summer) on management improvement (Deming included a couple pages on those efforts in Out of Crisis).  I also discussed: Design of Experiments, Peter Scholtes, W. Edwards Deming, PDSA cycle and six sigma.  This podcast is part one of the interview.

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• Deming Auto Repair

  "Clients often ask how we motivate our staff members. The answer is simple, we don’t. We feel good people are already motivated, what they need is removal of the things that de-motivate them..."

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• Statistical Techniques Allow Management to do a Better Job

  Deming thoughts on consumer research are rarely discussed. I think this is because to some extent these ideas have become part of the accepted way of operating. But even in this area the full richness of Deming’s ideas are still missed today

  ...

  most importantly gaining intimate insight into customers so that you can predict and innovate was key to Deming’s way of thinking but is often far short in businesses today.

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• Using Customer Feedback to Drive Continual Improvement

  That impact of creating systems that continually improve the value provided to customers is still very much under appreciated. The Deming Chain Reaction is such a powerful concept that allows us to create more value and reduce costs over the long term.

  ...

  Long term thinking with an appreciation for systems allows managers to focus on improving value over the long term while many of their competitors focus on reducing current costs no matter how much damage they do to their customers and the long term success of their business.

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• Thinking Required – Not Just a Recipe to Follow

  One of the most powerful aspects of Deming’s management ideas also frustrates some people. Dr. Deming didn’t believe in simple guides telling managers what to do – his ideas are not prescriptive. The challenges of management don’t lend themselves to simple instructions spelling out exactly what steps managers need to take. What managers need to do depends on the organization and current state.

  There are general principles such as respect for people and understanding variation...

  continue reading: Thinking Required – Not Just a Recipe to Follow