THE W. EDWARDS DEMING INSTITUTE BLOG
| Uncategorized
Systems Thinking for Civil Servants
In this guest post, John Hunter reviews the Systems Thinking for Civil Servants resource from the UK Government Office for Science and connects it to the Deming philosophy.
| Deming Community, Deming Today, podcast
Our podcast is back – and better than ever!
We are excited to announce that after nearly a year, our podcast has returned. Learn more about our new host, our first few episodes, and our ambitious plans for the podcast.
| Deming on Management, Deming Philosophy, Dr. Deming
Some New Principles of Management: Deming’s 1978 Speech in Tokyo
In this guest post, John Hunter pulls a few excerpts from Dr. Deming's 1978 speech in Tokyo and connects them to Deming's later work refining his ideas.
| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy, Deming Today, Healthcare, Healthcare, System of Profound Knowledge | 1 Comment
Transforming Resident Assessment with Deming’s System of Profound Knowledge
In this guest post John Hunter reviews "Transforming Resident Assessment: An Analysis Using Deming’s System of Profound Knowledge" and discusses how evaluations often lead to bad data.
| Appreciation for a System, Education, Psychology
Are Best Efforts Ruining Education?
In this guest post, Taylor Lux views the American education system through the Deming lens, finding significant shortfalls in spite of educators' best efforts.
| Appreciation for a System
Russ Ackoff Lecture on the Age of Systems
This Russ Ackoff lecture, from the late 1970s, focuses on the age of systems. The nearly 2-hour lecture spans the development of science and scientific thinking while exploring topics such as philosophy, psychology, our ways of thinking, religion, history, physics, linguistics, and more.
| Psychology, Psychology, respect for people, systems thinking
How to Improve Employee Morale and Engagement
The way to improve morale and engagement is to improve the work. Eliminate things that drive workers crazy by making their work more difficult and by creating work that should never have to be done if the system were designed better. (Guest post by John Hunter.)
| The W. Edwards Deming Institute
Join The Deming Institute Team
Join our small team as our new Senior Administrative Specialist! We need an experienced professional to hold both internal and external roles for the organization, with the chief responsibility of administrative support and office management.
| data, Understanding Variation
A Humorous Look at Variation
Thinking that variation in the data must be important is often a mistake, as this cartoon makes painfully clear. (Guest post by John Hunter, author of the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog.)
| Appreciation for a System, Continual Improvement, Deming on Management
Deming on Management: Innovation
This guest post by John Hunter, author of the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog, is part of our Deming on Management series that aims to provide resources to help those transforming their management system to one based on Deming’s management ideas.
| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy, Government | 2 Comments
Our Only Hope
Guest post by Dr. Doug Stilwell, Assistant Professor Drake University: Now more than ever, I wish Dr. Deming was still with us, for even at age 64 I have so many burning questions I’d like to ask him, driven by the extreme frustration I feel about the “state of things” in our world.
| Deming Community, Events and Outreach, Events and Outreach, Understanding Variation
Field report: 5th Annual Bryce Canyon Society Deming Forum
On March 31st, Southern Utah University's School of Aviation hosted the 5th Annual Deming Forum, with the largest turnout ever.
| Continual Improvement, Deming's Ideas in Action
From “Too Tight” to “Just Right:” Improving Staff Meetings Using PDSA
Our team had a common problem: weekly staff meetings were disorganized, a little frustrating, and almost always lasted longer than one hour. Like ill-fitting shoes, they served to keep our feet dry but made running difficult. Recognizing a change was needed, we turned to the process improvement tool devised by Dr. Deming: Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA).
| Appreciation for a System
Using a Deming Lens to Investigate and Solve Managerial Challenges
In most organizations, managers’ challenges range from doing more with less to motivating employees. This is causing managers to report “burnout” on a massive scale. To solve such challenges effectively, means identifying their underlying causes which, the authors find, are seldom addressed.
| Appreciation for a System, data, systems thinking
Understanding Data and Appreciating the Implications for the System
Guest post by John Hunter, founder of CuriousCat.com. Working with data is something that doesn’t come naturally to many people. But it is important to develop your understanding of data to manage well within an organization, applying the Deming management system. In this post, I take a look at how understanding data is important with …
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| Appreciation for a System
Seeking Creative Solutions Using an Appreciation for Systems
Guest post by John Hunter, founder of CuriousCat.com. Want to reduce wildfires and drought? Leave it to beavers. A dry California creek bed looked like a wildfire risk. Then the beavers went to work. “It went from dry grassland… to totally re-vegetated, trees popping up, willows, wetland plants of all types, different meandering stream channels …
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| Deming Community, Deming Legacy, Support Deming
Start 2022 with positive momentum – a message from Kelly Allan
I started my consulting firm nearly 40 years ago and have spent my career helping organizations implement change. I could also say, I’ve helped companies—small and large, and across many industries—”do Deming.” There is no shortage of trends when it comes to organizational development, leadership theories and improvement methods. However, as these formulas come and …
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| Deming Community, Deming Legacy, Support Deming
When your aim is your name – A message from Trustee Keith Sparkjoy
As a lifelong learner, I draw insight and inspiration from many writers, teachers, and thought leaders. In 2004, together with some good friends, we cofounded a wonderful company called Pluralsight whose aim is to democratize professional technology learning. During my decade there, I studied organizational health, with a focus on the work of Dr. Deming. I …
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| Customer Focus, data, Deming Philosophy
Knowing What Your Customers Think Requires Proactive Effort
Guest post by John Hunter, author of the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog (since 2004). Don’t think customers will let you know if there are problems. Some will, most won’t. Even internal customers are often quiet. Learning the voice of the customer requires proactive effort. Doing so also requires designing your organization to seek out …
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| Deming Community, Deming Legacy, Support Deming
Build Caring Teams – a message from Trustee Paula Marshall
People are often surprised that the mission statement of Bama Companies, an international food manufacturer, is “People helping people be successful through caring and accountability.” When a heart attack prevented my father from continuing to run Bama Companies, a family business, he asked me to take over. It was 1984, and I was young and …
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| Continual Improvement, Customer Focus, Deming Community, Deming Today, Deming's Ideas in Action, Support Deming
Trustee Steven Haedrich’s Deming Journey
So many of us strive to be a force for good—for our families, businesses and communities. Dr. Deming’s teachings helped me understand how I could lead a company through crisis with compassion. That’s why I joined The Deming Institute’s Board of Trustees, to help others do the same. My Deming journey began in 1996 when, …
| Appreciation for a System, data, Deming Philosophy
Confusing Improving A Proxy Measure with Actually Improving the System
Guest post by John Hunter, author of Management Matters: Building Enterprise Capability. Using data to access and guide improvement efforts is extremely useful. Data must be used appropriately, however. Thought must be given to understand the systems being studied and what the data actually indicates. It is easy to be misled if you are not …
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| Deming Community, Support Deming
Reflections on the Deming Community from Diana Deming Cahill
Often, when the days grow shorter and holiday preparations are underway, I find myself taking time to reflect. Not just on the year that is coming to a close, but on the Deming community that I have been a part of for more than 40 years. I began to accompany my father, Dr. W. Edwards …
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| Uncategorized
2021 Deming Prize Winners
Guest post by John Hunter, founder of CuriousCat.com. The Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers (JUSE) has announced the 2021 Deming Prize winners. 2021 Deming Prize Toyota Boshoku, Kariya Plant and Unit Production Engineering Center (Japan) From the 2020 Toyota Boshoku annual report We are now tackling the challenge of winning the Deming Prize, but …
| data, Deming on Management, Deming Philosophy, Understanding Variation
Deming on Management: Data
Guest post by John Hunter, author of the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog (since 2004). This post is part of our Deming on Management series that aims to provide resources to help those transforming their management system to one based on Deming’s management ideas. Many people link Deming’s management ideas to only the use of …
| Appreciation for a System
Lean Blog Podcast with Balaji Reddie, Founder of the Deming Forum of India
Guest post by John Hunter, author of Management Matters: Building Enterprise Capability. Lean Blog Interview with Balaji Reddie, Founder of the Deming Forum of India. “So when I told him about profound knowledge, and when we started all of that, the next day he was eyes and ears, and it was, it was really mind-bending. …
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| Appreciation for a System
Can “Appreciation for a System” Support the Taming of COVID?
An appreciation for a system is one of the four interrelated components that form Dr. Deming’s System of Profound Knowledge. In his guest post, Drake University Professor, Dr. Doug Stilwell, explores how adopting a systems-thinking approach can help in our efforts to eradicate COVID-19.
| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy, process thinking, Psychology, respect for people
Managers Must Understand that Blaming Employees Doesn’t Help
Guest post by John Hunter, founder of CuriousCat.com. Often when problems occur, we seek to figure out who is to blame for the problem. This is not an effective management strategy as Dr. Deming made clear, and I have discussed before: Attributing Fault to the Person Without Considering the System, Distorting the System, Distorting the …
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| Deming Today, Deming's Ideas in Action
Online Resources on W. Edwards Deming’s Management Ideas
Guest post by John Hunter, author of the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog (since 2004). There are many online resources for those looking to improve the practice of management in their organization in a way consistent with Dr. Deming’s management system. A new resource that is excellent is Digestible Deming by Christopher Chapman. If you …
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| data
Data Can Provide Insight or be Used to Mislead
Guest post by John Hunter, author of Management Matters: Building Enterprise Capability. Data can provide insight or be used to mislead. When looking at data, you need to critically think about how you could be misled. One of the things you learn as a scientist is the ability to look at a plot and think, …
| Appreciation for a System | 1 Comment
Russell Ackoff Answering Questions
Guest post by John Hunter, founder of CuriousCat.com. It is wonderful to listen to Ackoff discuss how to tackle challenging problems. We could create so much value by following the guidance of Dr. Ackoff and Dr. Deming in our organizations and by applying that thinking to the larger problems our societies face. We need to …
| Appreciation for a System, Continual Improvement | 1 Comment
Avoiding Fires Rather Than Fighting Fires
Guest post by John Hunter, author of the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog (since 2004). In order to build strong companies that are resilient and able to prosper even in challenging times, it is best to create reliable and robust systems. It is easy to be misled by what is flashy if we don’t think …
| Appreciation for a System, Education | 9 Comments
Organizational Metabolic Health: Understanding Resistance to Change
Guest Post by Dr. Doug Stilwell, Assistant Professor, Educational Leadership, Drake University. Over the past couple of years, I have been informally researching the relationship between the food we eat and our health. Over the course of my learning, I have made a connection with organizational effectiveness. At first blush, this may seem like quite …
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| Continual Improvement, process thinking | 1 Comment
Quick Tips for Using the PDSA Improvement Cycle
Guest post by John Hunter, author of Management Matters: Building Enterprise Capability. The Plan Do Study Act improvement cycle is a valuable method to maximize learning and catalyze improvement. See our Deming on Management: PDSA cycle resource page for many more details than are covered here. Here I will just provide four ideas to keep …
| Deming on Management, respect for people
Deming on Management: Performance Appraisal
Guest post by John Hunter, founder of CuriousCat.com. Dr. Deming called for the elimination of the annual performance appraisal. This post, part of our Deming on Management series, provides some resources to help those getting started in transforming their management system to one based on Deming’s management ideas. This topic is one that is difficult …
| Appreciation for a System, systems thinking
The Existing Management Conditions Limit How Effective New Strategies Will Be
Guest post by John Hunter, author of the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog (since 2004). Over time, I have learned that one of the challenges in implementing Deming and Ackoff’s ideas are the underlying expectations for the organizations that are missing. What happens is, people take ideas from Ackoff and Deming and decide that using …
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| Deming Today, Education | 12 Comments
Best Efforts
Guest Post by Liz Schupp, German Teacher, Waukee High School and Educational Leadership Graduate Student of Dr. Doug Stilwell, Drake University.
Best efforts are essential when they are guided by principles backed in research and focused on continual improvement. When we simply do our best without what Deming refers to as a system of profound knowledge, we aren’t going to make meaningful improvements.
| Psychology, respect for people
Prioritizing Joy in Work
Guest post by John Hunter, founder of CuriousCat.com. Many lessons have been learned during the last year as the pandemic caused havoc with our lives and economy. During this time, we found new ways of operating our business that would have likely been deemed impossible before. As we return to more normal lives, as vaccines …
| data
The First Control Chart
Guest post by John Hunter, author of the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog (since 2004). Dr. Walter Shewhart developed the control chart in the 1920s while working for Bell Telephone. The text of the memo that including the image of the control chart: A few days ago, you mentioned some of the problems connected with …
| Healthcare, Understanding Variation, Understanding Variation | 2 Comments
Learning with the Science of Improvement during COVID-19 with Rocco Perla and Lloyd Provost
Guest post by John Hunter, author of Management Matters: Building Enterprise Capability. This embedded video is a webcast with Rocco Perla and Lloyd Provost: Learning with the Science of Improvement during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The presentation is from April 2020 which is useful to keep in mind given the rapidly changing COVID-19 situation. Their explanations …
| systems thinking
How People are Using Deming’s Management Ideas to Respond to COVID-19 Conditions
Guest post by John Hunter, founder of CuriousCat.com. Deming’s management ideas are not prescriptive. The principles are useful to organize your thinking and adapt concepts to your situation. That provides a great deal of flexibility to changing conditions. And those principles result in creating a management system that is robust in the face of changing …
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| Deming on Management | 2 Comments
Deming on Management: Getting Started
Guest post by John Hunter, author of the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog (since 2004). One of the challenges adopting Deming’s management ideas is that it doesn’t provide a simple process to follow. There is no recipe – no first do x, then do y, then do z. Instead the ideas must be learned and …
| Understanding Variation
How Can Deming’s Management Ideas Help During the COVID-19 Pandemic?
Guest post by John Hunter, author of Management Matters: Building Enterprise Capability. When using Dr. Deming’s management ideas in your organization, the principles must be considered and applied to your organization. Those principles help create an organization that is adaptable – continually responding to changes in the outside world, continually experimenting and improving with an …
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| Deming Today, Education | 4 Comments
The Power of PDSA in Education
Guest Post by Amy Ripperger, Instructional Coach, Indianola CSD, Educational Leadership Graduate Student, Drake University. If we want our students to reach their fullest potential, then we, the educators, must work to reach ours. But we have to be careful here, for at the heart of continual improvement lies an acceptance that we won’t ever “arrive.” We must be okay with this. Perfection isn’t the goal, continual improvement is.
| Deming Philosophy, systems thinking
Addressing Dysfunctional Company Culture
Guest post by John Hunter, founder of CuriousCat.com. When a company’s culture rots, eventually everyone pays: customers, employees, stockholders, and suppliers. Yet, when the focus is on the short term, the long-term consequences are easy to ignore, even though everyone eventually suffers. Once those consequences are realized, there is interest in addressing the consequences of …
| Dr. Deming
Musical Compositions by W. Edwards Deming
Guest post by John Hunter, founder of CuriousCat.com. Dr. Deming encouraged organizations to respect the whole person; he recommended encouraging education even if it was not directly related to the employee’s job or potential jobs with the organization. In his own life, he pursued interests beyond those he is well known for, one of those …
| process thinking | 4 Comments
The “Small Jumps” of Change
Guest post by Doug Stilwell, Drake University. There are indeed many reasons change efforts fail. But we can avoid one of those reasons by taking “small jumps;” breaking down important change/improvement efforts into manageable and measurable steps so that the daunting size and complexity of initiatives are not the cause of failure.
| Continual Improvement | 2 Comments
Reflection and Getting to Work on Improvement
Guest post by John Hunter, author of the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog (since 2004). The start of a new year is a good excuse to take stock of how things are going and think about what improvements you could work on. Those reading this blog could frame that in relation to how things are …
| Deming Community
The Most Viewed Videos on Our YouTube Channel
Guest post by John Hunter, author of Management Matters: Building Enterprise Capability. We created The W. Edwards Deming Institute You Tube channel over 11 years ago. Since then, tens of thousands of people have enjoyed and learned from the videos we have posted. Unsurprisingly, those with W. Edwards Deming in them are the most viewed. …
| Psychology, Psychology, respect for people
Emotions In The Workplace
Guest post by John Hunter, founder of the CuriousCat.com. This interview on NPR, How To Harness The Power Of Emotions In The Workplace, provides some good thoughts on psychology in the workplace. There is often much more focus on the data part of W. Edwards Deming’s ideas, and while using data to understand and improve …
| Deming Philosophy, Psychology | 7 Comments
I See You
Guest Post by Dr. Doug Stilwell, Drake University. During this time of COVID-driven isolation and loneliness, and the accompanying challenges to mental health, finding and operationalizing systematic methods to help people belong and recognize their sense of belonging - even after COVID is over - may be more important than ever for leaders to address.
| Appreciation for a System, systems thinking
Ackoff on Leadership and Transformation
Guest post by John Hunter, author of the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog (since 2004). This is the first video from a day with Russell Ackoff presentation (from 2004). As always, Dr. Ackoff does a great job of providing insight in an easy to listen to package. We are lucky to be able to so …
| Deming Today, Education | 2 Comments
From Flat to Round: Is Educational Transformation Possible?
In this guest post by Dr. Doug Stilwell, Doug shares a real-life case study of the successful transformation of a classroom and its teacher; a transformation that resulted in improved student engagement, parent satisfaction, and learning outcomes.
| Deming Community
2020 Deming Prize Winners
Guest post by John Hunter, author of Management Matters: Building Enterprise Capability. The Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers (JUSE) has announced the 2020 Deming Prize winners. One of the good aspects about how the Deming Prize is managed is that each year it is awarded to those found worthy. There are no minimum or …
| Customer Focus, Deming on Management
Deming on Management: Customer Focus
Guest post by John Hunter, founder of the CuriousCat.com. Our Deming on Management series provides resources for those interested in learning more about particular topics related to W. Edwards Deming’s ideas. View our previous Deming on Management posts, including: leadership, psychology and the PDSA cycle. As I stated in Creating a Deep Commitment to Delighting …
| podcast
Deming Institute Podcast: Deming Guide to Layoffs
Guest post by John Hunter, author of the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog (since 2004). The Deming Institute Podcast is hosted by Tripp Babbitt. A recent podcast looked at the Dr. W. Edwards Deming Guide to Layoffs. what Dr. Deming said about layoffs and downsizing, that if you face a decline, that there’s five steps …
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| Deming Today, Education | 10 Comments
But it Doesn’t Mean Anything
In this guest post, Professor Doug Stilwell of Drake University reminds us that data is simply information, and what we really need in order to make good data-driven decisions is knowledge. He outlines various methods that can help educators make better sense of data, resulting in improved decision-making and student outcomes.
| The W. Edwards Deming Institute
Create Your Own On-Demand Management Conference
Guest post by John Hunter, author of Management Matters: Building Enterprise Capability. The Covid-19 crisis has created many challenges to standard ways of working. Attending conferences provides a useful way to learn and improve your management understanding. Given the challenges of 2020, I would like to remind you that we make many of our past …
| Deming Philosophy, System of Profound Knowledge | 6 Comments
Who’s Got Profound Knowledge?
Professor Doug Stilwell of Drake University discusses Dr. Deming’s System of Profound knowledge and its potential to transform our educational system.
| Appreciation for a System, systems thinking | 4 Comments
Seeking Systemic Improvements: Root Cause
Guest post by John Hunter, author of Management Matters: Building Enterprise Capability. The idea of looking beyond the most visible problem when seeking to improve is important. If you just address the most visible issue, you often fail to improve the system and instead just add some work to smooth things over if that problem …
| systems thinking
The Democratic Corporation
Guest post by John Hunter, author of Management Matters: Building Enterprise Capability. This video shows part 4 of a Russell Ackoff presentation from 2003 on Systems Thinking and Management. In this part of the presentation, Ackoff discusses the difference between authority and influence. In complex organizations, trying to rule by authority is difficult and ineffective. …
| systems thinking | 6 Comments
Focus on Addressing the Right Problem
Guest post by John Hunter, founder of the CuriousCat.com. Have you ever tried running through water? You don’t get very far very fast. If you have water up to your waist, and you try to run, your progress is very slow. Sure, you could put in more effort and maybe try to improve your technique …
| Deming Philosophy, Education, Psychology | 75 Comments
Restoring Joy in Mudville
Professor Doug Stilwell of Drake University examines the connection between intrinsic motivation and joy in learning and how the systemic structures in our educational system can hinder it.
| Deming Philosophy, Education
Avoid Doing the Wrong things Righter… But, “By What Method?”
Doug Stilwell shares insights into how you can make the "right" decisions for your organization.
| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy, Psychology | 2 Comments
Mary Jenkins: Statistical Approach to HR Systems
Guest post by John Hunter, author of Management Matters: Building Enterprise Capability. Mary Jenkins gave this presentation on Statistical Approach to HR Systems at the Ohio Quality and Productivity Forum in 1992. In the presentation, Mary provides a view of the organization as a system and the existing and possible systems to manage personnel. She …
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| Deming on Management, Psychology, respect for people
Deming on Management: Joy in Work
Guest post by John Hunter, author of the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog (since 2004). This is the seventh post in our Deming on Management series. This series provides resources for those interested in learning more about particular topics related to W. Edwards Deming’s ideas. View our previous Deming on Management posts, including: Leadership, Appreciation …
| systems thinking
Russell Ackoff on Learning, Risks and Development
Guest post by John Hunter, author of Management Matters: Building Enterprise Capability. This video shows part 3 of a Russell Ackoff presentation from 2003 on Systems Thinking and Management (see our previous post on part 1 and part 2). An organization that wants to survive in a dynamic environment has to continually educate its members …
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| Deming Today, Deming's Ideas in Action
Deming Company was Ahead of COVID-19
Eight years before COVID-19 hit, Peaker Services had a Pandemic Preparedness Plan in place.
| Continual Improvement, Deming Philosophy
How Do I Apply New Management Ideas Without Executive Level Support?
Part 3 of "True Improvement vs Illusion of Progress," a presentation by Peter Scholtes.
| Continual Improvement, Deming Philosophy, process thinking
Make Time to Improve
Are you responsible for how a part of your organization prioritizes what must be done? If so, you must find a way to devote time to improvement.
| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy, System of Profound Knowledge, systems thinking
Exploring a World View Through the Lens of Profound Knowledge
Barbara Lawton explains the value and necessity of using the System of Profound Knowledge to improve; and the importance of making it accessible.
| data, Deming Community, Deming Philosophy, Deming Today, Deming's Ideas in Action, Events and Outreach, Government, Healthcare, Understanding Variation
India Fights COVID-19 with Control Charts
According to how the data are being reported, it seems like the pandemic is getting worse in India, despite the lockdown. Balaji S Reddie, founder of The Deming Forum India and a member of our Advisory Council, is using control charts to set the record straight.
| Deming on Management, Deming Philosophy, System of Profound Knowledge
Dr. Deming on Leadership
"For Deming, instituting leadership meant creating management systems that allowed people to take pride in their work and that were consistent with the principles he expressed (understanding the organization as a system, understanding variation, etc.)."
| Deming Today, Deming's Ideas in Action, Government, Healthcare, systems thinking
“We Thinking” in India, Mexico, UK, and US
#OutOfTheCrisis: Our weekly roundup of stories of hope, inspiration, and genuine collaboration in the time of COVID-19.
| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy, systems thinking
Presentation by Ackoff on Systems, Design and the Society
This video shows part 2 of a Russell Ackoff presentation from 2003 (see our previous post on part 1: Ackoff on Systems Thinking and Management).
| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy, System of Profound Knowledge, systems thinking | 2 Comments
Systemically Non-Systemic: COVID-19 through the Deming Lens
Professor Doug Stilwell of Drake University takes a look at what we can learn from - and how we might address - the COVID-19 crisis using the Deming Philosophy.
| Deming Community, Deming Today, Deming's Ideas in Action, Healthcare, The W. Edwards Deming Institute
Out Of The Crisis: The Deming Institute’s Response to COVID-19
First and foremost, we want to express our deepest sympathy to the people and families whose health and wellbeing have been impacted by the pandemic. We also want to thank those of you on the front lines – the healthcare workers, pharmacy staff, grocery clerks, truck drivers, government workers, and other unsung heroes who are …
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| Customer Focus, data, Deming Legacy, Deming Philosophy
2019 ASA Deming Lecture, Walking with Giants: A Research Odyssey
Nicholas Fisher, University of Sydney, presents the 2019 ASA Deming Lecture - Walking with Giants: A Research Odyssey
| Deming Community, Support Deming
Deming Online Sneak Peek!
Are you ready for Deming Online? Take a sneak peek at this interactive learning portal to be launched later this year!
| Deming Philosophy, Deming Today, Deming's Ideas in Action, Psychology, respect for people
Demonstrating Respect for People With High Minimum Salaries
Five years ago, a CEO made the bold decision to introduce a $70,000 minimum salary for all of his 120 staff. What happened next is classic Deming.
| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy, Deming Today, Education
The “String” Theory of Systems Management in Schools
Does your organization need "re-tuning"? Drs. Doug Stilwell and Randy Peters of Drake University discuss the pitfalls of both over- and under-managing.
| Appreciation for a System, Continual Improvement, Customer Focus, Deming Philosophy
Standardize Improvements to Achieve Results
Part 2 of True Improvement vs Illusion of Progress, a presentation by Peter Scholtes.
| Deming Philosophy, Deming Today, Healthcare, Psychology, System of Profound Knowledge, systems thinking
Leading From the Top (Part II) – Transforming Our Thinking
"We’re living in prison, under the tyranny of the prevailing style of management, a style of interaction between people, between teams, between divisions, between competitors. We need to throw overboard our theories and practices of the present, and build afresh." - W. Edwards Deming
| data, Deming Philosophy, Understanding Variation
Understanding Variation: The Key to Managing Chaos
Are you struggling with what data to collect and how to use them to better lead your organization? Dr. Donald J. Wheeler to the rescue in his short and easy read, Understanding Variation: The Key to Managing Chaos.
| Deming Community, The W. Edwards Deming Institute
The Most Viewed Videos on Our YouTube Channel
What was your Deming community paying attention to this past decade? Find out what our most-watched videos were, and discover some gems you may have missed!
| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy, Deming Today, Healthcare
Leading from the Top (Part I) – Transformation of the Leader
Dr. Deming said, "Quality is determined by the top management. It cannot be delegated." This humorous tale from Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan illustrates this concept beautifully.
| Deming Community, Support Deming
Season of Generosity: More Deming Gifts for You!
THANK YOU! During the Season of Generosity, we came together, as Deming people, to ensure that we can continue to carry on his work and teachings.
| Deming on Management, Deming Today, Education
Deming on Management: Education
How does the Deming approach apply to education? John Hunter provides dozens of online resources to assist you in your quest to improve teaching and learning through Deming.
| The W. Edwards Deming Institute
The Most Popular Posts on Our Blog in 2019
Which Deming blog posts did you find to be most helpful or compelling in the past year?
| Deming Community, Deming Today, Deming's Ideas in Action, Nonprofits, Support Deming, The W. Edwards Deming Institute
Meet One of Our Non-Profit Partners
"Our revenue has grown by 60%... and an exciting result of the Deming approach is we were able to deliver that growth with significantly less time from our staff." - Stacy Sheldon, Aileron
| Appreciation for a System, Deming on Management, Deming Philosophy, System of Profound Knowledge
Deming on Management: Appreciation for a System
The fourth post in our "Deming on Management" series, dive deeply into a wealth of resources on Appreciation for a System - one of the four aspects of Deming's System of Profound Knowledge (SoPK).
| Deming Community, Support Deming, The W. Edwards Deming Institute
A Deming Gift for You this Giving Tuesday
It’s Giving Tuesday! And we’d like to celebrate with you, since generosity is at the heart of the Deming Philosophy. As a Deming person, you are generous with your time and expertise; many of you have contributed to this blog, offered valuable comments and insight, and shared posts with others in order to spread the …
| Deming Community, Deming Today, Events and Outreach, Government, Healthcare
National and International Forum for Health Quality 2019
Executive Director Kevin Cahill will speak at the National and International Forum for Health Quality in Mexico City this week. The Mexican Ministry of Health hosts this annual event, with an attendance of over 2000 healthcare professionals.
| Deming Community
2019 Deming Prize Winners
The Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers (JUSE) has announced the 2019 Deming Prize winners. Indian companies received 4 of the 5 awards.
| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy, System of Profound Knowledge
Life Lessons from Russell Ackoff
Advisory Council Member Bill Bellows shares an as-yet unheard anecdote on siloed decision making from visionary Russ Ackoff.
| Continual Improvement, Customer Focus, Deming Philosophy
True Improvement vs Illusion of Progress
What are five ingredients of true improvement? Peter Scholtes gives us answers as well as a 7-step model for improvement in this timeless presentation.
| Deming Community, The W. Edwards Deming Institute
Connect with Your Deming Community on LinkedIn
Access the most exciting and relevant events and news happening in the broader Deming community.
| Deming Today, Deming's Ideas in Action, Nonprofits
Improving the Wood River Women’s Foundation Using Deming’s Ideas
Hear how learning about Deming through our in-person workshops made a huge impact on Wood River Women’s Foundation, in this video interview from our learning event partner Aileron.
| Deming Community, Deming Legacy, Dr. Deming, The W. Edwards Deming Institute
The Gift of Dr. Deming
Today, on Dr. Deming’s Birthday, we honor him and celebrate his gifts to each of us.
| Customer Focus, Deming Philosophy, podcast | 1 Comment
Customer Satisfaction and The Deming Way at Gallery Furniture
"Let's fix the problem, not fix the employee." The passion Jim McIngvale ("Mattress Mack") of Gallery Furniture has for customers - and the Deming approach - comes through in this short but powerful interview with QualityMatters.
| Appreciation for a System, Deming Legacy, Deming Philosophy, Deming Today, Deming's Ideas in Action
Reflections on the Fabric of the Toyota Production System
Are you managing the parts of your company, or the way the parts interact with each other? We look to Toyota Motor Corporation for insight.
| Deming Philosophy, respect for people, System of Profound Knowledge
Purpose: To Benefit All Stakeholders
Business Roundtable puts the many before the few.
| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy
Ackoff on Systems Thinking and Management
Are you using analysis to solve problems at your company? Try synthesis instead! For help, John Hunter directs us to this still-mind-blowing talk from Dr. Russell Ackoff, author of The Art of Problem Solving.
| The W. Edwards Deming Institute
Deming Goes Hollywood
What is Deming Online? Watch this video update from Kevin Edwards Cahill, Executive Director of The Deming Institute.
| Deming Philosophy, Deming Today, Deming's Ideas in Action, Psychology
Deming’s Ideas in Action: Trader Joe’s Culture
Is Trader Joe's "doing Deming"? Explore what this iconic company says about its values - and how they put those words into practice.
| Deming on Management
Deming on Management: The Red Bead Experiment
Dive deep into Deming's iconic Red Bead Experiment through a wealth of videos and resources.
| The W. Edwards Deming Institute
What is Deming Online?
Not only will Deming preserve the integrity of Dr. Deming’s teachings in a modern format, but it will also blend videos, eLearning courses, and virtual coaching, and tie into our future workshops and seminars.
| The W. Edwards Deming Institute
Alan Winlow, MBE, Honored with 2019 Deming Medal
Congratulations to Alan Winlow, MBE, who was recently honored with the 2019 Deming Medal from ASQ.
| Deming Philosophy, System of Profound Knowledge
The Deming Philosophy: New Ways To Think About The World
A fresh look at Mike Tveite's presentation, “The Deming Philosophy: New Ways To Think About The World."
The Deming Institute is Developing an Online Learning Platform
Deming Online will be a community learning center that blends videos, e-learning courses, and webinars.
| Deming on Management, Deming Philosophy, Psychology
Deming on Management: Psychology
Psychology is one of the 4 components of SoPK. But what Deming meant by "Psychology" isn't the same thing as what's covered in a psyche 101 course.
| The W. Edwards Deming Institute
Welcome Colin Cahill, Our New Intern!
Please help us welcome Colin Cahill, Dr. Deming’s great-grandson, to The Deming Institute.
| Deming Philosophy, Psychology
Human Resources in the Post Deming Era
This presentation from Peter Scholtes and Mary Jenkins at the 1994 Ohio Quality and Productivity Forum conference is still all too relevant to today's challenges in Human Resources.
| The W. Edwards Deming Institute
Dr. Bill Bellows Moves to Advisory Council
Dr. Bill Bellows' passionate commitment to the Deming Philosophy and The Deming Institute will continue as a member of our Advisory Council.
| The W. Edwards Deming Institute
Fond Farewells: Remembering Bill Latzko, Tom Nolan, and Bill Ratcliff
Please join us in honoring the lives of these three men, who made countless contributions to the Deming community and society at large.
| Continual Improvement, Deming on Management, Deming Philosophy
Deming on Management: PDSA Cycle
Interested in understanding the PDSA (Plan - Do - Study - Act) cycle? Here are a whole bunch of resources for you.
| Deming Philosophy, System of Profound Knowledge
Leading The Transformation Process
Barbara Lawton's presentation explores the interaction between personal transformation and organizational transformation.
| Deming Community
Blogs Exploring Deming’s Thoughts on Management
Need more Deming? There are several blogs exploring the application of his ideas to management of organizations.
| Deming Community, Events and Outreach, The W. Edwards Deming Institute
Thinking and Learning Together at the 3rd Annual Bryce Canyon Society Forum, April 3, 2019
Katie Groves, College Business Manager, reflects on this gathering of Deming experts, enthusiasts, and the Deming-curious.
| Deming Philosophy, Psychology
A Practical Approach to Change: Some Strategies and Tools by Peter Scholtes
In this presentation, Peter Scholtes gives an entertaining and useful look at the types of personal attitudes toward change.
| Deming Community, Events and Outreach
Leading with a Systems View: Deming Management Method for Owners and Executives | 2.5-Day Seminar
Next week's Deming seminar explores simple and powerful principles to improve your organization.
| Deming Philosophy, Deming Today, Education, Psychology
Peter Senge on the Creation of a Post-Industrial Theory and Practice of Education
Peter Senge reflects on efforts to transform education systems across the United States.
| Continual Improvement, Deming Philosophy, System of Profound Knowledge
Mike Tveite on The Role of Learning in Improving Organizations
Mike Tveite discusses the importance of adopting Deming's System of Profound Knowledge in the work of executives and the larger systems within organizations.
| Deming Philosophy, Dr. Deming, System of Profound Knowledge, The W. Edwards Deming Institute
3rd Edition of The New Economics Has Been Released
The new edition of The New Economics includes an introduction by Kevin Edwards Cahill and a new chapter by Kelly Allan.
| Continual Improvement, Deming Philosophy
Peter Scholtes – Leading Quality: Some Practical Approaches to the Managers New Job
Peter Scholtes explores myths about the practice of quality management, the importance of viewing the organization as a system, and using the new lens to inform your leadership.
New York Label & Box: A Deming-Inspired Company
NYLB is putting Deming's ideas into action, to great success.
| Continual Improvement, Deming Philosophy, System of Profound Knowledge
Continuous vs. Continual Improvement: An Ongoing Conversation with Ed Baker
Bill Bellows highlights ongoing conversations with Ed Baker, author of The Symphony of Profound Knowledge (created in partnership with Aileron.org).
| Deming Philosophy, System of Profound Knowledge
Why Deming? Why Now? Why…India?
The founder of The Deming Forum India advocates convincingly for the need to take a Deming approach to improvement country-wide.
| data, Deming Philosophy, Deming Today, Education, Understanding Variation
Impact of Process Tampering on Variation (Experiment)
What do engineering students learn about variation when they launch a catapult with three different sets of instructions?
| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy, System of Profound Knowledge
What is a system?
"Humans create systems all the time...How well any of these systems function, how effective and efficient they are, often comes down to how well the parts cooperate to support the aim."
| The W. Edwards Deming Institute
The Most Popular Posts on The W. Edwards Deming Institute® Blog in 2018
Past posts include many thoughts that age well. Here are the 20 most popular post on our blog this year.
| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy, Dr. Deming, System of Profound Knowledge, systems thinking
A Brief History of Quality, Part 1 – “Time has no divisions to mark its passage…”
Bill Bellows looks at "step changes" and how they relate to quality.
| Deming Legacy, Deming Philosophy, Psychology, System of Profound Knowledge
Dr. Deming’s work lauded by world famous philosopher, Alasdair MacIntyre
One of the most pre-eminent philosophers in the world, Alasdair MacIntyre cites Deming at length in his 2016 book, Ethics in the Conflicts of Modernity.
| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy, Dr. Deming, systems thinking
Break the Cycle
Bill Bellows discusses using the Deming approach to turn things around - whether prompted by a crisis or an essential effort in an organization’s continued success.
| data, process thinking
Rethinking Statistics for Quality Control with George Box
George Box shared a presentation on Rethinking Statistics for Quality Control at our 2008 Deming Institute Conference in Madison, Wisconsin.
| Deming Philosophy, Psychology
The Ethics of Quality
Dennis Sergent explores the strong correlation between quality and ethics.
| Appreciation for a System, Customer Focus, Deming Philosophy, Psychology, System of Profound Knowledge
Customer Satisfaction is Not Enough
To succeed over the long term, organizations must seek not to satisfy customers but to delight them.
| Continual Improvement, Deming Philosophy, Dr. Deming, System of Profound Knowledge, Understanding Variation
What we see…
Bill Bellows talks about lean management within the (oft-overlooked) larger context of the Deming Philosophy.
| systems thinking
Change Management – Post Change Evaluation and Action
Change is difficult in most organizations. Most often the process should start by using the PDSA cycle.
| Deming Philosophy, Deming Today, System of Profound Knowledge
Why Deming / Why Now / Working to transform “our” system
"Learning is essential for our survival as a society." - Dennis Sergent shares his Deming journey.
| Deming Philosophy, Dr. Deming, System of Profound Knowledge, Understanding Variation
Four-Day Seminar with Dr. Deming Videos
Guest post by John Hunter, author of the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog (since 2004). The W. Edwards Deming Institute provides online access to a recording, from 1992, of Dr. Deming’s Four-Day Seminar. There is a cost for viewing these videos; remember we do make many videos available online for no charge including: If Japan …
| Appreciation for a System, Continual Improvement, Deming Philosophy, System of Profound Knowledge
In Search of Excellence
Post by Bill Bellows, Deputy Director, The Deming Institute “A product or service possesses quality if it helps someone and enjoys a sustainable market.” W. Edwards Deming “Quality is defined by doing it right the first time.” Phillip Crosby “There is not a day I don’t think about what Dr. Deming meant to us. Deming is …
| Appreciation for a System, data, Deming Philosophy, Deming Today, Education, podcast, Psychology
Restoring Joy and Meaning to Learning
Guest post by John Hunter, author of Management Matters: Building Enterprise Capability David Langford has taken his experience with applying Deming’s ideas to education to his position as the Superintendent of Ingenium schools in Los Angeles, California. The focus of Ingenium is “restoring joy and meaning to learning.” David talks about how Ingenium schools are …
| Deming Community, Events and Outreach
2018 Deming Prize Winners
The Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers (JUSE) has announced the 2018 Deming Prize winners. Nine companies were awarded the Deming Prize this year (last year 2 companies received the award): Aiphone Co., Ltd. (Japan) Indus Towers Limited (India) OTICS Corporation (Japan) Ocean’s King Lighting Science & Technology Co., Ltd. (China) PT Komatsu Indonesia (Indonesia) …
| Appreciation for a System, Continual Improvement, Deming Legacy, Deming Philosophy, System of Profound Knowledge, Understanding Variation
Why Deming / Why Now
"Now, more than ever, organizations possess limitless opportunities to improve how they manage resources within a system." - Bill Bellows
| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy, Psychology
Two Tweets & A Blog
Guest blog by Bob Browne, author of Sys-Tao – Western Logic and Eastern Flow and former Chairman and CEO of the Great Plains Coca-Cola Bottling Company Tweet One The question, “If Japan can, why can’t we?” conjures up the works of W. Edwards Deming. It also begs another question, “If the Japanese so easily understood …
| Deming Today, Healthcare
ASA Deming Lecture by Brent James: Long Term View of the Healthcare System
Guest post by John Hunter, who founded curiouscat.com in 1996. 2010 ASA Deming Lecture – “Dr. Deming Consults on Quality for Sir William Osler” by Brent James, Institute for Health Care Delivery Research. Brent James has worked at Intermountain Healthcare for several decades. I wrote a previous post on this blog about a paper he …
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| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy, Psychology, System of Profound Knowledge
The best and the brightest
We hear a lot of talk about companies wanting to hire the best and the brightest. But is that a great long-term strategy? Is there something better?
25th Annual Deming Institute Conference: Oct 5-6, 2018
Guest post by John Hunter, author of the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog. In this interview with Quality Digest, Kelly Allan discusses the Deming philosophy and the 25th annual Deming Institute conference which will be held Oct 5-6, 2018 in Manhattan Beach, California. Related: Deming 101, Kelly Allan’s Presentation at Our 2014 Annual Conference – …
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| Continual Improvement, Deming Philosophy, Deming Today, Education, Psychology
Restaurant Week (An elementary look at quality culture fundamentals)
Industry can help provide the solution for our educational problems. But ultimately, education will provide the solution for our industry problems.
| Appreciation for a System, Continual Improvement, Customer Focus, Deming Philosophy, System of Profound Knowledge
Iterative Customer Focus
Guest post by John Hunter, author of Management Matters: Building Enterprise Capability. On Statistical Techniques in Industry as a Natural Resource by W. Edwards Deming (1952) In the new way, management introduces, through consumer research, a 4th step, and runs through the 4 steps is a cycle, over and over … New Way Design the …
| Deming Today, Deming's Ideas in Action, Nonprofits
How Sawtooth Botanical Garden is Transforming Thanks to Deming
In this video interview with Aileron, Kat Vanden Heuvel, Executive Director at Sawtooth Botanical Garden, shares how Deming principles have changed the way people think and work at her nonprofit organization.
| Deming Community, Deming Philosophy, Events and Outreach, System of Profound Knowledge, Theory of Knowledge
Profound Knowledge from a Knowledge Use Perspective
ASA Deming Lecture: "Profound Knowledge from a Knowledge Use Perspective," Vincent P. Barabba, Market Insight Corporation
| Deming Philosophy, Deming Today, Education, Psychology
The Neuroscience of Deming by JW Wilson
Guest post by John Hunter, author of Management Matters: Building Enterprise Capability. This webcast shows JW Wilson’s presentation, The Neuroscience of Deming, at the 2012 Annual Deming Conference. In a previous post I wrote about this presentation which included a couple clips from the presentation. Now we have the full presentation on our YouTube channel: …
| Deming Philosophy, Psychology
Book Review – The Mind at Work: Valuing the intelligence of the American Worker
Guest post by Michael Godfried: planner and policy analyst in Washington State and Bill Bellows, Deputy Director, The Deming Institute Mike Rose is a wonderful writer with a host of books to his name. The Mind at Work: Valuing the intelligence of the American Worker (2004) looks at the mental dimension of work that is often dismissed …
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| Customer Focus, data, Deming Philosophy, Theory of Knowledge
What Loss Will a Business Suffer Due to a Dissatisfied Customer?
Guest post by John Hunter, who founded curiouscat.com in 1996. You can’t know how much a dissatisfied customer will cost your business in the long run. You can make statistical judgements about how costly dissatisfied customers are to a business but those are loaded with many guesses. They can give a general indication of the …
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| Deming Philosophy, Psychology, System of Profound Knowledge
My quest for understanding
Why is it so hard to get the Deming approach to "stick" at organizations?Keith Sparkjoy's answer may surprise you.
| data, Deming Philosophy, systems thinking, Understanding Variation
Book Review – The Tyranny of Metrics
Guest post by Michael Godfried: planner and policy analyst in Washington State and Bill Bellows, Deputy Director, The Deming Institute Jerry Z. Muller’s The Tyranny of Metrics (2018) is a book that I believe Dr. Deming would have surely appreciated. This well-researched book gives an ever timely overview of the history and drivers behind the misuse of metrics …
| data, Deming Philosophy, System of Profound Knowledge
Deming 101: Goals, Aims, and Analytics, by Mike Tveite
In this 2012 webcast by Mike Tveite, learn the difference between an aim and a goal, and how the goal often gets in the way of the aim.
| Appreciation for a System, Deming Legacy, Deming Philosophy, Understanding Variation
Understanding Variation and Appreciating Variety
By John Hunter and Bill Bellows. Beginning in 1951, the Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers (JUSE) has awarded the Deming Prize to honor organizations, and later, individuals, for extraordinary accomplishments in quality management. Recipients receive a prestigious medal, complete with an image of Dr. Deming, with his quotation, “The right quality and uniformity are foundations …
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| Deming Philosophy, Psychology
Comparing Lean Thinking and Dr. Deming’s Management Ideas
Guest post by John Hunter, author of Management Matters: Building Enterprise Capability. This webcast shows Sarah Pavelka’s presentation, Deming and Lean: The Disparities and Similarities, at the 2012 Annual Deming Conference. Sarah co-authored Tool Time for Lean with David Langford. In a previous post I wrote about this presentation which included a few selected clips …
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| data, Deming Philosophy, Understanding Variation
Reliability: Another Dimension of Quality
Guest post by John Hunter, who founded curiouscat.com in 1996. 2015 ASA Deming Lecture by William Meeker – Reliability: The Other Dimension of Quality: William Meeker begins the presentations discussing his experience with W. Edwards Deming in relation to a paper by Meeker and Gerald Hahn. The core issue related to the issues around problems …
| Deming Community, Deming Philosophy, Deming Today, Education, Events and Outreach, Psychology
When Deming Goes to School
David Langford explains how "When Deming Goes to School, Learning Takes a Front Seat" at The Deming Institute's 2012 annual conference,
| systems thinking
Aim as a System
Guest post by John Hunter, author of Management Matters: Building Enterprise Capability. TJ Gokcen,CEO of Acquate, shared a presentation at our 2015 International Deming Research Seminar on Aim as a System. In the presentation TJ says that one of management’s responsibilities is to coordinate communication between the interconnected components of a system. Ensuring that feedback …
| Deming Philosophy, Deming Today, Education, Psychology
Empowering Students to Lead Change by Christine Simpson and Sarah Ambrus
Guest post by John Hunter, who founded curiouscat.com in 1996. The video shows the presentation by Christine Simpson and Sarah Ambrus at the 2015 Deming research seminar: Empowering Students to Lead Change. They gave a similar, and a bit longer, presentation at the 2015 Deming in Education conference on Student Led Change. Quoting a student: …
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| data, Deming Community, Deming Philosophy, Events and Outreach, Theory of Knowledge
Ron Moen’s Presentation: Prediction is the Problem
Guest post by John Hunter, author of the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog. The video shows the presentation by Ron Moen, Prediction is the Problem, at our 2012 annual conference. A previous post on our blog in 2013 included a clip from this talk and explored Ron’s thoughts which might be of interest if you …
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| Dr. Deming
2017 ASA Deming Lecture, W. Edwards Deming – A Kaizen Statistician
Guest post by John Hunter, author of Management Matters: Building Enterprise Capability. 2017 ASA Deming Lecture, W. Edwards Deming – A Kaizen Statistician, by Fritz Scheuren, NORC-University of Chicago. In his presentation, Fritz provides a personal view of W. Edwards Deming the man and Deming’s ideas. That’s the way people understood Deming. As a critic, …
2017 ASA Deming Lecture, W. Edwards Deming – A Kaizen Statistician Read More »
| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy, Theory of Knowledge
Do You See What I See – Bill Bellows
Guest post by John Hunter. This webcast shows Bill Bellows’ presentation, Do You See What I See, at the 2012 Annual Deming Conference. Bill is now the Deputy Director of The W. Edwards Deming Institute®. I previously posted on a snippet from this presentation: How Did We Do on the Test?. As long as we …
| Deming Philosophy
Recommended aim, with examples
Guest post by Keith Sparkjoy, Vice President of the Sparkjoy Foundation* Of all of Deming’s work, the bit with the most potential impact is also the bit that Deming kept close to his vest – because it doesn’t advocate company growth as an aim, and his clients would not have understood. There is a paragraph from …
| Deming Philosophy, Deming Today, Deming's Ideas in Action, Psychology, System of Profound Knowledge
Applying Deming’s Management Ideas at the Great Plains Coca Cola Bottling Company
Guest post by John Hunter. This webcast shows Bob Browne’s presentation, Profound Knowledge of the Real Thing, at the 2012 Annual Deming Conference. Bob is the former CEO of the Great Plains Coca Cola Bottling Company. Among other things, this presentation is a good option for those seeking an example that provides historical business results …
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| Deming Philosophy
Encouraging Organizational Learning
Guest post by Lori Fry, Principal with Navigator Management Partners, originally featured as a post at https://dignityatworkproject.com/. Follow this link to listen to our first podcast with Lori. Writer’s block – the struggle is REAL. People who know me will insist that I’m rarely at a loss for words – so what gives? Thankfully, I had a …
| Dr. Deming, The W. Edwards Deming Institute
The Most Popular Videos on Our YouTube Channel in 2017
Guest post by John Hunter. Here are the most popular videos on The W. Edwards Deming Institute You Tube channel in the last year. Those with W. Edwards Deming in them are the most popular. The videos with the most views in the last year: W. Edwards Deming: The 14 Points: 46,000 views in 2017 (added …
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| Deming Today, Education, systems thinking
Transformation of the Individual and the Organization
Guest post by John Hunter. This webcast shows David Langford’s presentation, When Grading Bites the Dust, at the 2012 Annual Deming Conference. A previous post (Change has to Start from the Top) includes a clip from another talk he gave at the 2012 conference and it is a valuable companion to the video included here. …
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| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy, Deming Today, Education, Understanding Variation
Learning to Discern – Quality & Quantity
Post by Bill Bellows, Deputy Director, The Deming Institute “The basic problem anywhere is quality. What is quality? A product or a service possesses quality if it helps somebody and enjoys a good and sustainable market.” W. Edwards Deming When our daughter, Allison, was about 3 years old, she joined me for a quick ride to the …
| Dr. Deming, systems thinking
Profits, Pragmatism, and the Possibilities of Possessing “Other Eyes”
Post by Bill Bellows There is little evidence that we give a hoot about profit. W. Edwards Deming On July 22, 2014, Apple announced financial results for its fiscal third quarter, reporting a revenue of $37.4 billion and a quarterly net profit of $7.7 billion. From sales of iPhones to iPads to computers, Apple executives …
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| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy, Deming Today, Understanding Variation
Applying Quality as a Business Strategy at Hallmark Building Supplies
Guest post by John Hunter. This webcast shows Louie Paynter’s presentation, Hallmark Building Supplies’ Approach to Applying Quality as a Business Strategy, at the 2012 Annual Deming Conference. I have written about this presentation in 2013 with a few selected clips from the presentation. Now we have added the full presentation to our YouTube channel: …
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| Deming Today, Dr. Deming, Education, systems thinking
Instant Karma! and Instant Pudding!
Post by Bill Bellows, Deputy Director, The Deming Institute The first step is transformation of the individual. The individual, transformed, will perceive new meaning to his life, to events, to numbers, to interactions between people. W. Edwards Deming In January 1970, John Lennon returned to the UK from a holiday in Denmark, inspired by a series …
| Dr. Deming, systems thinking
Transformation Paradox
This guest post is an excerpt from Ed Baker’s book (pages 31-32), The Symphony of Profound Knowledge, which was created in partnership with Aileron.org. Managers in business, school administrators, and teachers may believe that they have to grade, rate, and rank, to manage by numbers and use other traditional methods because these are necessary to do their …
| Deming Today, Education
Tom Rudmik: Thriving in the World of Massive Change
Guest post by John Hunter. This webcast shows Tom Rudmik’s presentation, Thriving in the World of Massive Change, at the 2012 Annual Deming Conference. Tom is CEO of Master’s Academy and College. This is an interesting presentation that includes a look at an array of current scientific breakthroughs. The early part is reminiscent to talks …
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| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy, Understanding Variation
Utopia: Next Stop or Last Stop?
Post by Bill Bellows, Deputy Director, The Deming Institute. Sir Thomas More was not the first person, nor the last, to disagree with King Henry VIII. His last serious conflict, refusing to attend the coronation of Anne Boleyn as the Queen of England in 1533, was interpreted as a snub against Anne. From this episode, More’s …
| Dr. Deming, systems thinking
More reflections on additivity, including hole reinforcement circles and golf balls
Post by Bill Bellows, Deputy Director, The Deming Institute. “The efforts of the various divisions in a company, each given a job, are not additive. Their efforts are interdependent.” W. Edwards Deming, The New Economics In a continuation from a previous blog on what to think when things do not add up…, consider the machinist whose …
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| Deming Philosophy, Psychology
Command-and-Control Management Style delivers the wrong message
Guest post by Lori Fry, Principal with Navigator Management Partners, originally featured as a post at https://dignityatworkproject.com/ Follow this link to listen to our first podcast with Lori. My son, Ben, was written up at work for calling off so he could evacuate Florida ahead of Hurricane Irma’s landfall. You can read about it in The Washington …
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| Deming Philosophy, Deming Today, Education, Psychology
Fixing Education: A Model That Works, by Bette Moen
Guest post by John Hunter. This webcast shows Bette Moen’s presentation, Fixing Education: A Model That Works, at the 2012 Annual Deming Conference. Bette is the founder and director of Cedar Crest Academy. Cedar Crest pays close personal attention to each student and adjusts the system to their needs and strengths. The system is adapted …
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| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy, System of Profound Knowledge
What to think when things do not add up…
Post by Bill Bellows, Deputy Director, The Deming Institute. “The efforts of the various divisions in a company, each given a job, are not additive. Their efforts are interdependent.” W. Edwards Deming, The New Economics In the summer of 2005, I spoke at a conference which featured Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric, as …
| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy, System of Profound Knowledge
Standardization With a Systems View Allows Creativity to Flourish
Guest post by John Hunter. We all benefit from standardization every day. We can plug our devices into a wall outlet and power them. We can get a replacement battery and have it work as expected. We can type on the keyboard without thinking because the keys are the same on each keyboard. We can …
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| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy, System of Profound Knowledge
Management is Prediction
This guest post is an excerpt from Ed Baker’s book (pages 47-48), The Symphony of Profound Knowledge, which was created in partnership with Aileron.org. Find a recent interview with Ed on the topic of this blog post at this link. Deming’s criterion of knowledge is whether it helps us to predict and not whether we discover truth, …
| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy, Dr. Deming
Drawing Lines
Post by Bill Bellows, Deputy Director, The Deming Institute “The boundary of the system to be described…may be drawn around a single company or, around an industry, or as in Japan in 1950, the whole country. The bigger be the coverage, the bigger be the possible benefits, plus the more difficult to manage. The aim must include …
| Deming Today, Dr. Deming, Education | 2 Comments
The Landry Principle
Guest post by Doug Stilwell, Assistant Professor in Educational Leadership at Drake University, originally featured as a post at https://sites.google.com/site/dcintrial2/. Follow this link to listen to our first podcast with Doug. Landry I am the proud owner/friend of a one year old 75 pound golden retriever named Landry, affectionately named after the former and well-respected coach …
| Deming Philosophy, Deming Today, System of Profound Knowledge | 2 Comments
The System of Profound Knowledge Applied to Sales and Marketing
Guest post by John Hunter. This webcast shows Steve Haedrich’s presentation, The System of Profound Knowledge Applied to Sales and Marketing, at the 2015 Deming Research Seminar. Steve is the President of New York Label & Box Works. Steve discussed the importance of understanding the strengths of your organization and remembering that more sales is …
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| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy
“Nailed it.” A lesson in overcoming project complexity
Guest post by Lori Fry, Principal with Navigator Management Partners, originally featured as a post at https://dignityatworkproject.com/ Follow this link to listen to our first podcast with Lori. When your project shows signs of trouble, go basic first. It was Benjamin Franklin and not 70’s musician Todd Rundgren who first admonished us to pay attention to the …
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| Deming Philosophy, Theory of Knowledge, Understanding Variation
Wouldn’t It Be Nice?
Post by Bill Bellows, Deputy Director, The Deming Institute. Long before Adele and Lady Gaga spoke their first words, The Beatles and The Beach Boys were music industry leaders in the US and UK, as well as worldwide airwave competitors. While neither group may have heard of Alfred Politz, a pioneer in the field of market research, …
| Deming Philosophy, Psychology
Tis the season….for performance appraisals
Guest Post by Bill Bellows Some years ago, I read an article on performance appraisals and was inspired to contact the columnist in response to their invitation for feedback. While I did not receive a reply, here is my feedback, which may inspire others to seize a moment in the coming months (or years) …
| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy, Deming Today, Education
The Transformation from School Based Learning to Lifelong Learning
Guest post by John Hunter. This webcast shows Bjarne Wig’s presentation, The Transformation of Learning, at the 2015 Deming Research Seminar. See Bjarne’s research paper that forms the basis of the talk: The Transformation of Learning at the Work Place. Educational institutions are becoming dinosaurs with regard to the need for continuous learning. The entire …
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| Dr. Deming, respect for people
Deming’s Principles of Professional Practice
This guest post is an excerpt from Ed Baker’s book (pages 104-105), The Symphony of Profound Knowledge, which was created in partnership with Aileron.org. The distinction between the meanings of the words ethical and moral is not always clear, and often they are used interchangeably as synonyms. Ethics has been used to refer to a system of …
| Dr. Deming, systems thinking
Book Review – Profit Beyond Measure
Post by Bill Bellows, Deputy Director, The Deming Institute H. Thomas (“Tom”) Johnson stands at the forefront of a world-wide community of business thinkers who are unveiling the limitations, as well as assumptions, of the old economics that underlie the mechanistic decision making and planning practices of corporations and organizations. Upon co-authoring his 2001 book, Profit Beyond …
| Deming Philosophy, System of Profound Knowledge, Understanding Variation
Understanding and Misunderstanding Variation
Guest post by John Hunter. This webcast shows Mike Stoecklein’s presentation, Understanding and Misunderstanding Variation in Healthcare, at the 2015 Deming Research Seminar. The companion research paper that Mike wrote, Understanding and Misunderstanding Variation in Healthcare is packed with additional information on the topics he discusses and includes a summary of interviews with 40 individuals …
| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy, Deming Today
Post-Harvey Restoration: Consider a Deming-Based Approach
Guest post by Lori Fry, Principal with Navigator Management Partners, originally featured as a post at https://dignityatworkproject.com/ Follow this link to listen to our first podcast with Lori. The effects of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma will be felt for years. AccuWeather has reported the cost of recovery efforts will exceed $290 billion. That’s BILLION. With …
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| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy, Understanding Variation
Management by Extremes
Post by Bill Bellows, Deputy Director, The Deming Institute. In the spirit of standardization that is growing in popularity in organizations around the world, is there room for diversity? That is, is variety really the spice of life, or does it represent a non-value added effort, if not simply waste? In other words, should variation always be …
| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy, The W. Edwards Deming Institute
Are you a systems thinker?
Post by Bill Bellows, Deputy Director, The Deming Institute. A few decades before The Big Bang Theory introduced television audiences to fictional theoretical physicist Sheldon Cooper, with guest appearances by Stephen Hawking, astronomer Carl Sagan was one of the most well-known non-fictional US physicists. Amongst Sagan’s research interests was the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence, including the odds …
| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy, Understanding Variation
The Funnel Experiment with Brian Hwarng
Guest post by John Hunter. This webcast shows Brian Hwarng’s presentation, The Funnel Experiment, at the 2015 Deming Research Seminar. As Brian says: The purpose [of the funnel experiment] is to demonstrate, by theory, the losses that are caused by tampering. Chapter 9 (“The Funnel”) of The New Economics is a good source to learn …
| Dr. Deming, respect for people
The Transformed Map of a Recovering Management Accountant
This guest post is an excerpt from Ed Baker’s book (pages 140-141), The Symphony of Profound Knowledge, which was created in partnership with Aileron.org. Dr. Tom Johnson, an economist and self-described “recovering management accountant,” is well known for his early contributions to the traditional accounting profession. His books Relevance Lost, coauthored with Robert S. Kaplan, and Relevance …
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| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy
Selling Horses and Seeing Systems
Post by Bill Bellows, Deputy Director, The Deming Institute. Midway through graduate school, while employed through the summer months in an engineering position, I joined fellow interns in an after-hours outing at a local pub. With our internships coming to an end, we invited our department manager to join us. Unlike the technical questions we answered all …
| Deming Today
Book Review – Against All Odds: The Story of the Toyota Motor Corporation and the Family That Created It
Post by Bill Bellows, Deputy Director, The Deming Institute. Once upon a time, well before his name entered lean folklore, Taiichi Ohno graduated from industrial school and earned a position with Toyoda Spinning & Weaving as a supervisor. The year was 1933 and Ohno soon became well known for his mustache, added to further his image of …
| Deming Philosophy, Deming Today, Government, Psychology
Collaborating to Improve Government Performance
Guest post by John Hunter. This webcast shows Phil Landesberg’s presentation, Collaborating to Improve Government Performance, at the 2015 Deming Research Seminar. I have known Phil for many years having served with him on the board of the Washington DC Deming User’s group. I also worked at the Office of Secretary of Defense Quality Management …
| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy, Psychology, Understanding Variation
Manage Costs, Variation, and Waste – Mind the Choices
Post by Bill Bellows, Deputy Director, The Deming Institute. As noted in my June 26th post, “It Depends…”, when asked in February 1990 about the trend towards reducing the number of levels of management in organizations, Dr. Deming answered, in his usual Socratic fashion: “Why have more levels than you need?” Now, consider what Socratic questions might …
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| Deming Philosophy, Psychology
The price of dignity at work: one company says $20
Guest post by Lori Fry, Principal with Navigator Management Partners, originally featured as a post at https://dignityatworkproject.com/. Follow this link to listen to our first podcast with Lori. Monitoring employees’ time in the restroom is not okay. If you believe monitoring employees’ time in the restroom will materially improve your company’s bottom line, refer to …
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| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy, Deming Today | 1 Comment
Transforming Jet-Hot by Viewing the Organization as a System
Guest post by John Hunter. Jet-Hot‘s story provides an example of applying Deming’s work to transform a real enterprise. Gordon McGilton and Dennis Sergent share evidence from their experience that will help others transform their enterprises by focusing on their system and aim. Jet-Hot was undergoing bankruptcy, with all the problems that entails. They used …
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| Continual Improvement, Deming Philosophy
Haircuts and Continuous Improvement
Post by Bill Bellows, Deputy Director, The Deming Institute. On a summer weekend in 1997, I visited my office for a short time before heading home after a few errands near work. At the time, I was a member of the company’s Continuous Improvement Team, a later version of a Total Quality Management Office. Upon dropping in, …
| Appreciation for a System, Continual Improvement, Deming Philosophy, System of Profound Knowledge, Theory of Knowledge
Anyone Can Cut Costs, Look Good and Go Out of Business
Guest post by Edward Martin Baker. A version of this post originally appeared on Aileron.org. Years ago, a “friend” who thought he was a mechanic, as did I, offered to improve my car’s performance. He removed parts of the engine, fiddled around with them, and reassembled them. When he finished, I saw some of the …
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| data, Dr. Deming, The W. Edwards Deming Institute
Mind the Choice: Continuous Improvement or Continuous Problem Solving
Post by Bill Bellows, Deputy Director, The Deming Institute. Sparky Anderson, manager of the Cincinnati Reds during most of the 1970s, spoke on occasion about the big problem he had with his Major League Baseball team. He claimed that the Reds, also known at the time as “The Big Red Machine,” had so much talent that he …
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| Deming Philosophy, Deming Today, Psychology
Applying W. Edwards Deming’s Ideas in Software Development
Guest post by John Hunter. This video shows Poorani Jeyaseker’s presentation, The Role of W. Edwards Deming in Today’s IT, at the 2015 Deming Research Seminar. Poorani explains how the management system drives behavior that is not useful to the organization. The business team asks for estimates for software development. Those estimates are treated as …
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| Deming Philosophy, Deming Today, Education, Psychology
Tree climbing or life-long learning – what’s the real AIM of our education system?
In our schools, targets and rankings cause cheating, focus on achievement, and drive in fear and suck the joy out of learning.
| systems thinking
Improving the Management System with an Understanding of Deming
In his presentation at the 2015 Deming Research Seminar Joseph Schneider discusses his efforts to apply Deming’s ideas within Siemens. Joseph talks about how they worked to use Deming’s ideas even though much of the management system was not within their control (so they had to accept the system had aspects that fight against creating …
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| Dr. Deming, systems thinking
It Depends…
Post by Bill Bellows, Deputy Director, The Deming Institute. “There is not a day I don’t think about what Dr. Deming meant to us. Deming is the core of our management,” proclaimed Shoichiro Toyoda, Toyota’s president between 1982 and 1992 and chairman between 1992 and 1999, at the 1980 Deming Prize Ceremonies in Japan. One year earlier, …
| Dr. Deming, systems thinking
Manage the System to Score a Whole in One: A Golf Lesson
Guest post by Edward Martin Baker. A version of this post originally appeared on Aileron.org. In a previous blog, “Leaders can make music,” I used the analogy of the leader as orchestra conductor who follows a score to orchestrate people playing together. The score to which I referred was Deming’s System of Profound Knowledge. Another …
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| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy, Psychology
When We Understand Our Work and We are Given the Ability to Improve It – We Will
Guest post by John Hunter Jim Benson’s presentation at our 2015 International Deming Research Seminar explored how to manage the workload better to improve results. We want to help people become happy so that they will build better products. We fundamentally believe that happy people do exactly that. Companies that understand this important idea have …
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| Deming Philosophy, Dr. Deming, Psychology
Don’t Gamble with your Company’s Culture
Guest post by Lori Fry, Principal with Navigator Management Partners, originally featured as a post at https://dignityatworkproject.com/ Follow this link to listen to our first podcast with Lori. “Our growth is hurting our culture.” “We need more structure, but I’m afraid it will kill our culture.” “Our culture is perfect. We don’t have processes and rules. We …
Creativity: Presentation by Heather Groom
Guest post by John Hunter. Heather Groom’s presentation on Creativity at our Deming in Public Administration seminar. In discussing the roadblocks to creativity she mentioned the imposter syndrome. I have seen imposter syndrome mentioned very frequently recently (the last year or two). I find it interesting how concepts become popular and are widely shared for …
| Dr. Deming
The Problem is to Find a Date
Post by Bill Bellows, Deputy Director, The Deming Institute. In February 1989, Professor Doug Fox, from Western Connecticut State University’s Ancell School of Business, received a reply to his invitation to Dr. Deming to speak with his classes. Dr. Deming’s letter, dated February 11th, began with: I thank you for your kind invitation to speak with your …
| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy
Leaders Can Make Music
"An example of a system, well optimized, is a good orchestra." - W. Edwards Deming
| The W. Edwards Deming Institute
The W. Edwards Deming Institute Blog
Post by Kevin Cahill, Executive Director of The Deming Institute. John Hunter has led the blogging efforts of The Deming Institute, including our first post on October 1, 2012, followed by biweekly posts ever since. As we transition the role of hosting our blogs from John to Bill Bellows, our Deputy Director, we are …
| Appreciation for a System, Deming Legacy, Deming Philosophy, Psychology, System of Profound Knowledge
Video of W. Edwards Deming at Western Connecticut State University in 1990
Presentation by W. Edwards Deming at Western CT State University – February 1990 We are being ruined by best efforts without knowledge. Sure we want best efforts but guided with knowledge. Efforts guided by instinct do more harm than good. Our problem is best efforts. At about the 50 minute point in the presentation Dr. …
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| The W. Edwards Deming Institute
Find Online Resources for Learning About Deming’s Ideas on Management
There are many online resources for those looking to improve the practice of management in their organization in a way consistent with Dr. Deming’s management system. The W. Edwards Deming Institute maintains several online resources: The W. Edwards Deming Institute web site, which includes a wealth of resources including over 60 articles by Dr. Deming, …
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| Deming Philosophy, Deming Today, Government, Psychology
Public Administration: Past, Present, and Future
Professor Ravi Roy, Director of the W. Edwards Deming Incubator for Public Affairs at Southern Utah University spoke at the Deming Management in Public Administration Conference earlier this year on Public Administration: Past, Present, and Future. Quoting Denzau and North (from Shared Mental Models: Ideologies and Institutions, I believe) Systemic transformations are rooted in a …
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| Appreciation for a System, Customer Focus, Deming Philosophy
Creating a Deep Commitment to Delighting Customers
Those organizations that can delight customers today and take the steps today that position the organization to delight customers in the future will prosper and grow. But building and maintaining a management culture that reinforces delighting customers and long term thinking is quite difficult. I have trouble finding businesses that are focused on delighting customers. …
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| data, Deming Community, Deming Today, Education, Events and Outreach, systems thinking
Red Beads and Profound Knowledge: Deming and Quality of Education
Sharon Lohr presented the 2014 American Statistical Association (ASA) Deming Lecture – Red Beads and Profound Knowledge: Deming and Quality of Education (slides with notes and references). Dr. Lohr earned her doctorate in statistics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she learned about Deming’s philosophy and met Dr. Deming. Quoting W. Edwards Deming in her …
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| Dr. Deming, respect for people, systems thinking
The Transformation is Everybody’s Job
W. Edwards Deming’s 14th point is: Put everybody in the company to work to accomplish the transformation. The transformation is everybody’s job. One important point to note is that quotes lose a great deal when taken out of context. You can also find quotes by Dr. Deming, such as: “As I use the term here, …
| podcast
Deming Podcast with Doug Hall
Doug Hall,CEO and founder of Innovation Engineering, participated in a previous podcast on Using Systems Thinking to Power Strategy, Innovation and Growth. He returns to the Deming Institute podcast again (download) and he shares his approach for using innovation or leadership to improve management practices. Doug talks about command and control management being too slow …
| Customer Focus, Deming Philosophy, Dr. Deming, systems thinking
What Business are We In?
That quote is from The New Economics, published in 1993. Still today many companies would benefit greatly from adopting this thinking. So often companies fail to focus on the needs of customers. So often companies focus on the short term to the detriment of long term success. We would all be better off if more …
| data, respect for people, systems thinking
Exploring Measurement, Presentation by Ian Bradbury
Ian Bradbury presented on Exploring Measurement at our 2016 annual conference. As usual his presentation is packed with great information. I strongly recommend watching (also see links to more presentations by him below). At the very beginning of his talk, Ian says Stuff happens a lot and nothing results from that. But sometimes stuff happens …
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| Deming Philosophy
Test your Knowledge of Out of the Crisis
Test your knowledge of Out of the Crisis and The New Economics with crossword puzzles created by Joyce Orsini. Here is the puzzle for chapter 2 of The Out of the Crisis: Example questions: The ________ is the most important part of the production line. Experience alone, without ______ teaches nothing. I previously added a …
| Deming Community, Events and Outreach, The W. Edwards Deming Institute
Deming Institute Seminars in London and Edinburgh During May 2017
We are offering 2 new seminars in the UK this May: The W. Edwards Deming Institute® Organisations as Unusual Workshop (Shift from Big Problems to Great Opportunities) and The W. Edwards Deming Institute® Sustainability Strategy Program. The first is a workshop over two half days. The second includes both those half days and fills out …
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| Dr. Deming, respect for people
David and Carole Schwinn Presentation on The Man, The Mission, The Movement
David and Carole Schwinn’s presentation at the 2016 Annual Deming Conference: The Man, The Mission, The Movement: David Schwinn talking about Dr. Deming’s work at Ford Dr. Deming would come and talk to top management and come and listen to the workers. That is what he did. And he would do this over and over …
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| systems thinking
The Degree of Interdependence
Dr. Deming discusses the interdependence of business in: Managing the Organization as a System. For example, in a bowling team each one plays his one solos, on the other hand in an orchestra it is all interdependence. They work together as a system. I’d say that the degree of interdependence is probably greater in a …
| data, process thinking
Kevin Murphy’s Presentation: Application and Lessons of Deming’s Perspective on Leadership
Kevin Murphy’s presentation at the 14th In2:InThinking Annual Forum Weekend Conference: Application and Lessons of Deming’s Perspective on Leadership: [Vimeo plays the video automatically – which is obviously an extremely bad Ux practice. Even using their code to disable autoplay of the video doesn’t work. So I have removed the embedded video. You may view …
| The W. Edwards Deming Institute | 1 Comment
Gipsie Ranney
Sadly, we have to announce the passing of our dear friend Gipsie Ranney on March 7th. Gipsie Ann Bush Ranney was born in Kingsport, Tennessee to Raymond and Lola Bush. Gipsie is survived by four cousins; Anna Kate Barnes, Dwight Campbell, Rita Marcum Denton and Thelma Marium Smith. She obtained a bachelors degree in Mathematics …
| data, Deming Legacy, Deming Philosophy, Understanding Variation
Application of Statistical Methods in 1940
Dave Nave found an interesting forward from a set of 1985 standards on Control Charts. It describes how those standards were created as part of the World War II war effort, with Dr. Deming on the committee. Subsequently the standards were transfer to ASQ/ANSI. From the forward Upon request by the War Department, the American …
| systems thinking
Creating Technology Solutions that are Appropriate Given the System Context
Kentaro Toyama‘s presentation at the 2016 Annual Deming Institute Conference – Geek Heresy: Technology’s Law of Amplification From the website for Kentaro’s book, Geek Heresy “Toyama’s research reminds us that there are few one-size-fits-all solutions. If technology is going to improve the lives of the world’s poorest, it must be grounded in a deep understanding …
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| systems thinking
Eliminating Sales Commissions at Air Force One
At Air Force One, the word team means something Over the past few years, Air Force One CEO Greg Guy did away with commission pay for all sales associates and general managers. “The performance has been great and I would never consider going back,” he says. Of the HVAC contractor’s 170 employees, pay changed for …
| Continual Improvement, Deming Philosophy, systems thinking
Everybody Thinking, Learning and Doing
In this presentation Dan Jones discusses what we (with an understanding of Deming’s ideas) can see as an aspect of the Deming chain reaction: Focusing on quality and then time the consequence is that we lower costs. Rather than focusing initially on costs as most people do and then somehow hoping that quality and time …
| systems thinking
Deming’s Ideas Applied at Intermountain Healthcare Since 1988
Guest post by John Hunter, founder of the CuriousCat.com. I like to share interesting articles (and other resources) that provide examples of organizations applying Deming’s ideas in practice. Here is another of those articles: How Intermountain Trimmed Health Care Costs Through Robust Quality Improvement Efforts by Brent James and Lucy Savitz (2011). Since 1988, Intermountain …
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| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy, Deming Today, Education, Psychology
David Langford Presentation on Motivation and System Improvement
David Langford’s presentation at our 2015 annual conference was titled: Education – Implementation Intentions and Automatization. David included a clip from one of my favorite shows, Utopia (called Dreamland in USA) with a vivid example of a performance appraisal experience. David also discusses the problems created by using extrinsic motivation to drive improved measures. As …
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| process thinking, systems thinking
Software Code Reviews from a Deming Perspective
Software code review is the practice of reviewing the software code written by colleagues on your software development team. Like many practices the form it takes can vary quite a bit. W. Edwards Deming stated in Out of the Crisis: Cease dependence on inspection to achieve quality. Eliminate the need for inspection on a mass …
| Continual Improvement, Deming Philosophy, process thinking
What are We Trying to Accomplish?
In The Improvement Guide, the authors add 3 questions to the PDSA cycle: What are we trying to accomplish? How will we know that a change is an improvement? What change can we make that will result in improvement? As I stated in my previous post on The Improvement Guide I believe anyone using the …
Myron Tribus Interview of Homer Sarasohn
This video shows Myron Tribus interviewing Homer Sarasohn in 1988. This post is fairly tangential to the normal scope of this blog but I find it interesting. Largely it is about efforts to rebuild the Japanese economy after the devastation of World War II. Obviously W. Edwards Deming was involved in this effort and his …
| Deming Philosophy, podcast, Psychology
Tim Higgins on Psychology and Intrinsic Motivation
Listen to the Deming Institute Podcast with Tim Higgins, Quality Engineer for NASA and President of the In2:InThinking Network (download podcast). Also see our recent post on Tim’s presentation at our last annual conference: Curiosity, Learning, Knowledge, and Improvement with Tim Higgins. When I read The New Economics lightbulbs started going on, some understanding of …
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| Appreciation for a System, data, Deming Philosophy, Psychology, Understanding Variation
Stratify Data to Hone in on Special Causes of Problems
We have a tendency to focus on special causes even when poor results are due to common causes within the system. To improve results that are due to the system trying to determine the specific problem with any bad result and fix that problem is an inefficient strategy. But there are times when seeking the …
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| Deming Community, Deming Philosophy, Events and Outreach, Psychology
Creating the Foundation for a Learning Organization
Cliff and Jane Norman (Profound Knowledge Products, Inc.) presented a session at our 2016 annual conference titled: Applying Deming’s Philosophy and Theory to Create the Foundation for a Learning Organization. Cliff, quoting Brian Joiner in the presentation: It takes one kind of brains to start something, it takes a different type of brains to sustain …
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| Deming Legacy, Deming Philosophy, Deming Today, Healthcare, Psychology
Reflections on Dr. Deming’s Hospital Notes – What Has Changed Since 1990?
Guest post by Mark Graban About ten years ago, somebody sent me a PDF file of Dr. Deming’s “Some Notes on Management in a Hospital.” I felt like somebody had shared a bootleg tape of my favorite band, as I wasn’t sure the article had ever been formally published anywhere. Since I wasn’t sure if …
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| process thinking, systems thinking
Educate New Managers on Their New Responsibilities
Guest post by John Hunter, author of the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog (since 2004). Far too often, companies promote employees into management positions and expect them to fulfill the obligations of their new position without helping prepare them to meet their new responsibilities. People who excelled at doing their non-supervisory job often have little education or experience …
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| data, Deming Philosophy, Understanding Variation
Eric Budd Presentation on Data and Operational Definitions
Eric Budd’s presentation at the 2016 Annual Deming Institute Conference: An Exercise in Operational Definition. The exercise Eric uses in the presentation shows how much variation can show up in data – just from how the data is collected. And in this example the data even has an operational definition used in collecting the data. …
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| Appreciation for a System, Customer Focus, Deming Philosophy, process thinking, Theory of Knowledge
Jobs to be Done
"While many in the business world associate the word 'theory' with something purely academic or abstract, nothing could be further from the truth. Theories that explain causality are among the most important and practical tools business leaders can have." - Clayton Christensen
| respect for people | 1 Comment
The Failure of “The Livonia Philosophy” at my GM Plant
Guest post by Mark Graban As I wrote about in my first post, my first job out of college was at the GM Livonia Engine Plant, outside of Detroit. General Motors wasn’t my ideal workplace after having read Deming’s Out of the Crisis and learning a bit about Lean manufacturing in college. If possible, I …
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| Dr. Deming, The W. Edwards Deming Institute
The Most Popular Videos on Our YouTube Channel in the Last Year
Here are the most popular videos on The W. Edwards Deming Institute You Tube channel in the last year. Unsurprisingly, those with W. Edwards Deming in them are very popular. The videos with the most views in the last year: W. Edwards Deming: The 14 Points: 70,693 total views all time (added 2 year ago). …
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| data, systems thinking
Deadly Disease of Management: Emphasis on Short-term Profits
One of Dr. Deming’s 7 deadly diseases is: Emphasis on short-term profits: short-term thinking It is easy to focus on short term goals and use a somewhat simple short term figure to measure success. But just because it is easier to look at the quarterly profit figure than determine progress without such a clear measure, …
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| Psychology, respect for people
Why Dr. Deming’s Work is So Important to Me
Guest post by Mark Graban, founder and lead blogger and podcaster at LeanBlog.org, While my work is usually associated with the term “Lean” and the lessons from the Toyota Production System, some of my earliest learning and inspiration for improvement came from the work of W. Edwards Deming. I don’t think I learned anything about …
| Psychology
Curiosity, Learning, Knowledge, and Improvement with Tim Higgins
Tim Higgins provided the Deming 101 presentation at our 2016 annual conference – Curiosity, Learning, Knowledge, and Improvement: Tim starts off by saying that some people think Deming’s life was about variation but Deming’s purpose for understanding variation was to learn. This insight is wise. Quotes are useful to provide focus but that can also …
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| The W. Edwards Deming Institute
The Most Popular Posts on The W. Edwards Deming Institute Blog in 2016
The 20 most popular post on our blog this year (by page views reported by our analytic tool): Myth: If You Can’t Measure It, You Can’t Manage It (2015) A Bad System Will Beat a Good Person Every Time (2015) Minimal Viable Product (2014) 2015 Deming Prize Awardees (2015)* Deming and Lean: The Disparities and …
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| podcast
Using Dr. Deming’s Ideas at Baptist Memorial Health Care
Skip Steward, Chief Improvement Office (CIO) for Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation in Memphis, Tennessee is the latest guest on the Deming Podcast (download the podcast). Dr. Deming’s thinking continues to influence me, not only in things like PDSA thinking, but also in some of those other fundamental principles around constancy of purpose, around how …
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| Deming Philosophy, Psychology, Theory of Knowledge
Countering Confirmation Bias
The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance; it is the illusion of knowledge. – Daniel J. Boorstin After you decide that Deming’s ideas seem valuable you must act to adopt new methods in order to benefit from what you have learned. This takes many forms and I have discussed many possible steps in that …
| The W. Edwards Deming Institute
Overview and Status of The W. Edwards Deming Institute
Kevin Cahill, Executive Director of The W. Edwards Deming Institute provided an overview and status of the Institute at our last annual conference. Kevin mentioned our updated web site, our presence on various social media sites and the quote web site we created last year. A lot of people ask about my grandfather’s quotes. If …
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| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy, Deming Today, Psychology
Using Deming’s Ideas – When Your Organization Doesn’t
You see things through the Deming Lens - but your boss/co-workers/team/board do not. What can you do?
| Deming Philosophy, Theory of Knowledge
The Influence of C. I. Lewis on Walter Shewhart and W. Edwards Deming
W. Edwards Deming had a large and varied collection of influences. One of the most difficult for people to grasp is C.I. Lewis. The ideas Dr. Deming drew from the work of C.I. Lewis provide one of the ways his ideas on management are different from others. But trying to read the original work of …
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| Deming Today, Education, podcast, The W. Edwards Deming Institute
Ravi Roy on Teaching Deming’s Ideas at Southern Utah University
In this Deming Institute podcast, Deming Fellow Ravi Roy discusses teaching Deming's ideas at Southern Utah University.
| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy, process thinking, Understanding Variation
Using Checklists to Reduce Process Variation and Improve Results
The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande is a wonderful book about how to create systems that work. At the core the Checklist Manifesto is about determining the critical process conditions and creating a system to assure that the those process items are properly handled. In the book Atul Gawande paraphrases Daniel Boorman, veteran pilot who …
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| Deming Community, Events and Outreach, The W. Edwards Deming Institute
Updated W. Edwards Deming Institute Web Site
We have launched an updated web site for The W. Edwards Deming Institute. The new site offers much better usability when using a smart phone and has an updated design. We have added several new features to the site to aid those seeking to apply Deming’s ideas. I expect the new feature our readers will …
Case Study: Adopting a Deming Management System in a Service Company
Total Quality Management in Logistics: a case study from the trucking industry by Harry Lehman, Jr. (a thesis at the Naval Postgraduate School). The thesis aims to study the practical aspects of implementing a W. Edwards Deming-based quality program within a particular trucking company, Mason Transporters I am thankful the Navy makes such documents available …
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| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy, Psychology | 2 Comments
Transforming the Management System of an Organization
In response to our request asking what topics readers would like to see addressed on our blog, Dan Bracewell said: I’d like to see some posts about how to implement change in an organization. How does one get an organization to start looking at itself as a system? How does one get the organization to …
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| process thinking
Industrial Statistics – Research vs Practice
2013 American Statistical Association (ASA) Deming Lecture: Industrial Statistics – Research vs Practice by Vijay Nair, University of Michigan. In his talk Dr. Nair referenced the article, W. Edwards Deming: The Story ofa Truly Remarkable Person, by Robert B. Austenfeld. He also referenced Dr. Deming becoming famous in the USA overnight, at the age of …
| data, process thinking, systems thinking
Applying Understanding of Variation to Large Datasets
Understanding Variation by Thomas Nolan, Rocco J. Perla and Lloyd Provost. There have been large changes in the use of data since the publication of Understanding Variation, by Thomas Nolan and Lloyd Provost. The new article discusses how to use an understanding of variation when working with large datasets (for example, government data). From the …
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| systems thinking
Optimize the Overall System Not the Individual Components
From Dr. Deming’s last interview; published in Industry Week magazine. The results of a system must be managed by paying attention to the entire system. When we optimize sub-components of the system we don’t necessarily optimize the overall system. This is true when looking at the people as Dr. Deming mentions. It is also true …
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| Deming Today, Education, Psychology
Change the Situation – Get a Different Result
David Langford’s presentation at the 2015 Deming in Education conference starts with a clip from Clare Crawford Mason’s PBS presentation on Mt. Edgecumbe High School, in Sitka, Alaska. Deming was a champion of the individual. He would go into companies and he would just berate management, but he loved the workers… He would say things …
| Dr. Deming
Toyota’s Management History
One of the items Toyota highlights on their web site is winning the Deming Prize in 1965. From the Toyota website: Receiving the Deming Application Prize strengthened Toyota Motor Co., Ltd.’s resolve to push ahead with further TQC initiatives, and based on the points cited by the Deming Prize judges the company set the following …
| podcast, systems thinking
Developing Software Using Deming’s Ideas
Deming Institute podcast with TJ Gokcen, CEO of Acquate on “Joy in Software Development” (download the podcast). Describing the importance of creating software using Deming’s ideas as expressed in agile software development, TJ says so it is a set of methods and practices that is more catered to change. So you do not have a …
| data, process thinking
Deming Lecture by Dr. Jeff Wu on Quality Improvement from Autos to Nanotechnology
Deming Lecture at the 2012 ASA Joint – Quality Improvement: From Autos and Chips to Nano and Bio” by Jeff Wu, Georgia Institute of Technology. One of the points Dr. Wu mentioned is Shewhart called common causes, chance causes, and special causes, assignable causes. I must say I have always thought assignable causes seems like …
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| systems thinking
Leadership and the New Science
Leadership and the New Science: Learning about Organizations from an Orderly Universe by Margaret Wheatley does a good job of exploring how to view organizations as a system. A quote by Meg Wheatley from an interview long after the publication of the book does a good job of capturing the ideas explored in the book: …
| Deming Community, Events and Outreach
Deming Scholars Seminar, November 9, 2016 in Cheyenne, Wyoming
The Wyoming Business Alliance, in partnership with The W. Edwards Deming Institute®, presents the Deming Scholars Seminar on November 9, 2016 in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
| The W. Edwards Deming Institute
Dr. Bill Bellows, new Deputy Director of The Deming Institute
I am thrilled to announce an exciting new chapter for The W. Edwards Deming Institute — one which will open tremendous possibilities for our future. We welcome Dr. Bill Bellows to The Deming Institute staff as our new Deputy Director! Bill has been a long time member of The Deming Institute’s Board of Trustees; a …
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| Appreciation for a System, data, Deming Philosophy, Theory of Knowledge, Understanding Variation
Understanding Data is Often Challenging
Using data to understand the system and validate our theories and successful improvements is an important part managing well. In some cases it is fairly easy to understand and collect data that provides a clear and accurate measure of what we care about. But getting data that helps can also be very challenging. Creating a …
| Deming Community, Events and Outreach
2016 Deming Prize Winners
The Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers (JUSE) has announced the 2016 Deming Prize winners. Three companies were awarded the Deming Prize this year: Ashok Leyland, Pantnagar Plant (India) Toyota Motor Kyushu (Japan) Maruwa Electronic & Chemical (Japan) Here is a blog post on a 2006 visit to the Toyota Motor Kyushu plant by Mike …
Huge Payments to Executives for Good Luck
A recent Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation article on the finding that: 90 Cents of Every “Pay-for-Performance” Dollar are Paid for Luck. I agree that mainly we award senior executives huge pay based on luck and the natural result of the organization they are a part of. It seems there …
| data, Deming Legacy, Deming Philosophy, Psychology, Understanding Variation
W. Edwards Deming Discussing the Leadership We Need in Our Organizations
This is a very interesting interview with W. Edwards Deming by Bill Scherkenbach (recording in February 1984, during this time Bill Scherkenbach worked at Ford and Deming was consulting with Ford). In this post I continue to explore this powerful video; it is part two of: Bill Scherkenbach’s Interview with Dr. Deming. Dr. Deming discusses …
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| Deming Philosophy, Dr. Deming, respect for people, System of Profound Knowledge
The Deming Dimension by Henry Neave
The Deming Dimension by Henry Neave provides good historical background and then a well presented explanation of Deming’s ideas on management. It is one of the best books to read to learn about Deming’s ideas. The book includes a forward by W. Edwards Deming: The prevailing system of management has smothered the individual, and consequently …
| process thinking
Improving the System to Reduce Costs Isn’t Equal to Cost Cutting
Real benefits come when managers begin to understand the profound difference between “cost cutting” and “eliminating the causes of costs.” Brian Joiner in Fourth Generation Management Cutting costs by fiat via executive orders reduces the capability of the organization. Those costs are often born by customers. In the short term reducing costs in such a …
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| respect for people
2011 ASA Deming Lecture by Roger Hoerl – Need Any Country be Poor?
2011 ASA Deming Lecture (edit: ASA broke the link, so it was removed) by Roger Hoerl, GE Global Research: The World Is Calling; Should We Answer? Roger starts by discussing some areas of Deming’s work that are not getting the focus they deserve. I’d like to focus on a few areas of Dr. Deming’s career …
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| Deming Philosophy, Deming Today, Psychology
Better Meetings for Your Organization
Meetings are often frustrating for those spending time sitting through them. The solutions proposed for this issue often seem not very well thought out to me. The various traits (frequency, length, detailed agendas or not etc.) of meetings are useful or harmful depending on the circumstances. This is similar to Deming’s ideas on management, I …
| data, process thinking
Using Outdated Management Practices Can Be Very Costly
Readers of this blog are aware of the problems created by using quotas: Achieved the goal by not the aim (2013) – The Futility of a Numerical Goal (2014), Distorting the System, Distorting the Data or Improving the System (2013), Dr. Deming on the problems with targets or goals. Wells Fargo to pay $150 million-plus …
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| Appreciation for a System, Deming Community, Deming Philosophy, Deming Today, Education, Events and Outreach, Psychology, System of Profound Knowledge
Finding Joy In Learning: Applying Deming’s Theory to Schools
Presentation by Michael King and Jane Kovacs at the 2015 Deming in Education conference – Finding Joy In Learning: Applying Deming’s Theory to Schools. The speakers work for Quality Learning Australasia (QLA). QLA’s website has quite a bit of useful information. One of the tools they used in the presentation is a Lotus diagram which …
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| Deming Philosophy, Psychology
Using Deming’s Ideas Today to Promote Trust and Meaningful Work
Joshua Macht wrote an article for the Harvard Business Review (published in June) : The Management Thinker We Should Never Have Forgotten. In that article he explores the importance of Dr. Deming’s ideas today. He quotes from the response W. Edwards Deming sent Peter Senge on his book, and which Senge included in his introduction …
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Break Down Barriers Between Departments
Some of W. Edwards Deming’s 14 obligations of management have opponents that argue the reverse is wise. Some believe it is good to “motivate” people by making them fearful, for example. Others believe in selecting suppliers for the moment based on whoever gives the cheapest quote today. But some of the 14 obligations don’t really …
| The W. Edwards Deming Institute
What Topics Would You Like Us to Discuss on Our Blog?
What topics would you like us to explore in future posts on this blog? What questions would you like us respond to? One of the goals for this blog is to engage the community of readers in sharing there thoughts on the ideas we discuss. Please share your comments on the blog posts and respond …
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| data, Dr. Deming
Deming Regression
Most of Dr. Deming’s management work requires no understanding of advanced statistical methods. He was also a statistician and this post takes a look at one of his contributions to the field of statistics: the Deming Regression. In his book, Statistical Adjustment of Data (1943), W. Edwards Deming discussed, among other things, various methods to …
| Deming Today, Education, systems thinking
Exploring Complex Problems Using Systems Thinking
Cornell Policy Review published a special issue exploring the application of systems thinking to public policy problems. Graduate students were given an introduction to systems thinking and then applied the concepts to address issues their field. Students applied systems thinking to a wide array of problems, and they reported finding DSRP [distinctions, systems, relationships, and …
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| Appreciation for a System, data, Deming Philosophy, Understanding Variation
The Real Lessons of the Red Bead Factory
The video shows a recorded webinar for the Healthcare Value Network by Mark Graban and Mike Stoecklein. In the video they explore the real lessons of Dr. Deming’s famous red bead factory demonstration and the principle of understanding and managing variation. Mark mentions how Bill Boller, with Hewlett-Packard, created the red bead experiment as a …
| data, Deming Philosophy, podcast, Psychology
Joy in Learning
We have another Deming Institute podcast with David Langford, to share with you – Where is all the Joy? (download podcast). David explains that when looking to improve the place to begin is to examine your circle of influence and determine where you have a chance to help move toward better practices. A clip from …
| The W. Edwards Deming Institute
Looking Back at Previous Posts on The W. Edwards Deming Institute Blog
Blogs are a convenient way to stay informed on topics you are interested in. They allow people to easily use an RSS reader to view recent posts that have been published as they have time. One of the weaknesses in how blogs are used is that even active followers of a blog rarely seek out …
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| Deming Philosophy, System of Profound Knowledge
Transformation: How to Apply SoPK
Transformation: How to Apply the System of Profound Knowledge (SoPK) presentation by Tripp Babbit at our 2015 research conference. Tripp also moderates our Deming Institute podcast. Tripp discusses Kurt Lewin’s change model: unfreezing – overcoming “interim” and dismantling the existing midset changing freezing – adopting the new habit/way-of-thinking, the new way becomes what you expect …
| Customer Focus, Deming Philosophy, Deming Today, Dr. Deming, Healthcare, process thinking, respect for people
Some Notes on Management in a Hospital by W. Edwards Deming
We used to publish a newsletter. In the Fall 2006 Deming Interaction we published an excerpt from an article by Dr. Deming: Some Notes on Management in a Hospital [the link that we broke has been removed] (published in 1990 in the Journal of the Society of Health Systems). In the lecture discussed from our …
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| Dr. Deming
A Historical Look at Deming’s Career: Lecture by J. Stuart Hunter
Every year the American Statistical Association (ASA) selects an honoree to present a Deming Lecture at their annual conference. The 2009 ASA Deming Lecture by J. Stuart Hunter, Princeton University: the first part of the lecture (20 minutes) is a historical look at W. Edwards Deming’s career and then it looks at the future of …
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| Deming Today, Education
Red Bead Experiment Simulation
I ran across this simulation via a post on an e-learning web site. The community has challenges to create short simulations on various concepts and one of the challenges focused on the red bead experiment: the comments have links to various attempts. Remember these are created as an exercise by people that don’t necessarily have …
| Dr. Deming, respect for people
My First Trip To Japan by Peter Scholtes
The Philadelphia Area Council for Excellence organized a tour to visit businesses Japan in 1985 and learn from them. 38 people participated in the trip including Peter Scholtes; William Hunter (my father); Brian and Laurel Joiner; Myron Tribus; and David and Carole Schwinn (David and Carole are presenting at our annual conference in September). Peter …
| The W. Edwards Deming Institute
2016 W. Edwards Deming Institute Annual Conference, 16 to 18 September 2016
2016 Deming Institute Annual Conference September 16 – 18, 2016 Michigan State University East Lansing, Michigan Find more information and the registration form. This webcast is a clip from Ian Bradbury’s presentation at a previous annual conference. Facilitators Eric Budd, Improvement Coordinator at Peaker Services Dennis Sergent, President & Principal Consultant – Sergent Results Group …
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| Deming Legacy, Deming Philosophy, Psychology
Export anything to a friendly country except American management
One of the reasons quotes by W. Edwards Deming are so popular is that he had an incredible understanding of the practice of management. Another reason they are popular is he had a sense of humor that was captured well in several popular quotes. This quote is included on the back of The Deming Management …
Export anything to a friendly country except American management Read More »
| Deming Today, Education, Psychology
Why Some Things in Education Work….and Others Don’t
Presentation by JW Wilson at our 2015 Deming in Education conference: Why Some Things in Education Work….and Others Don’t: There is a mismatch between what science knows and what education does. This is true in education and management. We are not very effective at adjusting existing practices based on new knowledge. In his presentation JW …
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| Appreciation for a System, Continual Improvement, Deming Philosophy, Understanding Variation | 1 Comment
Specification-based Management is Not Sufficient
Guest post by Bill Bellows (originally written as a comment about the question of how Dr. Deming viewed Six Sigma Quality). While Dr. Deming was known for his appreciation of continuous improvement, he was also know for encouraging us to think of variation and improvement from a systems perspective. As such, I do not believe …
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| Deming Philosophy, Deming Today, Deming's Ideas in Action, Healthcare, podcast, Psychology
From Chaos to Process at Fitness Matters
Travis Timmons, owner of Fitness Matters, describes the company's Deming Transformation that took them from chaos to stability - and unprecedented success.
| systems thinking
Minimize Total Cost
An in-depth discussion of the Point 4 in Dr. W. Edwards Deming’s 14 Points for Management.
| Continual Improvement, Deming Philosophy, Psychology
Leadership Principles of Dr. W. Edwards Deming, Presentation by Joyce Orsini
In this presentation at the Reliability Conference Joyce Orsini discusses the Leadership Principles of Dr. W. Edwards Deming. Joyce in an emeritus Board Member of The W. Edwards Deming Institute, editor of The Essential Deming, and Director of the former Deming Scholars MBA Program at Fordham University Graduate School of Business. She discusses various topics …
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| systems thinking
A New Synthesis from a Transcending Perspective to Personal Improvement
Clare Crawford Mason spoke at the The W. Edwards Deming Institute conference in l997 in Alexandria, Virginia. Here is an excerpt from that talk: Profound Knowledge: A New Synthesis from a Transcending Perspective to Personal Improvement We are all familiar with the systems diagram Dr. Deming put on the blackboard in l950 to show the …
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| Deming Philosophy, Deming Today, Education, Psychology
Silos to Systems: Presentation by Lisa Snyder
Silos to Systems: Our Journey to World Class – presentation by Lisa Snyder at the First Annual Deming in Education conference. In one of the videos included in the presentation we hear this quote In this model you really are a team of teachers. And that is a shift in mindset a shift in thinking …
| Customer Focus, Deming Philosophy
Product and Service Innovation is Driven by Customer Focused Organizations
At the core of W. Edwards Deming’s philosophy is a focus on delighting customers, allowing everyone to contribute what they have to offer and continually improving. In order to bring about great results certain knowledge and strategies are useful. So things like learning to view the organization as a system and gaining an understanding of …
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| Deming Philosophy, Deming Today, Education, Psychology
The Schools Our Children Deserve by Alfie Kohn
Alfie Kohn starts with an excellent discussion his fear of applying business improvement ideas in the education setting. …And yet, Dr. Deming’s work offered some principles at an abstract level that, when pulled out of a workplace context, turn out to be equally revolutionary, powerful, and constructive in virtually any other kind of environment, including …
| data, Deming Philosophy, Psychology, Theory of Knowledge, Understanding Variation
How to Use Data and Avoid Being Mislead by Data
One of the four areas of Deming’s management system is “understanding variation.” The core principle underlying that concept is using data to improve while understanding what data is and is not telling you. The mistakes in interpreting data are very often related to mistaking natural variation in data as meaningful. Combining this with our brains …
| Continual Improvement, Deming Philosophy
Quality Improvement in Maternity Services: How Deming Can Help
Guest post by Victoria Morgan The quality of maternity services in England is in the spotlight. National audits have shown that whilst outcomes have improved significantly over the last decade there is marked variation in outcomes that cannot be explained by clinical and social risk factors (Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential …
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| The W. Edwards Deming Institute
The W. Edwards Deming Institute 2016 Fall Conference, Sep 16-18
2016 Deming Institute Annual Conference September 16 – 18, 2016 Michigan State University East Lansing, Michigan Find more information and the registration form. Facilitators Eric Budd, Improvement Coordinator at Peaker Services Dennis Sergent, President & Principal Consultant – Sergent Results Group Jim Benson and Tonianne DeMaria Barry, Founding Partners – Modus Cooperandi and Co-Authors of …
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| Deming Today, Education, respect for people
Student Led Change
Presentation by Christine Simpson and Sarah Ambrus at the 2015 Deming in Education conference: Empowering Students to Lead Change. In discussing the use of the 5 why’s Sarah made an important point that people would benefit from remembering. Focus on what we can control. Sometimes you have to go back and redefine your problem in …
| The W. Edwards Deming Institute
Getting an Early Appreciation for Deming’s Ideas
Dr. Ravi Roy is the inaugural W. Edwards Deming Fellow with The W. Edwards Deming Institute. He also serves as Director of the Public Administration program at Southern Utah University. We received this adorable photo from proud papa Ravi Roy of his older daughter Nicole, reading The New Economics to her younger sister, Yianna. Little …
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| Deming Today, Education, process thinking
Dr. Deming’s Influence on One Elementary School Principal
Presentation by Jake Rodgers and Phyllis Tubbs: Dr. Deming’s Influence on One Elementary School Principal at the 1st annual Deming in Education Conference: Jake asks a good question (as he learned from David Langford who learned it from W. Edwards Deming). What’s your theory? Asking yourself this question lets you explore why you do what …
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| Deming Philosophy, Dr. Deming, podcast, Theory of Knowledge
Cliff Norman and Ron Moen Discuss the History of the PDSA Cycle
Cliff Norman and Ron Moen, of Associates in Process Improvement (API) discuss the history of the Plan Do Study Act (PDSA) Cycle and their research on the subject in the latest Deming Institute podcast (download the podcast). This is the second Deming podcast with Ron Moen and Cliff Norman – listen to their first: Discuss …
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A Perspective on Deming’s Ideas
Here is a long document looking at Deming’s ideas, written by Raphael Vitalo – Deming Revisited: The Real Quality Model for Commerce. The document explores Dr. Deming’s ideas in depth and provides the authors viewpoint. In my opinion, it is an interesting read. I would disagree with some statements and some characterizations but it is …
| Appreciation for a System, data, Deming Philosophy, Understanding Variation
Statistical Techniques Allow Management to do a Better Job
In this post I discuss another wonderful paper by Dr. Deming. The W. Edwards Deming Institute makes this paper, and many more, available on our website. As you would expect from a non-profit focused on promoting the application of his ideas these articles are freely available with no barriers to downloading them. On the Teaching …
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| Deming Community, Deming Philosophy, Deming Today, Education, Events and Outreach, Theory of Knowledge
Kevin Cahill’s Welcome Message to the Deming In Education Conference
Kevin Cahill’s welcome message to 2015 Deming In Education Conference. Kevin is the Director the The W. Edwards Deming Institute. Kevin talks about the need to break the bounds of common sense practices. Without change we continue to get the results we have always achieved. To improve we need to try new strategies and to …
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| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy, systems thinking
Systems Thinking: Feedback Loops
Appreciation for a system is one of the four components of Deming’s management system. In this context, the most common item to think of is Deming’s diagram of an organization as a system. That is a powerful diagram. When thinking of appreciation for a system within the Deming context, the view of the organization as …
| Deming Philosophy, Understanding Variation
The Intellectual Foundation of Modern Improvement
The video above shows Don Berwick’s presentation at the IHI/BMJ International Forum on Quality and Safety in Health Care, 13 April 2016. He starts the presentation with the Red Bead Game (see related posts on our blog: Lessons From the Red Bead Experiment with Dr. Deming, The Red Bead Experiment with Dr. W. Edwards Deming). …
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| Deming Today, Education, podcast, The W. Edwards Deming Institute
The Deming in Education Initiative
In this Deming Institute podcast (download the podcast) Kevin Cahill and David Langford share how The Deming in Education Initiative was conceived, the impact of the Deming Philosophy on education, and where the Initiative is going in the future. The initiative first began many years ago when David joined the Deming Institute Advisory Board to …
| Dr. Deming, respect for people
Bill Scherkenbach Interview with Dr. Deming
This is a very interesting interview with W. Edwards Deming by Bill Scherkenbach (recording in February 1984, during this time Bill Scherkenbach worked at Ford and Deming was consulting with Ford). The interview provides many insightful quotes from Deming and shows his concern for the widespread failures of American management and the suffering caused by …
| data, Deming Today, Education
Using Deming’s System of Profound Knowledge to Gain Insight into Data Collection
Guest post by Kim Melton When many of the ads on the final round of the Masters Golf Tournament are about using data to make decisions, you know that data has become big business! In ads IBM touched on the use of data in transportation, healthcare, manufacturing, crime, love, education, farming, pollution, weather, energy, and …
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| Deming Community, Events and Outreach
Upcoming Deming Institute Seminars and Conferences
We have several events scheduled throughout 2016 for those interested in applying Dr. Deming’s ideas today. Deming Management Method for Owners and Executives May 23-25, 2016 in Hauppauge, New York 2 1/2 day seminar with Kelly Allan and Lynda Finn. This seminar is aimed at those interested in implementing Deming’s System of Profound Knowledge (a.k.a. …
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| Dr. Deming, respect for people
Eliminate Slogans, Exhortations and Targets
Point 10 on W. Edwards Deming’s list of 14 Points for western management: Eliminate slogans, exhortations, and targets for the work force asking for zero defects and new levels of productivity. Such exhortations only create adversarial relationships, as the bulk of the causes of low quality and low productivity belong to the system and thus …
| Deming Today, Education
Inquiring Minds: Improving Elementary Science by Linda Lippe
Linda Lippe’s presentation, Inquiring Minds: Improving Elementary Science in Leander ISD, Texas at our 2015 Deming in Education Conference. The 2nd annual Deming in Education conference will be held November 4-6, 2016 Atlanta, Georgia One of the first tools they used in 2003 to determine what they should focus on to make their students successful …
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| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy, Psychology, Theory of Knowledge
“Our Problems Are Different” – Not Really
It is very common for people to see their situation as special and so different that they can only learn about management from some situation identical to the one they face. But this is a misunderstanding of what learning about better management practices is about. It isn’t an effort to find practices to copy. It …
| systems thinking
True North Can Really Be “Management by Results” in Disguise
Guest post by Mike Stoecklein I hear a lot of talk in healthcare about the importance of defining “true north” for the organization. If you search the internet, you’ll find many definitions of true north and examples from organizations. Here are a few (all are from healthcare organizations): The company’s governing objective. Example given: deliver …
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| data, podcast
What To Consider When Looking at Data from Surveys
In this latest W. Edwards Deming Institute podcast, Dr. Sophronia (Frony) Ward, Managing and Founding Partner of Pinnacle Partners, (direct download) discussess what you need to consider when looking at data from surveys. One of the points Frony makes is that often the survey data you see fail to provide the details that you really …
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Lean Management Journal Articles by Bill Bellows
Bill Bellows serves on the board of trustees for The W. Edwards Deming Institute. He has been writing articles for the Lean Management Journal for several years that discuss how to apply Deming’s ideas (and related management improvement ideas) in organizations. Those articles include: The Last Straw And, so it goes, when we relentlessly focus …
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| Deming Community, Deming Philosophy, Deming Today, Education, Events and Outreach, Psychology, The W. Edwards Deming Institute
Deming Inspired Innovation in Education
It is easy for me to imagine the power of focusing on meaning in education. We are naturally curious and interested in learning. The education system often beats that out of us, but if you switched the aim from grading to providing meaningful learning experiences you harness the natural desires we have to learn.
| Deming Today, Education
Institute Training on the Job
“Institute training on the job” is point 8 in W. Edwards Deming’s 14 points for management. Dr. Deming’s management system was focused on creating a work environment that allowed people to take pride in their work by letting them contribute fully. So many workplaces waste the abilities of people and in doing so demoralize them …
| The W. Edwards Deming Institute
Tips to Get the Most Out of the Deming Collection at the Library of Congress
Guest post by Luciana Paulise. See her previous guest posts: Applying Deming Principles at Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and Applying a Model for Small Business Continual Improvement. W. Edwards Deming used to say “Knowledge is the key. Lack of knowledge…that is the problem.” Knowledge is what differentiates successful companies from the ones that are not. …
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| Deming Today, Education
W. Edwards Deming and the Leander Way
2014 W. Edwards Deming Institute conference presentation by Monta Akin, Kendra Shaffer and Jill Walker: W. Edwards Deming and the Leander Way. The Leander, Texas independent school district looked to focus on improving student learning (not to improve teaching). Those ideas seem similar but there is a big difference in what you see as your …
| Dr. Deming, systems thinking
Institute Leadership
Point 7 in Dr. Deming’s 14 obligations of management: Institute leadership (see point 12 and Chapter 8 in Out of the Crisis). The aim of supervision should be to help people and machines and gadgets to do a better job. Supervision of management is in need of overhaul, as well as supervision of production workers. …
| data
What Role Does/Should The Deming System of Profound Knowledge Play in the World of “Big Data”?
To put it simply, effective use of Big Data to make decisions depends on each of the four components of The System of Profound Knowledge and the interaction between the components.
| Dr. Deming
Images for Quotes by W. Edwards Deming
We have added images to our W. Edwards Deming quote web site. Each quote has two image styles to chose from. And the images include a link to the page on our web site that provides context for the quote along with links to additional information about the quote within the context of Deming’s ideas …
| Dr. Deming
The Most Popular Videos on The W. Edwards Deming Institute You Tube Channel
The most popular videos on The W. Edwards Deming Institute You Tube channel are, not surprisingly, those with Dr. Deming in them. The videos with the most views since they have been added are: Dr. Deming – The 5 Deadly Diseases (1984): 104,715 views (added 6 years ago). W. Edwards Deming: The 14 Points: 42,379 …
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| Continual Improvement, Deming Philosophy, Psychology
Reflections from Dr. Deming on a Foundation for Leading
Presentation by Bill Bellows at our 2014 annual conference – The End of Perfection: Reflections from Dr. Deming on a Foundation for Leading improvement efforts could be advanced by acknowledging self imposed restrictions on our thinking Bill discussed how seeking to eliminate defects (zero defects) and the wishing to reach perfection are antithetical to continual …
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| Uncategorized
Applying a Model for Small Business Continual Improvement
Guest post by Luciana Paulise, see part 1 of these thoughts: Applying Deming Principles at Small and Medium-sized Enterprises. How to apply the model The SME deck is to be developed in two months, with weekly two hours meetings, on-line or face-to-face depending on the location of my clients. After the two months, extra …
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| process thinking, The W. Edwards Deming Institute
Applying Deming Principles at Small and Medium-sized Enterprises
SMED your SME journey applying Deming principles – guest post by Luciana Paulise How to build succesful business right the first time For more than 10 years now I have been helping people to develop their own Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME). As a graduate with a degree in business, at first, I helped students …
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| Continual Improvement, Deming Philosophy, podcast, Psychology
Deming Podcast with Scott Dalgleish, CEO at Phase IV Engineering
Scott Dalgleish is the CEO at Phase IV Engineering Scott first encountered Deming’s ideas while an engineer at Proctor & Gamble in 1986. Deming training was rolled out to us. I thought it was a really wonderful thing. It provided some very innovative and realistic solutions to solve a lot of problems in the plant. …
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| Deming Philosophy, System of Profound Knowledge
Online Resources for Exploring the Ideas of W. Edwards Deming
There are many online resources for those looking to improve the practice of management in their organization in a way consistent with Dr. Deming’s management system. The W. Edwards Deming Institute maintains several online resources: The W. Edwards Deming Institute web site, which includes a wealth of resources including over 60 articles by Dr. Deming …
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| Deming Philosophy, Psychology
Driving Out Fear: Why and How by Doug Stilwell and Mark Lane
This webcast shows the presentation at our 2015 annual conference, Driving Out Fear: Why and How, by Doug Stilwell and Mark Lane. Doug Stilwell provides an overview on some of the theory and science and behind stress and fear. And then Mark talked about what can be done to reduce fear in organizations. I liked …
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| Deming Philosophy
The Deming Management Method by Mary Walton
The Deming Management Method by Mary Walton was a book that served to introduce many to the ideas of W. Edwards Deming. The book was published in 1988. Dr. Deming wrote an introduction to the book, including these words: In the decade after the War [the Second World War], the rest of the world was …
| data, Deming Philosophy, podcast, Understanding Variation
Process Behavior Charts are the Secret to Understanding the Organization as a System
The W. Edwards Deming Institute podcast with Dr. Sophronia (Frony) Ward, Managing and Founding Partner of Pinnacle Partners, Process Behavior Charts are the Secret to Understanding the Organization as a System (direct download), is another in our understanding variation series. Frony discusses the importance of Statistical Process Control (SPC) in all parts of an organization. …
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| Deming Philosophy, System of Profound Knowledge
Deming’s Management Ideas Evolved Into the System of Profound Knowledge
Guest post by John Hunter, founder of CuriousCat.com. W. Edwards Deming spent decades refining his thoughts on management and refining how to present those thoughts. That thinking culminated in what he called the System of Profound Knowledge (SoPK). When people think of Dr. Deming, they often think of the use of statistics and control charts, …
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| Appreciation for a System, Deming Philosophy, podcast, Psychology
Lean Blog Podcast with Kevin Cahill
Lean Blog Podcast #238 – Kevin Cahill, on his Grandfather, W. Edwards Deming (download). Quote from Kevin in the podcast: Somebody at any level does have some sphere of influence that they can impact… by just thinking from a systems standpoint, by looking at the organization differently than some of the other folks who view …
| Deming Community, Deming Philosophy, Events and Outreach, Psychology, System of Profound Knowledge
Is There Hope…? An Introduction to Deming’s Management Ideas by Eric Budd
Eric Budd’s presentation, Is There Hope…?, at our 2015 annual conference. In Eric’s presentation he frequently asked the attendees to think and discuss or write down their ideas related to the ideas he was presenting. It is very valuable to have those listening (in a learning environment) think about what they are learning and write …
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| Deming Community, Deming Today, Education, Events and Outreach
Deming in Education: 2-Day Seminar in Seattle, 11 – 12 March 2016
A Deming in Education 2-Day Seminar will be facilitated by David Langford in Seattle, 11 – 12 March 2016 Be a part of our first Deming In Education Initiative Seminar The Deming Institute presents a two-day interactive seminar and hands-on introduction to the Deming Method. Led by David Langford, this seminar focuses on addressing the …
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| The W. Edwards Deming Institute
Our 10 Most Popular Posts in 2015
The most popular post on our blog this year: Myth: If You Can’t Measure It, You Can’t Manage It (2015) What’s Deming Got to Do With Agile Software Development and Kanban (2013) 2014 Deming Prize Awardees (2014) Dr. Deming Called for the Elimination of The Annual Performance Appraisal (2012) Deming and Lean: The Disparities and …
| Dr. Deming
Chinese Language Edition of Out of the Crisis by W. Edwards Deming
The Deming Institute has arranged to have a Chinese language version of W. Edwards Deming’s classic, Out of the Crisis, published. You may order the book online. An excerpt from the forward (by Kevin Cahill and Kelly Allan) to this new Chinese edition of Deming’s Out of the Crisis: Many executives also make the error …
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