By John Hunter, author of the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog (since 2004). 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 […]

By John Hunter, founder of CuriousCat.com. 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 […]

By John Hunter, author of the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog (since 2004). 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 […]

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 […]

By John Hunter, founder of CuriousCat.com. 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 […]

By John Hunter, author of the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog. 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: […]

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.

By John Hunter, author of the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog (since 2004). “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 […]

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. […]

By John Hunter, author of the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog (since 2004). 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 […]