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.

On March 31st, Southern Utah University's School of Aviation hosted the 5th Annual Deming Forum, with the largest turnout ever.

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).

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.

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 …

Understanding Data and Appreciating the Implications for the System Read More »

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 …

Seeking Creative Solutions Using an Appreciation for Systems Read More »

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 …

Start 2022 with positive momentum – a message from Kelly Allan Read More »

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 …

When your aim is your name – A message from Trustee Keith Sparkjoy Read More »

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 …

Knowing What Your Customers Think Requires Proactive Effort Read More »

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 …

Build Caring Teams – a message from Trustee Paula Marshall Read More »