By John Hunter, author of the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog. Fear invites wrong figures. Bearers of bad news fare badly. To keep his job, anyone may present to his boss only good news. W. Edwards Deming, page 94, The New Economics Using data to make decisions is important to effective management. But using data […]

By John Hunter, founder of CuriousCat.com. Martin Fowler offers insightful details on the problems with using sales commissions (click on the right arrow button at the very top middle to see the next slide). Some quotes from his presentation: there are serious problems with the sales commission model, problems that led ThoughtWorks to get rid […]

By John Hunter, author of the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog (since 2004). The Improvement Guide is a fantastic book on using the PDSA cycle well. The 2nd edition was published in 2009. The power of applying the PDSA cycle properly is huge. It leads to successful improvements which is important. Using the PDSA cycle […]

By John Hunter, founder of CuriousCat.com. One of the criticisms against process improvement is that it requires stifling innovation. That is not accurate. Process improvement is meant to be continual. Building structure around how change is tested and adopted aids innovation, it doesn’t stifle it. The justified criticism, I have seen, is against bad processes […]

By John Hunter, author of the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog (since 2004). The merit rating nourishes short-term performance, annihilates long-term planning, builds fear, demolishes teamwork, [and] nourishes rivalry and politics. It leaves people bitter, crushed, bruised, battered, desolate, despondent, dejected, feeling inferior, some even depressed, unfit for work for weeks after receipt of rating, […]

Guest post by Mike Stoecklein I had the good fortune to get to know Dr. Deming beginning in 1986. I call it a “correspondence relationship”. We wrote letters (these were the days before e-mail, and I doubt that Dr. Deming would ever send an e-mail even if it had existed). I played a small role […]

By John Hunter, author of the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog (since 2004). Customer satisfaction is better than dissatisfaction but it is not enough. A satisfied customer will leave for another provider at the slightest provocation. They see a bit lower price – they leave. You make one minor slip up – they leave. They […]

Guest post by Dave Nave: I will lead one of the round table sessions at this year’s Deming Research Seminar (25th and 26th February 2013 in New York City). I thought I would share a little something of my topic. Two other roundtables will also be held: on Education led by Dr. Francis Petit and […]

By John Hunter, author of the Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog (since 2004). Deming’s First Theorem: Nobody gives a hoot about profit People spend a great deal of time worrying about profits and claiming credit or diverting blame for profit results. So why did Dr. Deming say “Nobody gives a hoot about profit?” He looked […]

Kelly Allan joins Joe Dager for his latest Business 901 podcast to discuss the work of Peter Scholtes, author of The Leader's Handbook.