Curriculum Overview

Why Deming?

Guided by Dr. Deming’s System of Profound Knowledge and the 14 Points for Management, the Deming Philosophy reveals hidden barriers to collaboration, resulting in improved organizational performance and employee motivation. In parallel, the Deming Philosophy provides better insight into what is going on in the organization, thereby revealing the organization’s real capabilities – and constraints. Leaders’ attention can then focus on innovation, planning, and competitiveness. You may already know about Deming Quality – now take the opportunity to learn and apply Deming-based teamwork and leadership.

“Customers want it better, cheaper, faster – and without the Deming philosophy we’d be lost.”
– Steven Haedrich, CEO, New York Label and Box Works

What will you learn?

You will learn the quick and easy things leaders can do – and stop doing – to increase productivity, plus the long-term thinking that will help you grow a sustainable organization for the future. Dr. Deming’s comprehensive and internally consistent methods are practical and immediately implementable. Knowing “what to do” is not enough. Learning the “how to do” makes the difference.

You will learn to apply the 4 key elements of Deming-based Management:

1. Understanding how to lead an organization as a SYSTEM, resulting in greater effectiveness and efficiency.
2. Understanding VARIATION helps you to analyze which outcomes and behaviors are caused by the system in which people work – and which are not. This concept is a game-changer for profitability.
3. Understanding how to use PSYCHOLOGY to bring out the intrinsic motivation of your employees rather than trying to manipulate them with incentives and rewards (and punishments).
4. Theory of KNOWLEDGE means a) learning to use a simple technique to improve how people learn, and b) knowing that experience alone not only lacks meaning and usefulness, but it also causes dangerous inconsistencies, erodes purpose, and puts organizations at risk. No other management method includes this essential improvement component, yet it is easy to learn and apply.

Our Method

Dr. Deming strongly believed in asking good questions that start people thinking differently and seeking new knowledge. Dr. Deming’s innovative questions (and answers) led to a revolution in how organizations operate. The results are improved effectiveness (doing the right things right) AND efficiency (doing them faster, better, and cheaper). Provocative and practical questions lead to more robust discussions and answers – and to stronger, more prosperous organizations in which owners, leaders, workers, suppliers, customers, and communities benefit.

Questions about quality and productivity:

• What could we do to improve quality and productivity as we drive down costs? Why wouldn’t we want to do that in sensible ways?
• Why do leaders think they can improve quality and productivity through quotas, targets and standards? Is it so difficult to see that such things merely create conflicting objectives, cause cheating, and erode trust? Looking at a little data shows they do not improve quality nor reduce costs in sustainable ways.
• Don’t we have to get better? Why wouldn’t we want our suppliers to help us with that? Shouldn’t we treat them as partners – and vice versa? What is wrong with win/win?
• With a focus on near-term results, is the future part of our system? What business are we in, today? What business will we be in 5 years from now, 10 years from now, etc.?

Questions about leadership and management:

• What happens if workers within an organization cooperate with one another rather than competing for internal resources? Wouldn’t the organization be more successful?
• Is there evidence that cobbling together so-called “management best practices” assures organizational success and longevity?
• Do leaders need to add complexity to their already complex jobs? Wouldn’t simplicity better help them achieve their aim?
• Why are leaders taught to spend so much time on “the numbers” and control when we know spreadsheet data alone will mislead and obscure? What if leaders viewed the data on spreadsheets through a lens of insight with consistent, reliable, repeatable ways to assess the data?

Seminar Outcomes

At the end of the seminar, participants will begin applying key aspects of the Deming Management Method in their organizations, including:

• Recognizing how to break down barriers between departments and people to gain the benefits of cooperation, understanding, and clarity.
• Knowing what goes into guiding employee behaviors, decisions, and creativity.
• Understanding the basic small-scale design of PDSA improvement projects focused on customer satisfaction, quality, and efficiency.
• Why replacing accepted, but harmful, management practices that manipulate and disrespect employees will increase productivity.
• Beginning to create responsibility and joy in work so products and services can be delivered effectively, efficiently, and profitably.
• New ideas on applying The Deming Management Method to Sales and Marketing.
• Fresh ways to view and interpret spreadsheets and other data more effectively and in less time.
• Understanding the harmful impact of a “results only” focus by management and how to improve an organization’s ability to get better and better results.
• Revealing ways to get better ROI on capital, make good decisions related to cash flow, and work their business plan more effectively.
• Gaining insight into what data and measures are important to track and study vs. the data and measures that merely add to the complexity, create bureaucracy and overhead, waste time and money, and take leaders’ eyes off the priorities. Experience creating low-cost, rapid return experiments (PDSAs).

In addition, participants will:

• Have had hands-on learning experiences, which demonstrate (and make memorable) the main points of the Deming Management Method and its competitive advantages.
• Recognize the significant opportunities to reduce costs, and increase productivity, growth, and innovation in their own organizations.
• Establish the next steps needed to get started on increasing productivity, growth, and innovation in their organizations.
• Understand proven leadership practices that lead to greater productivity and competitiveness.
• Know new, useful questions to ask of themselves and others.
• Know how to remove the 5 Deadly Diseases that cripple and kill organizations –and how to guard against them.
• Know how to put the entire organization to work on making progress.
• Know how to nourish and unleash the energy and talents of people who want to be peak performers.