I give a talk this week to the 40 employees of a top pest control company. In three
previous talks we have done the Red Bead Experiment, talked about systems thinking, and about processes. This time I will talk on variation. Variation is one of the most misunderstood elements of systems thinking. I am a big fan of sweet tea. I was first addicted as a young boy when my mother, not knowing any better, made tea in a giant three gallon pot on the stove top. After the dozen or so tea bags draped over the side of the pot had done their work it was time to add the sugar. You can’t add sugar to cold tea, it must be hot or the sugar will not dissolve. So it was into this huge pot of steaming tea that my dear mom would add a 2 pound bag of sugar. Did I mention that I was addicted? This brew was always made the same way, it always tasted the same. Today I can’t seem to settle on one place to get my sweet tea, too much variation, you see. McDonald’s used to be my choice, but variation drove me to Sonic. That did not last long. I tried Steak ‘N Shake to no avail. Then SNS lowered their price for a large tea to just one dollar. I gave them another try, and that is where I currently go. So I ask you, is it just price that has me shopping all over for sweet tea? Nope, it is for consistency, lack of variation. Management thinks it is all about price, Dr. Deming knew better, strive for reduction of variation, price will become secondary.
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