by David and Sarah Kerridge – from Deming UK site<\/p>\n
Is your organization committed to the Deming Philosophy? If so,
\nyou can do the right things without opposition. Wonderful: but
\nfew of us are so fortunate. Most of us work among people who seem
\nblind to both evidence and reason. We can easily feel discouraged
\nand helpless.<\/p>\n
There is no need, because there are positive things we can
\ndo. We can help others, and also help ourselves. First of all we
\nmust learn, and keep learning. When change comes, those who learn
\nnow will be very valuable: even more valuable because we are so
\nfew.<\/p>\n
We will not understand the full meaning of transformation
\nuntil we experience it. But some things are easier to learn in a
\nbad organisation than a good one. That seems a strange thing to
\nsay. But suppose we had never experienced arbitrary targets, or
\nranking, or short-term thinking. How could we understand the
\ndamage that they do? To know in depth, we must see the conflicts
\nthey cause, and feel the effects ourselves.<\/p>\n
True, many people live their whole lives with bad practices
\nlike these, and remain blind. As Dr Deming often said, examples
\nwithout theory teach nothing. The overwhelming importance of
\ntheory is impossible to grasp, until we see what happens without
\nit.<\/p>\n
Once we know the better way, each bad practice we experience
\nbrings life to the theory. The frustration we feel must be
\nweighed against the understanding we gain. Another valuable
\nexperience is to see a “TQM programme” fail. Most do fail. They
\ncopy Japanese methods without understanding the theory. Study the
\nfailures, and you will see the false starts listed by Dr Deming
\nin Chapter 3 of “Out of the Crisis”. You will also see that
\nmanagement has ignored the “Heavy Losses”, described in Chapter 2
\nof “The New Economics”.<\/p>\n
Why have theoretical knowledge, if we have no chance to use
\nit?. There are three reasons. The first is that we must practice
\nthe long-term thinking that we preach. The second is that the
\nopportunity may come sooner than we expect. Who could have
\nimagined, ten years ago, the changes we now see in Russia?<\/p>\n
The third reason is that knowledge is useful now. You can, for
\nexample, use control charts, on whatever figures affect your
\nwork. Go to the BDA [British Deming Association–SysOp] seminar
\non SPC, or study Don Wheeler’s book “Understanding Variation”.
\nYou will become better at predicting the future, or, just as
\nimportant, knowing when it can not be predicted. You will also
\nknow when to act, and when to wait: a great gain in efficiency.<\/p>\n
Apply the principles of Profound Knowledge to understand
\nthings about you, even if you cannot change them. Notice how
\noften decisions are made without considering the long-term
\neffects, or the aim of the whole system. Look for examples of
\nmanagement reaction to “red beads”, or the rules of the funnel.
\nAnd notice the havoc caused by changes made on the basis of
\nopinion, instead of the Deming Cycle.<\/p>\n
If the managers about you make these mistakes, you know what
\nwill happen. You will be in a far better position to avoid the
\nconsequences, and gain a reputation for sound judgment, or just
\nbeing “lucky”. In fact, the worse the mistakes that others make,
\nthe better you will seem by comparison.<\/p>\n
Take care though. If you are tactless, you may be labelled as
\na troublemaker. There will usually be some who share your enthus-
\niasm, and will help you deepen your knowledge. But remember that
\nthe others not only do not understand, they can not understand.
\nThey lack the insights which you have struggled to achieve. Your
\nenthusiasm seems to them like blindness, and if they can blame
\nyou for their failures they will.<\/p>\n
Of course it is better to work in a good organisation than a
\nbad one, if possible. But change is on its way. We forget how few
\nyears it is since Dr Deming was first recognised in the USA, and
\neven fewer since the BDA was founded. Some ideas of the Deming
\nPhilosophy, like the need to have fewer layers of management, are
\nbeginning to penetrate. As change comes, it will need leaders,
\nwho can see further, and understand more, than those about them.
\nLet us hope that you will be one of the leaders of the future.<\/p>\n
Reproduced by permission from VARIATION, the newsletter of the
\nBritish Deming Association<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by David and Sarah Kerridge – from Deming UK site Is your organization committed to the Deming Philosophy? If so, you can do the right things without opposition. Wonderful: but few of us are so fortunate. Most of us work … Continue reading