I give a talk this week to the 40 employees of a top pest control company.\u00a0 In three
\nprevious talks we have done the Red Bead Experiment, talked about systems thinking, and about processes.\u00a0 This time I will talk on variation.\u00a0 Variation is one of the most misunderstood elements of systems thinking.\u00a0 I am a big fan of sweet tea.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 You can’t add sugar to cold tea, it must be hot or the sugar will not dissolve.\u00a0 So it was into this huge pot of steaming tea that my dear mom would add a 2 pound bag of sugar.\u00a0 Did I mention that I was addicted?\u00a0 This brew was always made the same way, it always tasted the same.\u00a0 Today I can’t seem to settle on one place to get my sweet tea, too much variation, you see.\u00a0 McDonald’s used to be my choice, but variation drove me to Sonic.\u00a0 That did not last long.\u00a0 I tried Steak ‘N Shake to no avail.\u00a0 Then SNS lowered their price for a large tea to just one dollar.\u00a0 I gave them another try, and that is where I currently go.\u00a0 So I ask you, is it just price that has me shopping all over for sweet tea?\u00a0 Nope, it is for consistency, lack of variation.\u00a0 Management thinks it is all about price, Dr. Deming knew better, strive for reduction of variation, price will become secondary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I give a talk this week to the 40 employees of a top pest control company.\u00a0 In three previous talks we have done the Red Bead Experiment, talked about systems thinking, and about processes.\u00a0 This time I will talk on … Continue reading