W. Edwards Deming’s ideas about leadership, systems, variation, and psychology continue to shape how organizations pursue quality and improvement. This archive brings together blog posts, podcasts, and reflections exploring Deming’s teachings—and how they apply to Lean, healthcare, management, and continuous improvement today. Many of these posts challenge common misinterpretations of Deming’s work, emphasizing that quality cannot be delegated and that improvement starts with leadership.
Get Rid of the Performance Review! – WSJ.com ($$) A UCLA professor, Samuel A. Culbert, has written a monumental commentary in the Wall Street Journal. The subheadline says it all succinctly,with “It” being the annual performance review…. It destroys morale,…
Top Small Workplaces 2008 – WSJ.com Today’s WSJ was well worth the $2.00. Yes, I subscribe to the online Journal, but there’s something nice about reading the regular print version while traveling. Maybe I should just buy a Kindle as…
Retailers Reprogram Workers In Efficiency Push – WSJ.com This is more of a Deming philosophy article than a “Lean article” since the retailer in question here doesn’t say they’re using Lean…. which is good, since the situation described in the…
Business World – WSJ.com — How to Save Detroit And $50 Billion: The Holman W. Jenkins, Jr. column “Business World” in the WSJ is normally a good read. Last week, he wrote about the proposed bailouts (um, assistance) that automakers…
Robert Heller: Why don’t we hang bad admirals of industry? | Business | The Observer I don’t think the columnist is literally suggesting hanging CEO’s… but his point is a good one, that the “carrot & stick” management philosophy is…
TL;DR: When leaders impose arbitrary targets without improving the underlying system, people will find ways to hit the number without helping the patient. The problem isn’t the people — it’s the design. I’m here in the UK for work, and…
You might remember my podcast with Mike Micklewright, “What Would Deming Say?“ Here is a free video clip of his “An Evening with Dr. Deming” presentation. You can buy the full DVD by clicking here.
Earlier leanblog.org post and comment Last week, I posted about Deming’s 14 points and I got an interesting question from a blog reader, Brian: I found # 10 confounding: “Eliminate slogans, exhortations and targets.” Slogans are sometimes used to communicate…
The Whig Standard – Ontario, CA I’m always curious when I see an article like this in the news about the late Dr. W. Edwards Deming. The article, from Kingston Ontario, Canada, doesn’t reference any local companies. What prompted the…
GM preps for new hires after buyouts This is a particularly sad story. We often debate the proper role of layoffs and headcount reductions in the Lean community. It’s “conventional wisdom” perhaps in the Lean movement that we should not…
Doctor takes pulse of Lutheran Health | The Journal Gazette: Here’s an article about Dr. Mike Schatzlein, Chief executive officer for Lutheran Health Network and Dupont Hospital, in Indiana. “Schatzlein believes “lean engineering” – like that employed by manufacturers to…
Episode #43 of LeanBlog Podcast is a very special one. My guest is Mike Mickleright, writer, consultant, and performer — most interesting to me is his impersonation of Dr. W. Edwards Deming. As I wrote about before, I’ve seen his…
