W. Edwards Deming
He taught an entire country (Japan) to
compete after WW II. Following are some of thoughts from his 1994 book The
New Economics. My Emphasis.
Management
by results is wrong. It focuses on the last data point not
the process
that led up to the fault. Work on the process. Mind the method.
We manage by theory and prediction – not by figures (numbers). If by numbers, then people will do whatever to make numbers work or look good – in the short term.
An example of managing by theory: investing in training, because there is no visible, immediate, measurable pay-off – only a cost.
It is wrong to suppose that if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. This is a costly myth.
Transformation is needed in management to release the power of human resource contained in intrinsic motivation.
The most important act that a manager can take is to understand what it is that is important to an individual.
We manage by theory and prediction – not by figures (numbers). If by numbers, then people will do whatever to make numbers work or look good – in the short term.
An example of managing by theory: investing in training, because there is no visible, immediate, measurable pay-off – only a cost.
It is wrong to suppose that if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. This is a costly myth.
Transformation is needed in management to release the power of human resource contained in intrinsic motivation.
The most important act that a manager can take is to understand what it is that is important to an individual.
Management operates as if all people are the same rather than different.
We
are living in a prison, under tyranny of the prevailing
style of
interacttion between people, between teams, between [business]
division[s]….we must overthrow the idea that competition is a necessary
way of life. In place of competition, we need cooperation.
We have been destroying our people
from toddlers, on through the
university and on the job.
Ranking,
pay per performance, pay geared to sales is wrong. It breeds
conflict not cooperation.
