Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings, thoughts, and attitudes of another person. It is the key to creating value for multiple stakeholders. While we often ask customers and other stakeholders directly what they want, they often cannot tell us what they want. They might try to tell us, but there are two problems with asking …
Management Design
System of Profound Knowledge
It seems obvious that our organizations, and the environments that they operate in, are complex and dynamic. Yet, there appears to be an insatiable appetite for simple answers. Unfortunately, many to most simplistic solutions don’t work. As Dr. W. Edwards Deming used to say, “there is no substitute for knowledge.” In the latter part of his life, …
Understanding the Organization as a System
Using a system to understand and lead an organization is not a new idea - it is at least 2,500 years old. According to Mo-Tze (a.k.a. Miscius) a Chinese philosopher around 500 B.C.E. Whoever pursues a business in this world must have a system. A business which has attained success without a system does not exist. From ministers and generals down …
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Without People – Organization Systems Don’t Exist
While Dr. W. Edwards Deming, and others, have estimated that the organizational system is responsible for a large percentage of problems and performance in organizations (70-85%), it is not at all clear how he (or the others) came to this conclusion nor if it is based on any empirical evidence. Organizational systems do not exist without the humans …
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Read This Before You Apply for the Baldrige Award!
Everyone wants to have a great organization with ever-improving performance. But, as Dr. Deming used to say, "by what method?" Scenario 1 "Good" - Finds an Excellence Model Late in the Process Leaders seem to have an insatiable appetite for new management fads and initiatives. And yet, there is seemingly little progress toward creating the …
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