"14 Points" Reflecting on the Anniversary of Dr. Deming's Death
Davis Balestracci
Improvement Consultant / Public Speaker / Author of Data Sanity: A Quantum Leap to Unprecedented Results
December 20th marks the 31st anniversary of the death of W. Edwards Deming. Last year, I thought about what has happened since then and what he's meant to my career. These were my 14 reflections:
I'll begin with an affectionate, humor-tinged tribute: 14 Improvement Beatitudes.
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To honor his 14 Points, here are my 13 remaining reflections -- maybe a good road map for 2025 resolutions to grow as an improvement practitioner?
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As many have said in frustration, "But Deming didn't tell us how to DO Deming!" Well, yes... and no.
[Mt. Stupid explained beautifully here by Joseph Paris]
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In Part 3, I reflect on a tragic missed opportunity with a colleague because of his only Mt. Stupid superficial understanding of Dr. Deming's philosophy -- but the ability to do a dynamite Red Bead Experiment demonstration... for all the wrong reasons and with the wrong audiences.
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Part 4 is teeming with "Deming lessons," including a counter-intuitive, more effective way to create "Joy in work!"
I'm still amazed at how the "variation" component of Dr. Deming's "system of profound knowledge" has the potential to catalyze the other three elements into a transformational synergy rather than an evolutionary wishful cherry-picked alchemy strategy.
The powerful lessons in the deceptively simple example are still woefully misunderstood... even by alleged "experts" – and it costs millions in hidden costs.
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One of the most valuable lessons I learned in my Deming journey and one that every student of Deming needs to learn -- Don't "cherry pick" the 14 Points! I remember a paper I encountered in the 1980s with a title to the effect: "Implement Deming's 14 Points IN... THIS... ORDER!" (No, I'm not going to give it to you ??):
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OK, Deming folks, I hope you absorbed Part 5's lesson (as well as the Lessons of Parts 1 to 4) about "all of them" regarding the 14 Points. It's time to develop your competence to apply it and deal with the daily, messy reality of the 4 Cs -- confusion, conflict, complexity, and chaos. (More of the "How to DO Deming" roadmap in Part 7):
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OK, Folks – it’s time for the rubber to hit the road. For those of you still puzzled that, “But Dr. Deming didn’t tell us how to DO Deming!”, Part 7 offers a modest “roadmap” that will get you started – “plotting the dots” while integrating my valued resources for dealing with the “Psychology” aspects of Dr. Deming’s System of Profound Knowledge (SoPK) (as well as the others).
Face it: the na?ve alchemy of the past 30 years with its ongoing "cold fusion," cherry-picking pontification and finger-pointing criticism -- i.e., the "Gotcha!-grenade" strategy -- has failed miserably. It’s time for true “fusion” -- the vital synergistic interplay of "All of them!”
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What is the role of inspiring speeches? -- truly inspirational wisdom versus pontificating tired platitudes. But, then, how does one ACT on it? – by creating new conversations thanks to the inherent synergy of Dr. Deming’s philosophy, catalyzed by data sanity! (“All of them!”). Part 8 tries to create more context as I think back to an inspiring early Deming conference.
Then, in a true healthcare example, I suggest how inspirational rhetoric can only be inspiring to a point -- until a lack of "changing the world" results begins to uncomfortably expose the “elephant in the room”... with Dr. Deming "explaining" why. (For healthcare readers: anything changed for you these past 30 years?)
[I make no apologies for my strong language describing the actual events: I'm 72-years old. What do I have to lose? ]
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More rubber hitting the road to answer your question, “But how do I DO Deming?” – the need for a new MINDSET to drive the effective behaviors needed to accomplish Dr. Deming’s insistence on the need to TRANSFORM – “All of them!” in a deeper context of his System of Profound Knowledge.
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The one facet of “psychology” that is vital to transform from “bolt-on” ‘quality’ to Dr. Deming’s “built-in” ‘improvement’ … and will separate the Deming “pontificators” from the competent Deming “practitioners.” (At least) Three DEEP BREATHS will be required. ??
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Once again, it’s time for the rubber to hit the road for those who still might be puzzled that, “But Dr. Deming didn’t tell us how to DO Deming!” One of Dr. Deming’s famous quotes is, “Examples without theory teach nothing!”
Here is an example… woven with the theory I’ve been talking about in Parts 1 to 10. As Dr. Deming also said, “Don't waste too much time on tools and techniques. You can learn the lot in 15 minutes” -- and you will see charts like the article header for the absolute rubbish they are. After reading this, do you agree?
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(Part 12 has been one of the most popular)
Becoming competent as a Deming consultant: another example teeming with theory and a most powerful lesson I learned from Brian Joiner – and the devastating potential losses (human and otherwise) of not learning it.
What do organizations do when something that “shouldn’t” happen… happens? ?Usually, look for where the blame lies, or, especially in healthcare or industrial safety, do a root cause analysis (Ask "Why?" five times… until they find the “Who” ??).
Aren’t situations like these "undesirable variation" and almost always treated as special causes? BUT WHAT IF THEY'RE COMMON CAUSE, i.e., you are “perfectly designed” to have them happen? ("Systemness") That requires a totally different strategy! ("Theory of knowledge")
How much time does your organization waste trying to assign blame or doing root cause analyses, and how does this damage the psychology of your work culture? ("Psychology") You’ll see how one simple chart can change the usual conversations and resulting actions ("Variation")… and the heavy costs of using the wrong strategy.
The article concludes with a summary of lessons every Deming consultant should learn. ("All of them!")
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A Final Exam – the Statistics Needed for a “Deming belt”?
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[Back to Beginner's Mind: Henry Neave's "12 Days to Deming" course is an outstanding way to fill in theory gaps. Be forewarned: it isn't for the faint of heart, you won't get many "How to"s, but your mind will be transformed. 35 years ago, Neave's work set me out on the right path for my Deming journey]
A More Prosperous Way
2 个月I fired up LinkedIn to pen out a draft on the deep irony of Walter Shewhart and Edwards Deming - only to come across this welcome post in my feed - two weeks late. What is that deep irony you may ask - well jump to the questionnaire at the end of the links - it's that 20% of the "common causes" that account for 80% of the problems. Shewhart and Deming got the people on the floor to stop technical tampering with the process, but hell will freeze over before management pick up their part and begin to address the common cause. The signal is WITHIN the noise. But the accidental giveaway of the N. American cultural bias was "Maybe use one to start off each day before "the phone rings"?? I had the pleasure of working for some time in several large plants in an Eastern country. I was thinking of this just prior, there were 10 desks arranged like an "I" beam - six facing each other in a row of 3 and two perpendicular at each end. At the very least we had the factory manager, two-or three section chiefs, the production manager, the quality manager, the design manager, the machine manager, all within speaking distance of one another. In fact, every plant administration was open floor. Before the phone rings is a cultural phenomenon.
Improvement Specialist using Grassroots ideas!
2 个月Davis, which companies will even “allow” doing the “14 Points”? Please list?
Management / Quality Consultant “The measure of quality, no matter what the definition of quality may be is a variable.” (Shewhart, 1931)
2 个月I had read all but Part 3. The man calls himself an internationally recognized expert! Aren’t we all lol. The test at the end might humble some of us. Thanks!