Devdutt Pattanaik’s Business Sutra |1.1 | Is there an Indian way of doing Business

Business Sutra |1| Corporations

Devdutt Pattanaik opens the discussion in his TV serial Business Sutra by taking up the subject of:

What is the purpose of a corporation? Why does it exist? And is there a difference between corporations in India and those in the West? Wherefrom come these differences?

He goes on to explore the ideas of Happiness as well Strategic versus Tactical thinking. All this discussion leads one to wonder if professionalism is a good thing.

Typically, Devdutt Pattanaik gives no prescription.  He has provided the frameworks; the leader has to take the call.

In our present post, we will have a detailed look at the first of the three parts of this episode.

Business Sutra |1.1 | Is there an Indian way of doing Business

Apparently, since the core of any business activities remains more or less same, the way of doing business must also be the same anywhere. However, as is said in a 2010 HBR article – The India Way of Leading Business – these similarities are “different’ as well. In the same article, K V Kamath is quoted – “Time and again it has been proved that the Western model of doing business would not be a success here.” We “think in English and act in Indian,” is how R. Gopalakrishnan, the executive director of Tata Sons, puts it. “For the Indian manager,” he explained, “his intellectual tradition, his y-axis, is Anglo-American, and his action vector, his x-axis, is in the Indian ethos.”

The authors of this HBR article – Peter Cappelli, Harbir Singh, Jitendra Singh, and Michael Useem – in their book – The India Way: How India’s Top Business Leaders Are Revolutionizing Management – what Indian managers do differently, including: looking beyond stockholders’ interests to public mission and national purpose, drawing on improvisation, adaptation, and resilience to overcome endless hurdles, identifying products and services of compelling value to customers, investing in talent and building a stirring culture. Here are the interviews with Michael Useem and Peter Cappeli on this subject.

In an article – The Indian way of management –  published in Business Today in 2010, Sumant Sinha  notes that it’s a mix of organizational capabilities, management practices, and company culture that sets Indian enterprises apart from firms in other countries.

In an event at the American Enterprise Institute in 2014, Bill Gates speaks on what India does right

Here is one more video clip of Vodafone’s CEO Marten Pieters in a refreshingly honest conversation with ET NOW’s Sonali Krishna about the telecom industry, the plan ahead for Vodafone and why Vodafone doesn’t want to be the number one player in the country just yet, in the context of Indian business model.

This would be true for a business operating in any other country, may be some factor more dominant at one time and the other factor playing up in somewhat differently at other time.

Devdutt Pattanaik traces the roots of these differences in the (known or unknown) influence of the Indian mythology on the Indian psyche in Segment 1: On the Indian versus Western Context.

Here are the key points from his present discourse:

It was East India Company that brought to India the concept of a modern corporation a charter company issuing stock paying dividends and multinational in presence

Indians and Chinese have learned a lot from the West but they don’t have to copy. They cannot create a Chinese or Indian version for Western model.

To understand this, we need to visit the story of Alexander, The Great, when he met a naked ascetic at the bank of Indus. Though the ascetic was apparently doing nothing he did seem to be wise in every respect. Alexander asked the gymnosophist what he was doing nothing sitting over there staring at the Stars. The gymnosophist replied that I am experiencing things. He then asked Alexander as to what he was doing. Alexander said that he was conquering the world. Both laughed at each other. Alexander laughed because he thought the gymnosophist was a fool for doing nothing. The gymnosophist laughed because he thought it’s waste of life to do anything.

If we understand these differences in each other’s point of view, then we can understand the difference between the Indian mindset and the Western mindset

The Indian Way of doing business was not about doing business but using the act of doing business to figure out why you are doing what you’re doing. In the answer to that question there is growth, intellectual growth and emotional growth.

One really needs to understand the purpose of business.

It was this very point that in a 1994 Harvard Business Review article, Peter Drucker argued, “the root cause of nearly every [business] crises is not that things are being done poorly. It is not even that the wrong things are being done. Indeed, in most cases, the right things are being done—but fruitlessly.”

We will take up discussion of Purpose of Business, as presented in the Segment 2 of the first episode of Devdutt Paatanaik’s TV serial Business Sutra  in our next episode.

Is Management Profession is still a practice of science or art?

Recently, I saw the title of David H Freeman’s article – Is Management Still a Science? – published in November- December 1992 issue of HBR. That set bells ringing for me. Well, wasn’t practice of management already established as science in the second half of twentieth century? However, if there still was a question, why?

Let us first briefly look at what the article has to state:

“As every manager knows, new technologies are transforming products, markets, business processes, and entire industries, revolutionizing the business environment. Yet the more technology looms as a factor of competition, the more the emphasis is on the “soft” arts of leadership, change management, and employee motivation.

“On reflection, this paradox isn’t so surprising. The traditional scientific approach to management promised to provide managers with the capacity to analyze, predict, and control the behavior of the complex organizations they led. But the world most managers currently inhabit often appears to be unpredictable, uncertain, and even uncontrollable.

“In the face of this more dynamic and volatile business world, the traditional mechanisms of “scientific management” seem not only less useful but positively counterproductive. And science itself appears less and less relevant to the practical concerns of managers.

“However, the problem may lie less in the shortcomings of a scientific approach to management than in managers’ understanding of science.

“Put simply, while traditional science focused on analysis, prediction, and control, the new science emphasizes chaos and complexity.

“The new rules of complex behavior that cutting-edge scientific research describes have intriguing parallels with the organizational behaviors many companies are trying to encourage. Science, long esteemed by business as a source of technological innovation, may ultimately prove of greatest value to managers as a source for something else: useful new ways of looking at the world.

“The wide-ranging texts reviewed here suggest the broad outlines of what might become the new scientific management. Their message: management may indeed be a science—but not the science that most managers think.

The article, at this stage has delved deep into the four monumental books, which also underline four major trends in the development of management science during the 20^th century.

These are:

The Principles of Scientific Management, Frederick Winslow Taylor (New York: Harper, 1911).

Chaos: Making a New Science, James Gleick (New York: Viking, 1987).

Complexity: Life at the Edge of Chaos, M. Mitchell Waldrop (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992).

The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization, Peter M. Senge (New York: Doubleday, 1990)

The article goes on conclude that, “The scientific managers of today must be researchers who study their own organizations. And they must be designers who create the learning processes that make self-organization possible, the processes that are essential to effective performance in a world characterized by perpetual novelty and change.”

That now leads to another article – Is Management Really an Art?– by Henry M. Boettinger, in HBR issue of January 1975. The author investigates what he sees as three indispensable aspects of the artistic process—craft, vision, and communication.

The article sums up with these words:

At every level of management, from shop floor to board room, across the spectrum of our institutions, whether government, business, education, armed forces, or the church, we need a rediscovery of the value of the individual imagination and a rekindling of that passion for humane purposes which is the authentic light of leadership. To manage is to lead, and to lead others requires that one enlist the emotions of others to share a vision as their own. If that is not an art, then nothing is.

Dean Stanely F. Teele, the 4^th dean of HBS is more categorical in stating that “Management is a mixture of art and science …. The present ratio is about 90% art and 10% science. Though a very great deal of developments are presently increasing that proportion which can properly be called science. I am willing to venture a guess that by the end of another generation the ratio will be 80% art and perhaps 20% science.”

Peter Drucker in his landmark book The Practice of Management notes that “…managing a business must be creative rather than adaptive task. The more a management creates economic conditions or changes them rather than passively adapts to them, the more it manages the business.’  He goes on observe that “the manager is the dynamic, life-giving element in every business.’ Even as he concludes that, “Management can never be an exact science”, he does assert that the work of a manager can be systematically analyzed and classified.

Both these views relate to the mid-twentieth century thinking on the subject.

In the present times, Devdutt Pattanaik looks the whole concept from an Indian mythological point of view. Why we do business impacts how we do it and what ultimately gets done. It is very different from Management Science, taught in business schools around the world, which does not factor in belief, because belief is subjective truth, hence cannot be measured.

Despite the veneer of objectivity, Management Science is rooted in Western belief. Just as ancient Greeks celebrated Elysium, much-cherished heaven of heroes, and the Bible speaks of the Promised Land, ultimate destination of faithful, Management Science is goal-oriented, obsessed with vision, mission, objectives, milestones, and targets.

By contrast, the Indian way of doing business—as apparent in Indian mythology, but no longer seen in practice— accommodates subjectivity and diversity, and offers an inclusive, more empathetic way of achieving success[i]. The Indian approach is not goal-based; it is gaze-based. It does not exclude the Western model; it includes it, with the assertion that the purpose of an organization is to work towards happiness. Great value is placed on the practice of darshan (gaze): how we see the world and our relationship with Lakshmi, goddess of wealth

So Devdutt Pattanaik has developed a 3 B model, which he calls as the Business Sutra, which basically says, as is your belief, so is your behavior, so is your business. This is Business Sutra, a very Indian way of doing business.

To explore the concept in greater details, every first Sunday of the month, starting from February, 2017, we will revisit, Devdutt Pattanaik’s TV serial, Business Sutra, telecast on CNBC in 2010.

[i]  The Indian approach to business: Devdutt Pattanaik at TEDxGateway 2013

Carnival of Quality Management Articles and Blogs – January 2016

Welcome to January 2016 edition of Carnival of Quality Management Articles and Blogs.

In the previous episode of our blog carnival, we have taken up an overview of the changes in the just published Revision of ISO 9001 (:2015). From the present episode, every month we will take up each key change individually for a closer look.

We first take up the most fundamental underlying concept – Process Approach..

The present version of the standard now “promotes the adoption of a process approach when developing, implementing and improving the effectiveness of a quality management system, to enhance customer satisfaction by meeting customer requirements. {Ref: Introduction – Clause 0.3.1} The process approach involves the systematic definition and management of processes, and their interactions, so as to achieve the intended results in accordance with the quality policy and strategic direction of the organization. Management of the processes and the system as a whole can be achieved using the PDCA cycle (see 0.3.2) with an overall focus on risk-based thinking (see 0.3.3) aimed at taking advantage of opportunities and preventing undesirable results.

Schematic representation of the elements of a single process

The ISO Technical Committee 176 has published a paper The PROCESS APPROACH in ISO 9001: 2015 (ISO/TC 176/SC 2/N1289) and a detailed presentation on the PROCESS APPROACH in ISO 9001:2015

ISO’s Process Approach also lucidly presents concepts like Process Approach, Process Definition, Process Examples, Inputs and Outputs – outputs could include not only services, software, hardware, and processed materials, but also decisions, directions, instructions, plans, policies, proposals, solutions, expectations, regulations, requirements, recommendations, complaints, comments, measurements, and reports. Clearly, an output could be almost anything – Process interactions, Process-based QMS.

Three Ways ISO 9001:2015 Will Encourage a Process Approach – Dan Nelson –

Instead of being suited to ISO 9001, a QMS is supposed to be suited to the unique operations of an organization. A process approach demands that an organization’s real, operational; core processes are developed in accordance with the “plan” phase of the plan-do-check-act cycle (PDCA). These are the processes needed for a QMS.

Second, also in the ‘Introduction, sub-clause 0.3 -Process approach’, the standard explains that the process approach is based on the PDCA cycle, mentioning W. Edwards Deming by name.

Finally, in ISO 9001:2008 sub-clause 4.1—General Requirements, contain requirements seemingly adequate to verify whether a process approach has been applied.

Process Approach

QMS is made up of a network of value-adding processes, like Customer Oriented Processes (COPs), Support Oriented Processes (SOPs), Management Oriented Processes (MOPs), Quality Managed Processes (QOPs), Outsourced Processes (OPs) that link, combine and interact with one another to collectively provide product or service. These processes are inter-dependent and can be defined by complex interactions. In order to plan and implement QMS using the ‘Process Approach’, one must:

• Identify the processes needed for the QMS.
• Determine their sequence and interaction (show the sequence and interaction of COP’s). There are many ways to document this, e.g., a high level flowchart or a process map.
• Determine the application of QMS processes throughout the organization (show how MOP’s; SOP’s and QMP’s are applied to each COP and to each other). There are many ways of documenting this. A popular way is through graphical representation, e.g. process maps.
• Determine (plan) the criteria, methods, information, controls and resources needed for each QMS process.
• Identify the internal/external customer-required output.
• Describe the process activity that produces the output.
• Identify the resources needed for the process activity.
• Identify the inputs for the process – information, materials, supplies, etc.
• Define the process methods, procedures, forms etc., that may be needed to produce the output.
• Define the controls to prevent or eliminate risk of errors, omissions, or nonconformities in process activity. controls may come from the IS standards; customer; regulatory and your own organizational requirements
• Interaction with sources that provide the inputs (internal process or external supplier), uses the output (internal process or external customer), or provide the resources (internal support process) to perform the process activity.
• Implement QMS according to the plan.
• Monitor, measure and improve each QMS process and its interaction with other processes. Performance indicators to monitor and measure process performance may come from the IS standard, customer, regulatory and organization’s own requirements. Performance indicators may relate to the process output as well as the process activity.
• Performance indicators for process output must focus on meeting customer and regulatory requirements. Performance indicators for process activity should focus on measuring process effectiveness and efficiency.

PROCESS MANAGEMENT REQUIREMENTS IN ISO 9001 (2015) – Lennart Brandt -By application of the definition of “process”, the number of processes concerned by the requirements in ISO/CD 9001 could be considered to be at least about 275.

ISO 9001:2015 – The Process Approach Approacheth – focuses on the new standard’s “process approach” requirements, how it differs from the current version, and the many problems companies and auditors will have interpreting it.

ISO 9001 series, Part 3: The Process Approach in ISO 9001:2015 – Ben Saxton, Business Development Manager and Alastair Atcheson, Digital Marketing Executive @ Qualsys – Auditors should be looking at the effectiveness of processes over exact compliance to procedure. This is in line with PDCA, which forms a basis for the process approach to begin with. A process approach is the best way to manage a QMS, not just in terms of the audit process, but as a business strategy in general. Auditors and organisations alike should remember that the process approach is being emphasised because fundamentally, it makes sense.

The Joy of Process – Susannah Clarke says a process approach can inspire innovation and creativity – In Morecambe & Wise Make Breakfast, watch the brilliant example of how a process approach inspires innovation and creativity:

We will now turn to our regular sections:

Since 1996, ASQ has published seven issues of the Future of Quality Report. The latest edition explores 11 topic areas—already impacting consumers, businesses, and society—that will have a profound effect on the future of quality. These thought-provoking, personal, and detailed essays are written by distinguished experts from around the world. The “2015 ASQ Future of Quality Report: Quality Throughout” challenges, enlightens, and sparks action. ASQ CEO, Bill Troy ASQ’s Influential Voice in Top 11 Insights From ASQ’s Future of Quality Study has compiled the “key” insights from each of the 11 essays in the Future of Quality research.

We now watch the latest ASQ TV episodes:

Strategic Thinking – Business Skills – In this ASQ^® TV episode, the concept of strategic thinking is examined. Learn how strategic thinking varies in theory and practice and be introduced to the analytic hierarchy process—a method that breaks down decision making into a series of comparisons. Watch now:

• Edwards Deming
• Glenn Mazur Case Study 1
• Glenn Mazur Case Study 2
• Glenn Mazur, Quality Service Division
• Quality Progress Magazine, December Issue

Strategy and Leadership: In this episode, learn a four-step method for setting organization-wide strategy that fosters employee engagement and empowerment, and get ideas for structuring your organization and communicating strategy … to employees to help achieve success. Read: Peter Merrill’s QP article on self-managed teams.

Making Strategy Visual – It is essential your staff connect goals, metrics and projects to get them engaged in the organization’s strategy. Hear how North Bay Regional Health Center in Ontario achieves this important goal by making strategy visual to employees and customers.

We would add Jim L. Smith’s Jim’s Gems as our regular feature from this month.

Thought Power: Choose to think the best about yourself, your world, and those people who are there to support you.

Dealing with Challenges:  Learning to overcome our challenges is what builds character and resilience.

Embrace efforts: Decide to embrace and enjoy the effort, and you’ll reap wonderful benefits from it.

20 Most Popular Posts on the Curious Cat Management Blog in 2015

• The Toyota Way – Two Pillars (2010)
• Stated Versus Revealed Preference (2013)
• The Purpose of an Organization (2005)
• 94% Belongs to the System (2013)
• How to Get a New Management Strategy, Tool or Concept Adopted (2010) One factor at a time (OFAT) Versus Factorial Designs (2011)
• The Aim Should be the Best Life – Not Work v. Life Balance (2015)
• Why Don’t Football Players Just Thrown the Ball Out of Bounds to Stop the Clock (2010)
• No True Lean Thinking or Agile Software Development (2010)
• Steve Jobs on Quality, Business and Joseph Juran (2014)
• Don’t Treat People How You Want to be Treated (2010)
• Keys to the Effective Use of the PDSA Improvement Cycle (2012)
• Visual Management and Mistake-Proofing for Prescription Pills (2015)
• Toyota Post Record Profit: Splits $15 million in Pay and Bonus for top 21 Executives (2014)
• What to Do To Create a Continual Improvement Culture (2015)
• Peter Scholtes (2009)
• All Data is Wrong, Some is Useful (2015)
• Building a Great Software Development Team (2014)
• Paying New Employees to Quit (2008)
• Increasing the Adoption of Management Improvement Ideas in Your Organization (2010)

I look forward to your active participation in enriching the blog carnival as we pursue our journey in exploring the happenings across quality management blogs…………

Carnival of Quality Management Articles and Blogs – November 2015

Welcome to November, 2015 edition of Carnival of Quality Management Articles and Blogs.

The search for “Improving measures of measurement of process” took us to the first building block -‘performance measures and metrics’, followed by the search for resources relating to the ‘structuring for the process of improvement’, “Deploying the Improvement Process” and “Implementing the Improvement Process”. While we were @ Measuring the Improvement Process, we had observed references to several techniques of measurements. Among these we had a detailed look at one of the most discussed one: The Balanced Scorecard.

In this last part of our journey of Continuous Improvement, we will take a look at some of the representative articles on “Sustaining Continuous Improvement’.

How to Create and Sustain Successful Continuous Improvement Teams – Renee Bassett – Porter at Irving Oil: “Keep it fresh, keep improving the system.  Do not let it stagnate.  Your competition is making improvements every day; evolving change is now a way of life.” Click here to read how understanding human motivations can go a long way toward ensuring a successful continuous improvement program.

Sustaining Continuous Improvement Initiatives – Simon Bodie – Continuous Improvement Initiatives are often launched with a flurry of excitement .This can soon wane as executives fail to see value and question the rationale for continuing. Achieving longevity requires careful management of the program. Just completing ‘good work’ is not enough, benefits need to be understood calculated and extracted. Progress needs to be communicated effectively.

Sustaining a Continuous Improvement Culture in a World of Flux – It is not so much that we are afraid of change, or so in love with the old ways, but it is the place in between we fear….. like being in between trapezes……there is nothing to hold on to. CI should not merely be an institutional priority, but should be integrated into the strategic plan. A well-defined structure for implementing CI programs, transparent flow of information, listening to views of each stakeholder, showing the benefits to the individuals and maintaining the consistency of approach (towards CI) help build the culture that creates environment for sustaining the CI.

Visual Management Helps You Sustain Continuous Improvement – You can’t make your operations more efficient if your employees don’t know what is going on!  Communicating information throughout all departments and levels of your company is critical. Visual management is a fundamental element of process control that helps you sustain continuous improvement.

Creating and sustaining value: Building a culture of continuous improvement – Saleem Chattergoon, Shelley Darling, Rob Devitt, Wolf Klassen have narrated a phased approach adopted at Toronto East General Hospital . These are: Phase 1 – Setting the stage ; Phase 2 – Team-driven performance management and Phase 3 – The daily management system and cross-appointment model. The three phased approach takes the movement beyond individual projects to the cultural transformation.

Continuous Improvement through a Productive Culture

Actions that Build a Productive Work Culture

1. Practice good leadership at all levels

• Create trust and respect
• Be committed and persistence
• Be patient and understanding
• Be consistent
• Allocate resources fairly & where needed
• Explain the goals and reasons

2. Lead by example, by “walking your talk”

• Role model desired behaviours
• Coach, mentor and teach

3. Determine appropriate criteria for rewards, praise, and status
4. Select good people and supporters – Put individuals in the right roles
5. Practice open 2-way communication
6. Manage by walking around
7. Develop and communicate values, behavioural expectations and norms – Deliver common and consistent messages and behaviours at all levels
8. Focus on the quality of relationships – respect people
9. Ensure the physical and emotional safety and well-being of employees – Listen to ideas and concerns and take appropriate action
10. Let employees enjoy the rewards of their hard work
11. Help people to understand all the ways the change will be good for the organisation and also for them
12. Promote collaboration and cross-functional problem solving
13. Provide stability and consistency
14. Promote creativity, innovation & learning – Within boundaries remove obstacles and encourage rule breaking
15. Create personal responsibility for results
16. Provide employees with feedback
17. Create a sense of identity, ownership and pride of work
18. Provide development opportunities, new skills and fresh knowledge
19. Provide career opportunities
20. Provide challenges and challenging opportunities
21. Impose real-time consequences that matter
22. Be connected to your community

Continuously improve your chances for project success: Whitepaper 3 || kpmg.com/nz ||

Effective management of major projects relies on three key concepts:

1. early planning and organization
2. stakeholder communication and project controls integration, and

• Continuous improvement.

This third instalment of a three-part series, outlines the third key component in managing a major project, continuous improvement……A collaborative culture – where information is exchanged informally and through multiple channels – is preferable for inspiring continuous improvement.

From lean to lasting: Making operational improvements stick

The broader challenge underlying such problems is integrating the better-known “hard” operational tools and approaches—such as just-in-time production—with the “soft” side, including the development of leaders who can help teams to continuously identify and make efficiency improvements, link and align the boardroom with the shop floor, and build the technical and interpersonal skills that make efficiency benefits real.

Why do continuous improvement initiatives fail to sustain? By Thomas Liesener – The four most commonly occurring hot spots are: lack of will, support, commitment and leadership from (senior) management; not right metrics selected, monitored and reviewed (for CI and change); lack in professional human development / trainings and career pathing; not right and enough resources allocated or available for implementation and projects.

Sustaining the continual improvement will find as many variants as required by the as differing needs of differing circumstances, varying by the degree in which the people involved vary with as many differing backgrounds. Obviously, we cannot cover all such variants in a single episode of our blog carnival. The ultimate message is that continuous improvement sustains in thrives in the culture of people who feel involved, who keep evolving and openly share their views and feelings.

The journey of the continuous improvement never ends.

We will now turn to our regular sections:

Bill Troy, ASQ CEO presents four guest posts:

A Day With the Future of Quality – Edwin Garro presents a very intimate documentation of his visit to a junior high school class at the San Rafael de Poás Technical High School, Alajuela, Costa Rica. The Quality and Productivity Technical program was conceived as long term answer to shortage of skilled quality technicians. The visits talks about aspirations of the students of the program.

Big Data and Quality Professionals – by Ponmurugarajan Thiyagarajan – Big data is in play when data size is huge (Volume), moves in high speeds (Velocity), comes in variety of forms (Variety) and in varied quality (Veracity) which conventional database systems cannot efficiently process.

Analytics built over big data enable organizations to process structured and unstructured data to derive useful intelligence and provide actionable insights for end-users.

This has interesting implications for quality professionals who may become involved with big data efforts. Assurance of quality is key in such projects: data clean-up must happen in an automated fashion and reconciliation reports to be produced in real-time to track quality parameters. Thus, relevant tools need to be built for quality assurance. It will be interesting to see how quality tools such as Plan-Do-Check-Act, the 7 quality tools (Fishbone diagram, Check sheets, Control charts, Histogram, Pareto Charts, Scatter Diagrams, Flow Charts) etc., can be customized for a big data project.

Facing Cultural Barriers by Leaders to Strengthen a Culture of Quality – by Luciana Paulise – company culture is modeled upon top management behavior. So, in effect, leaders need to change their behavior first if they want to change the entire company culture—and they have to do it through a systemic model considering four types of intelligence, viz. spiritual, intellectual, physical and emotional.

Talking To the C-Suite About Quality – by Dr. Suresh Gettala – emphasizes the following five rudiments that are indispensable when talking about quality to the top management:

1. The long term – short term continuum
2. The Language of Metrics
3. Economic case for Quality
4. Success Anecdotes
5. “Big Q” Approach

The current month episode of ASQ TV is: Quality in Pop Culture . Celebrate World Quality Month by watching examples of quality appearing in pop culture. Quality touches nearly all aspects of society. And it’s not surprising to see it in mainstream entertainment—whether it’s being satirized for its seemingly complicated tools and methods, or indirectly referenced for how it improves our lives.

For the present month, our ASQ’s Influential Voice is Bill Troy, the CEO of ASQ.

We have been regular visitor to his View From the Q.

We had taken our first look at View from Q in September 2013, when it was under the guidance of the then ASQ CEO, Paul Borawski.

Presently, we seem to have reached the end of the present list of ASQ Influential Voices. We will take a different approach to visiting the views of ASQ Influential Voices, beginning January 2016.

I look forward to your active participation in enriching the blog carnival as we pursue our Improvement journey …………

Carnival of Quality Management Articles and Blogs – September, 2015

Welcome to September, 2015 edition of Carnival of Quality Management Articles and Blogs.

The search for “Improving measures of measurement of process” took us to the first building block -‘performance measures and metrics’, followed by the search for resources relating to the ‘structuring for the process of improvement’. Then we took one more step forward, so as to look at some basics for “Deploying the Improvement Process”. We then went over to explore different ideas and approaches in “Implementing the Improvement Process”.

We now take a look at Measuring the Improvement Process.

How to Improve Manufacturing Productivity – by Tara Duggan, Demand Media

Improving manufacturing productivity involves collecting and analyzing data and making effective decisions. Ensuring the success of these operational excellence initiatives often depends on divisions working together to share data and interpret it appropriately

Step 1 – Identify the work flow associated with manufacturing your product. This includes the people, processes and technology required for production as well as the resources, communication and procedures needed throughout the company.

Step 2 – Track reports to analyze financial and customer satisfaction data. Share the same comprehensive data with all project managers so they can develop manufacturing process improvement plans, assign resources to complete the tasks, manage the budgets and determine if the projects met their goals. Establish criteria for standardizing project processes to ensure that all project managers systematically evaluate performance consistently and interpret changes appropriately.

Step 3 – Create a balanced scorecard based on data from a secure repository. Identify financial measures for the scorecard such as monthly sales, customer measures such as the number of product support calls, process measures such as number of products manufactured each month and employee measures such as staff retention. As you implement process improvement changes, note any changes in these operational measures to validate that your interventions were successful.

Step 4 – Monitor information generated from process improvement projects to implement improvements throughout all of your manufacturing operations. Analyze costs and benefits.

LEAN SIX SIGMA METRICS: HOW TO MEASURE IMPROVEMENTS WITHIN A PROCESS – Different Time, Cost, Process Complexity, Organizational Perspective metrics frequently used in Lean Six Sigma projects to measure the outcomes of a process, identify opportunities for improvement and monitor changes over time.

Using ROI to Measure the Results of BPI Initiatives – Process improvement initiatives are becoming a focal point for organizations – regardless of their size or industry – and Executives want to see the positive monetary impact from these initiatives. Here is where Business Impact and ROI analysis comes into play to measure the effectiveness of an organization’s process improvement initiatives.

Measuring improvement

• If you do not gather strong baseline data, you will never know exactly how much you have achieved.
• For the..project, your measures should focus on the critical stakeholder experience and staff experience, as this is the focus of the overall programme. Ultimately, these factors will show whether you have met your aim.
• Data
• Measure little and often: measurement for improvement does not require large datasets. It is better to start with one measure, and add more, than to be ambitious about the number of measures to be collected and feel defeated by the scale of it.
• for improvement is different from data for research. It is messier and less accurate, but highly relevant to the daily work of clinicians. Sampling is often appropriate – for example, asking 10 patients per month, as opposed to all patients. In measuring for improvement, it is rapid, small-scale feedback (through PDSA cycles) that will help you assess the impact of your changes.
• Monitor your progress through a dashboard. This must include the main types of measure (process, outcomes and balancing measures). It should also make clear what the goal is (how much to achieve and by when), how progress will be calculated, and where the data will come from. All these are essential questions to answer when developing your measures. (See PFCC sample measurement dashboard).
• Make sure your measures relate directly to the factors that you are changing.
• Driver diagrams play a useful role in this activity as these help pin down what is important.. and measures that relate to these drivers.
• Make sure you are clear about what you plan to accomplish, how you will know that this change will improve patients’ experience or outcomes, and precisely what activities you will put in place to effect this change.
• Use the expertise in quality improvement within your organization to support you. Techniques such as ‘run charts’ (see PFCC further reading), which can track progress over time can be very useful in providing a persuasive picture of your progress. Above all, remember that the purpose of measurement for improvement is to support you to achieve your aims. The data must therefore be of value to you – not for reporting elsewhere.

How Do You Measure Process Improvement?

Maturity Levels in the Staged Representation

Measurement of Process Improvement is a paper of Practical Software and Systems Measurement (PSM) community. The paper includes areas of measurement of process improvement, measuring the value of process, improvement, measuring readiness for process improvement, measuring the process improvement progress.

Three Ways For Measuring Continuous Improvement Success – Mark Ruby emphasizes the critical role of measurement in the success of Continual Improvement in terms of three dimensional measurement perspectives:

#1 Measure based on Financial results

# 2 Measure based on an assessment tool

# 3 Measure based on view of the stakeholder

How to Measure Continuous Improvement – By Emile Heskey

1. Find ways to quantify progress
2. Review the data in terms of initial goals
3. Develop a series of criteria midway through the project which can be used for measuring the improvements.
4. Accept Setbacks.

Cultural Transformation: Measuring and improving the culture to achieve significant business results – Charles Aubrey – Culture was defined over These values: Manage with Information and Metrics, Empower Employees, Teamwork, Respect and Ethical Behavior, Improve and Innovate, Coach/Mentor and Make a Difference, and Surpass Customer Expectations.

The measurement of the improvement was built into a detailed survey.

Measuring continuous improvement: sustainability at Sibelco Benelux presents the measurement of continuous improvement of the sustainability.

Measuring Asset Performance for Continuous Improvement – In this 7-minute, 9-second video, Mike Poland of Life Cycle Engineering explains the measure phase of a simple implementation model for a risk-based asset management system. Learn the importance of metrics, process parameters and key performance indicators (KPIs), as well as how to correctly interpret data and take the appropriate corrective actions.

Measuring Continuous Improvement In Engineering Education Programs: A Graphical Approach – The methodology, the Pitt-SW Analysis, is an adaptation of the competitive strategy principle of SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunities and threats). It consists of four steps – data collection, data summarization, display of proportions, and construction of a Strengths and Weakness (SW) table by the application of rules that reflect the desired sensitivity of the methodology. The results of the SW table can be displayed graphically using basic symbols to highlight and track changes in students’ perceptions.

These are at best a few samples on the subject. Measurement of the continual improvement will find as many variants as required by the as differing needs of differing circumstances, performed by the people with as many differing backgrounds. Obviously, we cannot cover all such variants in a single episode of our blog carnival. So, we would continue our onward journey of the process of improvement for two more months.

We turn to our regular sections now:

Bill Troy, ASQ CEO has presented three guest articles. Each one makes a very interesting and thought-provoking material. So we will only document the titles of these articles here:

• What Does “Made In…” Mean To You?
• Does Mission Matter?
• How Does Knowledge Management Complement Quality?

Julia McIntosh, ASQ communications in the ‘August Roundup: Creating a Performance Culture: What Not To Do’ has collected the round of views of ASQ Bloggers on ways to change company culture in a positive direction. The original referenced article of James Lawther is Creating a Performance Culture: What Not To Do.

We then move over to ASQ TV Episodes:

• Five Whys for the Birds – Reversing the deteriorating of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C., with the five whys technique. The story may be a bit of a myth in some quality circles, but it still contains a good example of … the ‘five whys’ technique for root cause analysis.
• Taking a deeper dive into root cause analysis – Root cause analysis can be used to find the crux of any problem in virtually any setting. Let’s take a look at some nuances of root cause analysis and how to apply it successfully. In this episode, we’ll… cover: • Knowing how far to take one root cause analysis method • An example of the 5 WHYs technique QP article • Finding the root cause of a deteriorating building “Flip the Switch” • Incorporating the scientific method approach in root cause analysis. Watch a full interview with Matthew Barsalou.
• Taking the Scientific Method Approach to Root Cause Analysis – You probably take it for granted that root cause analysis should be empirical-that is, verifiable by observation or experience rather than just theory. In “real life,” organizational approaches to finding… a root cause don’t always pan out this way because people are anxious for answers. However, author and expert Matthew Barsalou suggests that the scientific method may be a good approach to root cause analysis
• Standards and Auditing – Learn how to identify, categorize and take action on risks – vital skills for organizations transitioning to ISO 9001:2015. Also learn how audits can be conducted virtually. To watch the webinar, click … here.
• Auditing, Risk, and ATM – Dennis Arter offers tips and techniques about assessing and managing risk with the help of risk catalogues and the ATM method (Accept-Transfer-Mitigate).

Our ASQ’s Influential Voice for the month is – Prem Ranganath.

Prem Ranganath is a senior director and global head of IT delivery excellence and risk assurance at Quintiles Inc. He is a senior member of ASQ and enjoys working with teams to enable quality as a necessary and valuable behavior. He is very passionate about introducing a quality mindset and practices in K-12 so that quality is ingrained into interactions and decisions early on. Prem teaches at a graduate level course on software quality and product management at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wis. He blogs at – The Art of Quality.  The blog tagline is: Ideas and experiences to inspire professionals and students to pursue the art

I look forward to your active participation in enriching the blog carnival as we pursue our Improvement journey ………….

Web Gurjari Spreads Wings…..

Web Gurjari idea was conceived as a platform to bring all “GUJARATI” writing and reading netizens under one roof so as to help Gujaratis shed their inertia

–  To use Gujarati language, in all natural modes of communication among Gujarati-speaking communities;

–   To promote the culture of using the Gujarati language, inherently, even in their own professions

thereby protecting Gujarati language from being an Endangered Language.

Initially, Web Gurjari evolved as Gujarati Language and Literature blog. The blog operates on voluntary active contribution and collaboration of its members.

And now, Web Gurjari is poised to spread its wings in new directions, too.

“સાંપ્રત મેનેજમેન્ટ વિશ્વ [Contemporary Management World]“  is the Top-Level Title of the new Chapter added to Web Gurjari.

Web Gurjari’s “સાંપ્રત મેનેજમેન્ટ વિશ્વ [Contemporary Management World]” aims to bring the coded knowledge of the’ Science and Art of the Modern Management Theories and Practice’ under one Gujarati roof.

Typically, the world “management” connotes Business (and Industrial) Management.  Hence “સાંપ્રત મેનેજમેન્ટ વિશ્વ [Contemporary Management World]” is likely to have to more of the concepts, literature and discussions from the world of Business Management. However, “management” is, consciously or unconsciously, intertwined in all walks of the modern life. It may have been documented as Management Literature in the books, magazines, newspapers or blogs and websites. It may have remained implicit in the lessons of the history or in the realms of folklores and mythology.  It remains embedded in the lives of the legends. “સાંપ્રત મેનેજમેન્ટ વિશ્વ [Contemporary Management World]”will, therefore,  provide the common platform for sharing all these aspects and forms of ‘Experiments of Management’, thereby providing not only a multi-faceted source of the knowledge to the practicing professionals, but also adding the much needed depth and variety to the fare to the burgeoning tribe of ‘common’ visitors to Web Gurjari.

And as a bonus, the active contributors to “સાંપ્રત મેનેજમેન્ટ વિશ્વ [Contemporary Management World]” will find a medium to unleash their ‘bottled-up-in-the-mundane-pressures-of the-routine’ creative juices. And to the reading professionals, the content will act as strong stress-buster.

If we look at the coin from the other side, “સાંપ્રત મેનેજમેન્ટ વિશ્વ [Contemporary Management World]” will be the networking platform where topics ranging from the technical intricacies of the principles of management to the nuances of the art of practicing the management will be shared, in Gujarati.

In the process, “સાંપ્રત મેનેજમેન્ટ વિશ્વ [Contemporary Management World]” would also strive to bond all present and future exponents of management (Gujarati) literature, on and off the net.

Under the top-level chapter title, the content of “સાંપ્રત મેનેજમેન્ટ વિશ્વ [Contemporary Management World]” would be grouped under appropriate ‘concept / topic’ “category”. Each of the “categories” may have “sub-categories” dedicated to a focused subject matter. Each published shall also have identifying tags for the contributors and other keywords of the content, in addition to the net-world contacts of the contributor.

The typically suggested categories and subcategories that સાંપ્રત મેનેજમેન્ટ વિશ્વ [Contemporary Management World]” would encompass are:

Management Principles in Practice

Self (Personal) Development

Contemporary Management Literature

– Review of Books, Magazines, Article, Blog/websites, Films /Videos

Informative Profiles (First preference to Gujarati, then Indian and then international) {The content shall not amount to commercial publicity}

–  Institutions (Organizations)

–  Individuals (Entrepreneurs, Managers, Educationists, Trainers, Authors)

–  Interviews (in Text and /or audio video formats)

Reports of the proceedings of Conferences, Conclaves and Seminars

Trends at Education and Training Sectors {taking care of not publishing any promotional material)

–  Management Education and Training

–  Technical Education

–  Professional Education and Training

Topics Not Covered Elsewhere

There are two routes to contribute to this endeavor – as a reader and /or as the contributor.

You can “bookmark” the link to “સાંપ્રત મેનેજમેન્ટ વિશ્વ” and can be a regular reader. If you want the notifications of new posts on the blog delivered to your “inbox”, you may like to register your e-mail address at the “તમારું ઇ-મેઇલ સરનામું લખો” box available @ “ઇ-મેઇલ દ્વારા વે.ગુ. સંપર્ક” on the top right-hand side of the blog-site.

You can be an ‘active reader’ by jotting down your considered feedback @ “Comments” and / or writing to webgurjarim@gmail.com. Your active participation, by way of sharing your views, experiences, references / links to similar literature, would go on enhance the discussion quality to more meaningfully value-addition to the original post.

You can also choose to bean ‘active’ – occasional or regular – ‘contributor, by way of writing in the articles, and /or providing sharable multimedia content. You can send in your contributions to  webgurjarim@gmail.com.

You may also like to take over role of coordinator’ of a particular category / sub-category and develop your own circle of contributors. It is expected that “સાંપ્રત મેનેજમેન્ટ વિશ્વ” @ Web Gurjari grows into a vibrant family, built at the level of cities, region and nation as in the course of the journey over the longer term.  Your response would be eagerly awaited @ webgurjarima@gmail.cor or web.gurjari@gmail.com.

Carnival of Quality Management Articles and Blogs – July 2013

Welcome to July 2013 edition of Carnival of Quality Management Articles and Blogs.

We commence our present edition with Quality of Personal Improvement.

Dan McCarthy @ The Great Leadership, presents 20 Questions to Assess the Quality of an Individual Development Plan. The article also has further cascaded links to the earlier articles on the subject – How to Write a Great Individual Development Plan (IDP)  @ November 24, 2008; The Power of a Written Individual Development Plan  @ October 29, 2008 and  Eight Step Guide to Developing Your Leadership Skills @ November 23, 2007.
How To Align Yourself to Your Work and Achieve More – details following keys –

1)     Either find work that you love, or find things you love about your work

2)     Listen to your body~ Take care of yourself

3)     Align yourself to solutions ~ not to the challenges you are facing

4)     If getting specific is stressing you out, get general first.

The test and the clues to the alignment of us to our work lies in James Lawther’s article How are you Organised?

The modern day professional life has n-number of occupation stress hazards. Shaun Rosenberg presents us – 7 Extremely Obvious Reasons to Become an Optimist : “History is created by optimists who decide to give it one more try. Being optimistic allows you to create new things and helps humanity as a whole grow. While you may be able to dismiss new ideas with seemingly logical doubt, it is those who seek out new answers and look for possibilities that create growth, and it is with the optimists that all hope for the human race rests.”

Now let us shift our gaze from personal improvement to Process Improvement Tutorials, so exhaustively presented @ Squawk Point. This is a mine of information.

The process of improvement is closely linked to the process of measurements.

We have a quite telling article by Paul Zak – Measurement Myopia, and this what he has to say:

“If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.”- This maxim ranks high on the list of quotations attributed to Peter Drucker. There’s just one problem: He never actually said it.
The fact is, Drucker’s take on measurement was quite nuanced. .. Drucker also knew that not everything could be held to this standard. “Your first role . . . is the personal one,” “It is the relationship with people, the development of mutual confidence, the identification of people, the creation of a community. This is something only you can do.” Drucker went on: “It cannot be measured or easily defined. But it is not only a key function. It is one only you can perform.”
This is why Drucker believed—and so do I — that conversations with colleagues are essential. The science backs this up. Expansive conversations and socializing can induce the brain to synthesize oxytocin, the “social engagement” molecule. When the brain releases oxytocin, we are motivated and internally rewarded to cooperate with others for a common purpose.
The goal of conversations (including, as I’ve written, during the annual-review process) is not only to understand the employee next to you, but the human being next to you.
So, measurement, yes. Only measurement, no.

Peter Wyss @ SUMMSO presents 3 Key Elements for Top Project Management Performance:
Completing a project on time, within the budget and with the quality which the customer or end-user expects can be a challenge and will be an even bigger challenge in the future due to growing expectations, smaller budgets and short time-spans to market…..We experience these challenges on a daily basis and find the following items as the key elements for excellent Project Management Performance:

1) Have a plan
2) Focus on your time
3) Be prepared
Measurements and Analysis can lead to the sustained improvement only on the back of a sound decision-making process.

SqawckPoint shares Can You Make the Right Decisions? : When it comes to making decisions, there are invariably only a very few factors that are important.  If you can find what they are and write down the decision making logic then you could make those decisions far more effectively.

ASQ TV Episode 5: The State of the Quality Profession : In this episode ASQ World Conference on Quality and Improvement attendees talk about the quality profession today, and what the future holds. A new ASQ research initiative gives us a current global state of quality. Become reacquainted with control charts. And, a Quality Progress character makes his first TV appearance. To learn more about control charts and find a template, visit http://asq.org/learn-about-quality/data-collection-analysis-tools/overview/control-chart.html.

There are a few related videos on control charts and SQC techniques, viz. Welcome, Mr. Pareto Head and Control Chart

ASQ has another excellent section – Ask The Experts, for active networking with other professionals. One may easily maintain contact by e-mail subscription to the blog,

Now we start our special section of visiting ASQ Influential Voices, in the alphabetical order in which they appear.

Our first destination is Guy Bigwood. Based in Spain, Guy Bigwood is the sustainability director of MCI, an association management company. He is responsible implementing corporate social responsibility throughout MCI’s 48 global offices, and manages a global consulting practice that provides strategic guidance to businesses, associations, governments, and the United Nations. His blog is Less Conversation More Action, which has a tagline- Dispatches from the frontline of sustainability in the meetings industry.
This blog is written by Roger Simons and Guy Bigwood, with help from a few invited guests.   Michael Luehrs provided some great content.

Named as meeting industry “Green Leaders”, the blog was created to share experiences, opinions, best practices and mistakes from the front line of sustainability and the meetings industry.

Before we take up a brief detail on Green, let us complete the tour of Less Conversation More Action.

In one of the recent posts, Sustainability and quality – lets have a group hug, the author lines up the biggest challenge to Quality is to “to get the quality people talking to the sustainability people and vice-versa. Many of us are focused on the same thing: i.e. Zero

• Quality: zero defects, zero customer complaints
• Sustainability: zero waste, zero water usage, zero human rights violations.

And for Quality professionals to embrace the sustainability, the blog has Our Work, which outlines “a few good case studies from some of our clients, to whom we provided a helping hand with strategic consulting, training, coaching, reporting and/or measurement services”; Recommended Reading, which recommends the books to help on the journey of creating more sustainable organisations, and Articles on authors; interviews and what they write for magazines and newspapers.
A brief note on Sustainability would indeed be in order at this stage.

“Sustainability, and the demands it places on our society to achieve it, requires us all to be part of the solution, rather than contributing to any of the number of challenges we face. Sustainability, and sustainable development, requires that we plan strategically to avoid the burning of fossil fuels, the mining of rare metals and the use of chemicals which persist in nature.

As a baseline, sustainability requires that we source the raw materials which fuel our society in ways which are both ecologically and socially responsible. To achieve sustainability, … real leadership and a passionate effort to share knowledge will result in the increased profits, improved brand values, healthier communities, productive environment.. and the gift of a good conscience for all.(Courtesy: GMIC).
And here is somewhat easily understandable way to appreciate the concept of sustainability: Sustainability explained through animation.
The June Roundup questions that Paul Borawasi has posed,

• What is the most important challenge the quality community faces in ensuring that the value of quality is fully realized for the benefit of society?
• And, what question does the quality community most need answered in order to advance the state of quality practice in the world?

, presents a wide diversity of answers, from a variety of industries.

And we finally round up our present edition with –

Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog Carnival #195
Curious Cat Management Improvement Carnival #196
Management Improvement Carnival #197

I eagerly look forward to our exciting Blog Carnival Journey together….

Sunday Is My Day of Work…Not Rest – Janine Popick

When do you have time to be strategic? When do you have time to take a look at how your business is really doing and where you want it to go?

Do these look like pedagogic questions?

Then the article Jannie Popick’s article “Sunday Is My Day of Work…Not Rest” is a must read, reflect and take action on.

If you already practice setting aside a quality time for “that strategic thrust to future journey”, even then the article  will certainly provide a refreshing light on the thought process.

Here is the short intro of  Janine Popick :- the CEO and founder of VerticalResponse, a leading provider of self-service email and event marketing, online surveys, social media, and direct mail solutions – and the link to her BASEMENT TO BOARDROOM series on Inc. : For me to keep visiting regularly.

Carnival of Quality Management Articles and Blogs – June 2013

Welcome to June 2013 edition of Carnival of Quality Management Articles and Blogs.

We begin our present edition with articles relating to Measurement of Performance.

The first article that we pick up has the message of eternal optimistic realism, so essential a trait that every quality person (or any person with a Quality Attitude) ought to ingrain –

You Will Recover From This. – By Ollin Morales

“To fall into truth, then, the illusion must be torn away from us.

But without the tearing away, without the losing of everything, we can never know that we had everything to begin with. We can never know that it is our spirit that is the core of who we are, and that nothing can ever tarnish it.”

If nothing else: if you just allow yourself to endure the night, this courageous act of resilience will be rewarded with wisdom, strength, and clarity of purpose when the dawn arrives. (A dawn that may arrive, sooner than you think it would.)

The articles that we have in this edition pose interesting questions; provide a fresh insight, and in turn lead our focus to the underlying fundamental issues.

Quantitative Versus Qualitative KPIs – By Stacey Barr

The distinction between quantitative and qualitative measures is often misunderstood. Technically, every measure is quantitative.

In the field of statistics, we distinguish variables as qualitative (or attribute) when those variables are not gauging an amount but rather are simply putting things into buckets. Qualitative variables aren’t performance measures. But they are used to help us analyse our measures.

In the field of statistics, we distinguish two types of quantitative variables: continuous and discrete.

Three Rules to Deliver the Best Possible Performance for as Long as Possible

Michael Raynor and Mumtaz Ahmed went looking for those companies that were good enough for long enough to be considered exceptional and to rule out luck as the primary source of their performance. What they found they have presented in The Three Rules: How Exceptional Companies Think.

1. Better Before Cheaper – Greater non-price value rather than by lower price.
2. Revenue Before Cost. – Outperforming through higher revenue rather than lower costs.
3. There Are No Other Rules – Whatever competitive or environmental changes or challenges you might face, do not give up on the first two rules.

The Toughest Things to Measure by Stacey Barr

“‘Employee Morale, Quality of life, strength of customer relationship, business reputation’ are the items found in the list of “the toughest things to measure in business”.
“The problem is not one of measurement, but one of articulation of the results we want to improve or achieve or create. When you can evidence something, you can measure it.”

Separate your charting and data analysis tools from your enterprise tools by Steve Daum

Online debate rages about whether potatoes and onions should be stored together, with the “no” side saying they both give off gases that accelerate spoilage, and the “yes” followers asserting that it makes no difference. Whether you agree or disagree, you can follow the underlying concept: some things do need to be separated in order to perform at their best. (Hence the practice of assigning twins to separate classrooms, perhaps.)

We have an interesting article that looks at Performance Measurement form a fresh, fundamental angle, linking the process to the human angle  –
What happened to belief that safety is “everyone’s responsibility?” – by Jonathan Jacobi

I believe “safety is everyone’s responsibility.”  That being said, I have seen “everyone’s responsibility” become no one’s responsibility when the buck gets passed.  This is exactly why defined accountabilities and measures of effectiveness are required elements of leading program management standards like ANSI Z10 and OHSAS 18001.
With responsibilities clearly identified and properly distributed, we can assure and not just pay lip service to the adage that “safety is everyone’s responsibility.”  What’s more, by measuring and rewarding success based on leading indicators, rather than just pinning prevention failures on scapegoats, we can help to establish a more positive, proactive safety culture.

And Leadership Thought #436 – Are You Aligned With Your Values And Priorities? By E D Robinson, also provides an excellent insight to the subject.

I’ve often heard it said that if you want to know what a person truly values, pay attention to what they do, not what they say.  Actions do speak louder than words.
I encourage you to step back and reflect on where you are at this point in your life.  Are you aligned with your values and priorities?  Are you moving towards or away from the person you truly want to be? It’s never too late to make positive changes.

People or Process?  – Paul Zak, the director of the Center for Neuroeconomics Studies at Claremont Graduate University and the author of The Moral Molecule.

Peter Drucker (borrowing from Marshall McLuhan) wrote that “neither technology nor people determine the other, but each shapes the other.” My own view is similar—that success stems from having the right people and the right processes in place.

8 “Be-Attitudes” of Holding People Accountable by Robert Whipple

The key to leadership is to create an environment whereby people do the best they can because they want to do it. When employees know it is clearly in their best interest to give their maximum discretionary effort to the organization, managers don’t have to crack the whip as often.  Imagine working in an environment where people do the right things not because they are expected, but because it is in their best interest.  In that atmosphere, holding people accountable would nearly always be a positive occurrence rather than negative. How refreshing!

Motivating people: Getting beyond money

With profitability returning to some geographies and sectors, we see signs that bonuses will be making a comeback: for instance, 28 percent of our survey respondents say that their companies plan to reintroduce financial incentives in the coming year. While such rewards certainly have an important role to play, business leaders would do well to consider the lessons of the crisis and think broadly about the best ways to engage and inspire employees. A talent strategy that emphasizes the frequent use of the right non-financial motivators would benefit most companies in bleak times and fair. By acting now, they could exit the downturn stronger than they entered it.

EVERY COMPANY NEEDS PEOPLE WHO CAN REGULARLY FAIL – Les Hayman’s Blog
“I find that most companies also tend to reward those who protect the status quo rather than those who want to experiment with change, thereby creating a culture where any failure is a serious career limiter. This will then ensure that people become strongly risk averse and will then only do what has been done before (see “If you always do what you have always done” posted April 29, 2013). Building a culture that is risk averse means that managers will tend to recruit and/or promote only those people that fit the existing mould and who will be unlikely to test the existing boundaries. This protection of “the way we do things around here” will start on day one with the induction of new employees, to put into them the fear of being or thinking differently.”

Even as the title of the article does talk about the Process of Change, the underlying principles are as universal for Measurement of Performance, since change, necessarily, follows the measurement –

Six Simple Questions: A framework for change
In my work with organizations, I’m always trying to find simple questions that generate complex patterns of dialogue and shared learning.

Here are six simple questions to help any organization

1.    How can we best make sense of the challenges we are facing?  (what tools or methods may give us better results)\

2.    How can we best decide on what to do together? (same)

3.    Who can we learn from, and how can we best adapt new knowledge to our own challenges? (same)

4.   How can we best explore promising options and ideas for improvement? (same)

5.    How will we sustain everyone’s commitment to improvement?

6.   How will we assure that we are achieving results that are not only “better, faster, and cheaper,” but also “happier and more satisfying” for our employees, customers, and stakeholders alike?

change happens by denise lee yohn

Joni Doolin of People Report/Black Box Intelligence make an important distinction that clarified the upside of change:  change is passive, but transformation presents an opportunity for you to play an active role and create a better future.
Change is like a high wind on a mountain.  It is unpredictable and inevitable, and often comes on without much warning.  Commitment to a clearly articulated purpose and strong brand stakeholder alignment are like the gear and protection an experienced hiker always has on hand.  So, yes, change happens – but that shouldn’t stop you from summiting the highest of mountains.

Before we turn on other topics, we take look at another timeless classic – “Toyota Way” in Book Review: Toyota Way to Continuous Improvement by  Tim McMahon
Building upon Jeffrey Liker’s international bestselling Toyota Way series of books, The Toyota Way to Continuous Improvement looks critically at lean deployments and identifies the root causes of why most of them fail.
The book is organized into three major sections outlining:

1. Why it is critical to go beyond implementing lean tools and, instead, build a culture of continuous improvement that connects operational excellence to business strategy
2. Case studies from seven unique industries written from the perspective of the sensei (teacher) who led the lean transformation
3. Lessons about transforming your own vision of an ideal organization into reality

And, we have a gem of a communication tip in –

Pause for Effectiveness: 9 Powerful Times to Pause – Karin Hurt
A pause gives you time to think and helps calm the emotions.  Pregnant pauses give birth to vibrant ideas.  

Finally, before we take up two more topic categories as regular features in this Blog Carnival of Quality Management Articles and Blogs, we take look at the article that has acted as catalyst for this action –

Maintaining ‘Continued Relevance’ of Quality – Anshuman Tiwari

This month Paul has asked two very fundamental questions. If answered and acted upon, they could change the course of quality. Read his blog here. His questions are:

 What is the most important challenge the quality community faces in ensuring that the value of quality is fully realized for the benefit of society?

 And, what question does the quality community most need answered in order to advance the state of quality practice in the world?

Shri Anshuman Tiwari is one of the leading ASQ Influential Voices. “ASQ’s Influential Voices are quality professionals and online influencers who raise the voice of quality on their personal blogs. Based around the world, the Influential Voices are passionate about improvement and other key issues in the quality community. They represent countries such as India, Ecuador, China, Malaysia, Australia, and the United States, and comprise a wide range of industries.” From the next edition of the Blog Carnival, we shall, briefly, introduce ourselves to, at least, one such professional’s online “influence” contribution(s).

We shall also enlist the videos placed on ASQ TV during the previous period of the blog carnival.

Here are some very interesting videos, to begin with:

Episode 1: The Customer Experience
Episode 2: Culture of Quality
Episode 3: Recalls and Quality
Episode 4: Supply Chains

We shall also make the monthly round up on ASQ our regular feature to end our Blog Carnival edition. For the present we have May Roundup: Deming, Management & More
to accompany our constant companion,

Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog Carnival #194

I eagerly look forward to our exciting Blog Carnival Journey together….

Related articles

• Accountability is the Willingness to Have Your Performance Measured (leadingstrategicinitiatives.com)

Carnival of Quality Management Articles and Blogs – May 2013

Welcome to May 2013 edition of Carnival of Quality Management Articles and Blogs.

We would continue with our practice of putting across the excerpts from the respective post / article without any editorial intervention, so as to get the intent of the article without any dilution.

Let us open the account with some basics –

New Website for The W. Edwards Deming Institute

“Some of my favourite content on the new site include the articles, photos, videos, timeline and short descriptions of some of Dr. Deming’s most famous ideas.”

Having a National Quality Award is Only Part of Sustainable Success

So why aren’t their more repeat winners?  Some theories:

For small businesses – the cost is a barrier though some state programs are starting to overcome this issue.

Changes in leadership – all quality award programs require FULL management support and MBNQA is no exception.  The leader who shepherds the organization to winning the MBNQA often does not stick around for another round.  The question becomes for the new leader, what is the ROI for being an award winner and does it generate significant revenue to continue supporting the program?

Economic Conditions – This theory particularly impact non-profit and governmental winners in that these organizations often are not revenue generators.  Budgetary efficiency is a prime driver and the same management questions above are often asked here as well.

MBNQA as a “bolt-on” – This theory is my pet peeve because we really have not addressed the essence of quality programs.  Quality works best when it involves organizational integration.  Usually, a small group is involved in developing the award packets.  “It’s their job to do MBNQA.”   This leads us down the path of “real” ROI to doing MBNQA and it opens itself up for immediate cuts in poor economic situations.

I would contend that a better guideline for a national quality award should be Deming’s 14 Points rather than the MBNQA criteria.

Quality: Ownership and Getting Better  – @ Tanmay

     Quality you deliver has everything to do with how much you own your work. Your work carries your fingerprints. It tells a story about you.

On a long run, compromising on quality of your work because of the external factors and not growing through your work can be both painful and costly!

A Culture of Quality from ASQ TV

Organizations do not survive on good products and services alone. Brien Palmer, author of Making Change Work, relates the importance of a culture of quality for any organization.

Michelin’s Obsession with Quality – To North American company president, Pete Selleck, manufacturing the ‘Michelin way’ means making quality king.  – Travis Hessman | IndustryWeek

“This is proof that process control in our industry is key,” Selleck said. “We all use the same equipment to make tire, so we know it’s not the equipment that makes the difference. It’s the interface between the equipment, the material and the person—the training and the qualification of the person—that makes the difference.”

“Respect for People” and “The Design of the System” – Larry Miller

Michel Baudin, a fellow blogger and author, posted a video link of a panel discussion that included Jeffrey Liker (The Toyota Way, Toyota Leadership) in which British consultant John Seddon makes the comment that “This respect for people stuff is horse shit.” Seddon argues that, what leads to improvement is the system and not an intervention to respect or deal better with the people.

On Michel’s blog there then followed what I think was an interesting exchange on the subject between Michel, Mark Graban and myself.

You can find the entire 45 minute panel discussion here: http://vimeo.com/42297077. It is a worthwhile discussion about lean, standard work and the nature of the system.

Respect for people is the result, not only of personal patterns of communication, but also the result of the nature of the system.

Here are just a few ways you can design into your organization’s system respect for people.

1. On-Boarding Respect – How you bring people, particularly managers, into your organization can set the pattern for the rest of their career with your company.
2. Leader Standard Work at Gemba – Leaders at every level should spend some time at the front-line, where the work is done.  If, on the other hand, he is scanning the environment for “how can I help them and what can I learn from them?” he is demonstrating respect. Leader standard work should be reviewed at the next level, and the next.
3. Design Decision Making for Respect
4. Encourage Experimentation and Improvement – Most continuous improvement, and it is the intention of the PDCA cycle, is simply to cause people to think and to try some possible improvement. There should be no fear in experimenting and failing. That is inherent in the learning process. If you encourage and reward experimentation, you are demonstrating respect for people.

Committing to a cycle of honest communication – Seth Godin

The inability to say the thing that will make everything better (because of fear of shifting the status quo) is a project killer.

The Best Decision You’ll Make Today: Read This Post –

Peter Drucker studied decision-making closely and wrote a lot about it, breaking down the process into a series of seven steps. They include:

• Determine whether a decision is even necessary.
• Classify the problem. Is it common or unique?
• Define the problem. What is this situation really all about?
• Decide on what is right. That is, make the right kind of compromise.
• Get others to buy the decision.
• Convert the decision into action—that is, make it somebody’s work assignment and responsibility.

When it came to helping people see if they’d made wrong decisions, however, Drucker advocated a quite straightforward approach. It’s embodied in the seventh of his seven steps: Test the decision against actual results.

“Systematic decision review” was Drucker’s term for it.  “Checking the results of a decision against its expectation shows executives what their strengths are, where they need to improve and where they lack knowledge or information,” Drucker wrote in a 2004 essay for Harvard Business Review. “It shows them their biases.”

How a Manufacturer Improved Communication in Every Department 

How did Nation Pizza and Foods increase efficiency by more than 10%? Take one 190,000 square foot facility, six high-speed lines, over 600 employees and add downtime into the mix, and you have a recipe for improving efficiency. In this free white paper, get the inside story on what this award-winning food products manufacturer did to slice downtime, speed up response time, enhance safety and improve communication in every department — in and outside the plant.  Click here to download.

And, now, a couple of articles on the timeless subject of Qualities of a Leader:

Do You Have a Bad Boss?

The top ten qualities that make a good boss:

1. Communicates with their boss.
2. Prevents problems before they occur.
3. Matches employee skills to the job.
4. Deals with bad employees.
5. Shows respect and values every employee.
6. Focuses on getting the job done and not the time clock.
7. Is consistent, predictable, and tells the truth.
8. Communicates with their employees, often.
9. Coaches and trains others.
10. Praises employees and rewards good work.

Ariens: Seven Skills of a Lean Leader .- Jill Jusko | IndustryWeek
Ariens CEO outlines qualities needed to sustain the lean journey

1. Servant Leader – A coach and a player

2. Relentless Change – “The journey never ends, and we must be learning forever,

      3.  The Disciplined Chaos – the ability to recognize where you want to go and remain focused on that goal without letting chaos throw you off.

      4. The Benevolent Dictator – dictates of benevolence

• Be honest.
• Be fair.
• Keep our commitments.
• Respect the individual.
• Encourage intellectual curiosity.

     5.  Fearless Anxiety –   See challenges as speed bumps

     6.  Cultural Revolution -Ariens described a company’s core values as its “cement.” The revolution is what “goes on above, and the cement allows that to happen.”

     7.  Confident Humility – knowing we will be OK without being complacent

“The journey is the destination. When we realize that, that’s when we know we have arrived.”

On that note, we change tracks to the subject of Continual Improvement:

Not every improvement has to be a breakthrough by JAMIE FLINCHBAUGH

Sometimes the best way to maximize Return on Investment is not to look for the high returns but to look for the low investments. Keep it Simple…well, you know the rest.

Transformational Change vs. Continuous Improvement – Lawrence M. Miller, author of “Getting to Lean – Transformational Change Management”

It may sound like sacrilege to hear someone say that continuous improvement may not always be the right answer. Of course, it is the core process of lean management. But, there are times when more significant and more rapid change is required – sometimes revolution rather than evolution is called for.

 The first thing to understand about transformational change is that the external environment — technology, regulation, competition, the economy — is forcing change upon your organization. Your organization is a sub-system of a larger system, and it must align its systems to the external world. Sometimes that external environment demands rapid change that may be uncomfortable for everyone.

Second thing to know is that every organization is a “whole-system.” Lean management is a whole-system. It is not 5S, teams, or process maps. It is everything from the organizational structure, the information system, the decision-making processes, the human resource systems, etc.

Third thing to know: Sub-systems of the whole must be aligned.

Transformational change is not problem-solving. It is designing the whole-system to meet the needs to customers and the future environment. It is an act of creating something, not fixing something.

Transformational change is a process designed to create significant change in the culture and work processes of an organization and produce significant improvement in performance.

Phil Buckley’s article “Why don’t we do the things we know we should do?” was primarily written for the “leadership” audience, but is equally relevant for our discussion on Continual Improvement.

An excerpt:

My default behaviour is to keep working until tasks are completed, even when my resources are low.

It’s time to make a change. Here is my plan for breaking this unproductive habit:

• Make a list each night of non-work activities I will complete on breaks during the following day (I am a list person)
• Visually display this list beside my priority activities list (visual reminders are powerful)
• Review my progress nightly (and make notes as I do after my runs)
• Ask a friend to check in on my progress (I know I will never have “nothing to report”)
• Reward the desired behaviour (schedule guilt-free play time to spend with family and friends)

And here is our round up of the current edition:

Management Improvement Blog Carnival #192

Management Improvement Blog Carnival #193

Thanks a lot for visiting this carnival… I look forward seeing you when we are here next month.. till then, I keenly look forward to your feedback………..