Posts by Andrew Stotz

Seeing Through New Eyes: Awaken Your Inner Deming (Part 7)

Learning Deming is like seeing the world through a different lens. In this episode, Bill Bellows uses various examples to show us how powerful that new vision can be.

Going Beyond Good: Awaken Your Inner Deming (Part 6)

If something is “good” is that good enough? Who decides? In this episode, Bill and Andrew discuss how people define “good,” what interchangeability has to do with morale, and the problem with a “merit-based” culture. Bonus: Learn how Americans became the first to use the French idea of interchangeable parts in manufacturing.

Beyond Tools & Techniques: Awaken Your Inner Deming (Part 5)

Information is data: it’s the what, when, where, and who of something. Knowledge requires looking at the bigger picture and asking why. So how do we go from having information to having knowledge? Bill and Andrew talk about tools, techniques, concepts, and strategies.

Tackling More Management Myths: Deming in Schools Case Study with John Dues (Part 9)

How do we motivate employees? Traditionally, we offer merit pay, focus on accountability, and use other extrinsic motivators tied to performance. The ideas sound good on the surface, but John and Andrew discuss the many pitfalls and unintended consequences – and what to do instead.

Performance Appraisals: Deming in Schools Case Study with John Dues (Part 8)

Dr. Deming railed against performance appraisals, listing them 3rd in his Seven Deadly Diseases of Management and calling them “Destroyer of People”. In this discussion, John Dues explains our cultural attachment to appraising workers and why it is a myth to assume that appraisals have any impact on performance at all.