In Their Own Words

In our 2nd interview podcast of 2019, Steven Haedrich, President of New York Label & Box Works (NYLBW), shared reflections on his continued admiration and application of the Deming Philosophy.

(This is Tripp's second interview with Steven.  Link here for the first interview.)

Highlights include:

• Update on NYLBW
• Immersed in the Deming Philosophy every day
• Everything is moving much faster; quality has been a selling/differentiator
• Also, a focus on innovation
• Deming Chain Reaction, less rework/fewer mistakes/creating good paying jobs; the ONLY way to survive!
• Continual improvement on a daily basis
• Impact of a Total Cost focus?  NO!   Lowest price still gets the bid
• Interaction with your peers in sharing the Deming Philosophy; sharing it every day with both private and public companies – explaining the old ways of sale commissions, performance appraisals, etc.
• Other obstacles; clients and vendors adverse to partnering
• Steven’s 2014 podcast – Deming is it!
• Wonderful opportunity to join the board of directors of The Deming Institute
• Deming Online – worldwide access to online learning with the potential to reach millions of students of the Deming Philosophy
• How to get the word out on the Deming Philosophy
• Steven’s speaking engagements – Graduate School USA, Conestoga College, upcoming printing conference
• People are beginning to realize the limits of the prevailing system of management
• People are beginning to see the prospects of a changing world and the need to be more effective with management systems
• Where to start – The New Economics, 3rd edition, with Chapter 11 by Kelly Allen
• The world is finally realizing that the old ways that we have accepted as the standards of thinking are no longer going to prepare us for the complexities, for the challenges, for the true globalization of the world.  
• The Deming Philosophy captures the essence of collaboration and cooperation and teamwork and systems thinking and continual improvement; including joy in work!
• The Deming Philosophy allows for a different end of the day experience; allowing us to make the world a better place!

In our 24th "Deming Lens" episode, host Tripp Babbitt shares his interpretation of wide-ranging aspects and implications of Dr. Deming's theory of management.

Topics in this episode include:

• The 9th of Dr. Deming’s 14 Points – "Break down barriers between departments"
• The operation of independent kingdoms, with ratings for the performance of each department
• Organizations, through a systems lens, are more than the sum of their parts
• Reductionist thinking, dating back to Frederick Winslow Taylor
• Book - Deming's Profound Changes
• Functional separation in service industries
• "Stay in your lane"
• Existence of separate goals and incentives
• Separate profit centers within organizations
• Synthesis is what really matters
• Role of a structure and a shared aim
• Role of a greater good
• How do practices such as incentives, bonuses, ratings and rankings, and performance appraisals create barriers and division within an organization 

Dr. Deming's 14 Points are fully covered in Out of the Crisis. The New Economics presented his later thinking about the 14 points. 

In our 23rd "Deming Lens" episode, host Tripp Babbitt shares his interpretation of wide-ranging aspects and implications of Dr. Deming's theory of management.

Topics in this episode include:

• The 8th of Dr. Deming’s 14 Points – "Drive out fear"
• Causes of fear
• Neuroscience and fear
• Impact of fear 
• Sources of fear - performance appraisals, competition for rewards (at all levels), layoffs, unannounced staff changes, punitive management, questioning, mistrust, mistakes, the need to stay in "your lane," lack of freedom, lack of self-rule, lack of a feeling of belonging, lack of good faith, lack of autonomy, 
• Signs of fear - lack of innovation, ideas, curiosity, initiative, blame of others, finger pointing, defensiveness, health impacts (stress, high blood pressure)

Dr. Deming's 14 Points are fully covered in Out of the Crisis. The New Economics presented his later thinking about the 14 points. 

In our January 2019 interview podcast, his 8th session with Tripp, Superintendent David Langford reflects on the state of education, the system, and how its set up, including various ways in how schools are working to move from "theory to practice" in their understanding and application of the Deming philosophy.

Highlights include:

• The short term thinking which Dr. Deming warned us of, whether looking at profit or test scores
• Longer term strategies are sacrificed for short term results
• People get creative when driven to "show the numbers"
• Myths about charter schools being able to select their students
• Lack of a level playing field
• The strength and will power required to absorb the impact of a special cause being treated as a common cause
• Rare to find Profound Knowledge
• Fear manifests itself in many ways
• Dr. Deming encouraged David to consult for education systems
• The right to joy in work and joy in learning
• Blaming the individuals vs. the system in which they operate
• How to change the system to all for joy in learning
• The role of rewards in narrowing one's focus
• The fears and motivations of a school board
• Possible agendas of school board members
• An onboarding process for board members
• There are pockets of excellence in education systems

For more information about David's current work with Ingenium Schools, please visit ingeniumfoundation.org

In our January 2019 interview podcast, his 8th session with Tripp, Superintendent David Langford reflects on the state of education, the system, and how its set up, including various ways in how schools are working to move from “theory to practice” in their understanding and application of the Deming philosophy.

Highlights include:

• The short term thinking which Dr. Deming warned us of, whether looking at profit or test scores
• Longer term strategies are sacrificed for short term results
• People get creative when driven to “show the numbers”
• Myths about charter schools being able to select their students
• Lack of a level playing field
• The strength and will power required to absorb the impact of a special cause being treated as a  common cause
• Rare to find Profound Knowledge
• Fear manifests itself in many ways
• Dr. Deming encouraged David to consult for education systems
• The right to joy in work and joy in learning
• Blaming the individuals vs. the system in which they operate
• How to change the system to all for joy in learning
• The role of rewards in narrowing one’s focus
• The fears and motivations of a school board
• Possible agendas of school board members
• An onboarding process for board members
• There are pockets of excellence in education systems

For more information about David's current work with Ingenium Schools, please visit ingeniumfoundation.org

In our January 2019 interview podcast, his 8th session with Tripp, Superintendent David Langford reflects on the state of education, the system, and how its set up, including various ways in how schools are working to move from “theory to practice” in their understanding and application of the Deming philosophy.

Highlights include:

• The short term thinking which Dr. Deming warned us of, whether looking at profit or test scores
• Longer term strategies are sacrificed for short term results
• People get creative when driven to “show the numbers”
• Myths about charter schools being able to select their students
• Lack of a level playing field
• The strength and will power required to absorb the impact of a special cause being treated as a  common cause
• Rare to find Profound Knowledge
• Fear manifests itself in many ways
• Dr. Deming encouraged David to consult for education systems
• The right to joy in work and joy in learning
• Blaming the individuals vs. the system in which they operate
• How to change the system to all for joy in learning
• The role of rewards in narrowing one’s focus
• The fears and motivations of a school board
• Possible agendas of school board members
• An onboarding process for board members
• There are pockets of excellence in education systems

For more information about David's current work with Ingenium Schools, please visit ingeniumfoundation.org

In our 22nd "Deming Lens" episode, host Tripp Babbitt shares his interpretation of wide-ranging aspects and implications of Dr. Deming's theory of management.

Topics in this episode include:

• The 7th of Dr. Deming’s 14 Points – "Institute leadership"
• Management of people, including the ability to recognize different abilities
• Management cannot delegate quality
• Adopt and institute leadership
• Allow people to have pride in their work
• A leader needs to possess knowledge, personality, and persuasive power in order to accomplish a transformation to a new style of management
• A leader feels an intrinsic obligation to accomplish the transformation
• A leader has a plan to accomplish the transformation
• The dangers of confirmation bias
• Improving decision making through the use of PDSA cycles
• The role of innovation
• Allow data, if accessible, to improve decision making
• Removing barriers from workers
• Leaders must know the work which they supervise
• Understanding systems and variation
• Fallacy of replacing the bottom 10% of the workers
• Findings of neuroscience, including the impacts of social isolation

Dr. Deming's 14 Points are fully covered in Out of the Crisis. The New Economics presented his later thinking about the 14 points. 

In our 21st "Deming Lens" episode, host Tripp Babbitt shares his interpretation of wide-ranging aspects and implications of Dr. Deming's theory of management.

Topics in this episode include:

• The 6th of Dr. Deming’s 14 Points – "Institute training for skills"
• People learn in different ways
• The use of quotas or targets within organizations, at all levels
• Looking at an organization, from beginning to end
• Rumor mills
• By what method?
• What is the aim of an organization?
• The need to innovate
• Is there a method for innovation?
• Is there a method for moving from data to knowledge?
• Looking to the future, monthly interview podcasts and Deming Lens episodes

Dr. Deming's 14 Points are fully covered in Out of the Crisis. The New Economics presented his later thinking about the 14 points. 

1. Examples of overjustification
2. Pats on the back
3. Appreciation for care
4. The most importance losses cannot be measured
5. The expenses of training can be measured, but the benefits of training can never be measured
6. People, once demoralized, may stay demoralized
7. Does judging people help them?
8. Deming did not give grades to his students
9. Ranking people is about management’s use of power

1. Knowledge of variation is vital

2. Operational definitions

3. There is no such thing as the number of people in this room – whom do we count?

4. There is a number that we get by following a procedure

5. A procedure is not right nor wrong, rather it is a procedure

6. Follow the census procedures to achieve results will be comparable with those of the census

7. Psychology helps us to understand people and interactions between people and the circumstances they work in

8. A manager of people must understand differences [between people] and use them for optimization of the system

9. Extrinsic and intrinsic motivation

10. One is born with intrinsic motivationJudging people does not help them

11. Performance cannot be measured

12. Losses cannot be measured