In Their Own Words

In our 3rd interview podcast of 2019, Wendi Middleton, Director of Continual Quality Improvement, from the Aging Adult Services Agency within the State of Michigan's Department of Health and Human Services, and Dennis Sergent, President, Sergent Results Group, share reflections on the "Challenges and Opportunities in Applying the Deming Philosophy in Government." (This is Tripp's first interview with Wendi and Dennis) Highlights include: A 5-year history of applying the Deming Philosophy within the State of Michigan's Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) The development of Aging and Disability Resource Centers Learning "Who are our partners?" Where to start? / Who does what to whom? Family services and a cat First exposure to the Deming Red Bead Experiment Getting to know each other better within Michigan's HHS Creation of the BOLD ("Building Options for Long Term Decision-Making") Council Acronyms as an art-form Detailing the processes - Where to start and where to integrate? Exposure to control charts within the Bell Telephone System Education and steps to move forward Creation of the BOLD ("Be OLD") Councils Acronyms as an art-form Grant funding provided consulting help Process steps, including road blocks and issues Subject Matter Experts (SME) and Design Teams A focus on quality improvement, not change Policy changes, with improvements Living at home, using improvements in non-emergency transportation services Weekly Stand-and-Deliver meetings to review ongoing PDSA efforts Continual Improvement efforts are not always "linear," with forward improvement (sometimes they go backwards) State government is a culture all by itself People sometimes become their job (position) Getting people on board with improvement; not always happy fits, some move on to other positions Managing "Level-of-Care Determinations" When facing system obstacles, take inspiration from Eleanor Roosevelt, Don't take a "No" (answer) from someone without the authority to say "Yes" Setting new standards for working with state vendors New skills by Design Team members "Everything is designed around getting money from the federal government" Design Team roles are about improving access to state services, not finding sources of funding Effectiveness (doing the right thing), before efficiency (faster, better, cheaper) Cost savings have been measured, yet the bigger impact is serving more people for a given budget allocation Reducing the waiting list for services Instead of asking for more money, ask if the existing process can be improved to provide better service Discovering a mindset that if some don't have a problem with a given process, others won't as well (meaning, the process is deemed to be OK as is, while it may well need improvement) Impact on Design Teams after attending The Deming Institute's "Me vs We workshop" Getting over self-interest issues T-Shirt idea, "The Status Quo is Not an Option" Avoiding doing better what needs not be done Design Teams need ongoing support, including starting with on-boarding and ground rules Emergence of self-respect and respect for others

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 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 second interview podcast of November 2018, Doug Hall provides an overview of his latest book, "Driving Eureka!: Problem-Solving with Data-Driven Methods & the Innovation Engineering System" (This is Tripp's third interview with Doug. Link here for the first interview and here for the second.) Highlights include: Inventing "big ideas" for clients, as they entered the "Killing Zone" Applied innovation, using the Deming Philosophy How to "Find, Filter, and Fast-Track" big ideas Happy clients, paying big money, but the ideas did not happen Half the potential value of the big ideas is lost in internal development efforts The independent parts of organizations work to promote their own silo The average new product idea has a 95% failure rate in the market place What's wrong with project management? Innovation projects have uncertainty Problem solving with data-driven methods Big ideas are easy – making them real is hard A major obstacle is a reliance on opinions vs data Shifting innovation from an art to a science What to take away from this book? All products follow a life cycle, from birth to death Innovation for extending product life How to create an innovation culture Innovate or die Obstacles to innovation – Lack of Leadership and Lack of a Process Brain Brew Whiskeys for mass customization Don't feel you need to do "all" of the Deming Philosophy Just get started! How to receive a special gift from Doug - go to gift

In our November 2018 interview podcast, his 1st session with Tripp, Mike Tveite reflects on his interactions with Dr. Deming, beginning with attending a Four-Day Seminar in 1986. Mike went on to help Dr. Deming with 25 of his Four-Day Seminars, and to follow him around while he consulted with a division of General Motors. Highlights include: Mike's career, beginning as a Professor of Statistics First "World Shake" upon meeting Dr. Deming Dr. Deming in the MIT lecture series Learning statistics from Dr. Deming "Pond" statistics and "Stream" statistics Enumerative (pond) and Analytic (stream) Studies On what are you taking action? Mike's 2012 Deming Institute Conference presentation 14 Points for Management Management in a "pond" vs a "stream" The System of Profound Knowledge as a lens Production Viewed as a System The interdependent components of a system A single aim for the whole system Forces at work which undermine the aim of an organization Maximizing shareholder value Optimizing the system over the long term Data is like garbage, the need to know how to use it before collecting it

In our latest podcast for October 2018, Tripp interviewed Southern Utah University Professor Ravi Roy and Department of Aviation Director, Michael ("Mike") Mower, following their presentation at The Deming Institute's 2018 Conference. Highlights include: Changing aviation training through the Deming Philosophy Mike meets Kevin Cahill during a visit to SUU to deliver a convocation lecture Not always a fun message of valuing collaboration Shifting away from a conflicting public / private partnership in the Department of Aviation A management style of using carrots and sticks Moving away from management by fear, with zero creativity A feeling of being entrenched in the prevailing system of management Applications beyond Department of Aviation Reaching graduate students from the public sector with the Deming Philosophy The reaction of staff members to the adoption of the Deming Philosophy The world of aviation is dynamic, while university environments are more static The impact of short memories; Deming – Now More Than Ever! The mindset for embracing the Deming Philosophy Support from SUU President Scott Wyatt while facing eminent failure Investing in the future The Deming Institute's incubator at SUU The 3rd annual Bryce Canyon Society Forum, April 4th, 2019 Leading by example, spreading the Deming Philosophy beyond SUU Seeking change with a march on Washington, DC Success in having the Senate and Congress pass a Maintenance Training Modernization Bill inspired by SUU, with details at this link With this new bill, SUU will be the first in the US to change 60-year old aircraft maintenance training and practices Moving from fear of the future to hope in the future

In our second interview podcast of July 2018, Doug Stilwell shares lessons learned on his transition from a public school administrator to a professor of education at Drake University, once bitten by the Deming philosophy. (This is Tripp's second interview with Doug. Link here for the first interview.) Highlights include: Continued impact of new education methods in the Urbandale Community School District How to bring more of Dr. Deming's ideas into higher education? How to impact the next generation of leaders in education? Drake's Continual Improvement Network What happens when students leave Doug's classes? Network improvement communities "The system always wins" Moving away from the A-F grading system Shifting from a "time rigid / learning flexible" system to a "time flexible / learning rigid" system

In our July 2018 interview podcast, his 7th session with Tripp, Superintendent David Langford reflects on the efforts of the entire staff of Ingenium Charter Schools to move from "theory to practice" in their understanding and application of the Deming philosophy. Highlights include: David's (new) role as superintendent Ingenium operates with 6 schools across Los Angeles, CA Restoring joy and meaning to learning as Ingenium's constancy of purpose Meaningful and relevant learning Moving from theory into practice 5 areas of practice (focus): SoPK, intrinsic motivation, continual improvement, neuroscience, and (project-based) quality learning experiences Student involvement Dashboards for monitoring joy in work Students learning about common and special causes of variation Student feedback on their experiences within Ingenium schools Neuroscience research For more information about David's current work with Ingenium Schools, please visit ingeniumfoundation.org

In our June 2018 interview podcast, his 1st session with Tripp, Jean-Marie Gogue reflects on his interactions and memories of working with Dr. Deming, beginning in November 1978 in Tokyo. Highlights include: Inviting Dr. Deming to speak in Paris in 1980 Dr. Deming's commentary on leadership Use of control charts Attending Dr. Deming's Four-Day Seminar in Switzerland in 1993 Attending first Four-Day Seminar in the UK in 1987 Starting the French Deming Association in 1988

In our May 2018 interview podcast, his 4th session with Tripp, Kevin Cahill, Executive Director, reflects on the 25th anniversary of The Deming Institute.. Highlights include: Latest news from The Deming Institute Creating the future of the Institute Use of ED software, from Acquate 2018 Deming Institute Conference at Bryce Canyon National Park Southern Utah University's W. Edwards Deming Incubator for Public Affairs (WEDIPA), under the direction of Professor Ravi Roy, has become the Quality, Innovation & Leadership Incubator Recent visit to Ingenium Schools The Deming Institute's 25th Anniversary Conference, October 5-6, 2018, Manhattan Beach, California (4 miles south of LAX) 3rd Edition of The New Economics, including a new chapter (#11), set for release in the fall of 2018 Ongoing partnership with Aileron A new initiative to create greater access to the Deming philosophy