Discussion: View Thread

Dr. Gary Lundquist wrote:

> Colleagues,
>
> The dialog on best practices seems to have evolved into agreement that
> best
> practices don't work. That best practices can't be imported, can't be
> taken
> out of context, can't be taken away from the intangibles that made
> them work
> in other areas.
>
> The TQM concept was a best practice. Yeah, it didn't work out exactly
> the
> same way in each place it was applied, yet we'd all have to agree that
>
> quality has improved since Six Sigma.

side question: Do you suggest that 6-S is somehow an equal of TQM?
Most 6-S practitioners would take great umbrage at that. I'd like to
keep our definitions clear enough so that the words say something.

> Let's pay attention to the people who receive the best practice
> ideas. They
> are intelligent. Give them a good idea, and they'll fit it into their
> job,
> their context, and their intangibles. Just like TQM evolved to fit
> different companies.
>
> Best practices forced on us create all sorts of push back. Ideas fed
> to us
> generate new ways of succeeding.
>
> The idea isn't wrong or right; the way it is applied (or forced) can
> be
> great or terrible.
>
> This is another area in which leadership is required, not management.

Yup, agreed on your slant. The trick is that adapting/adjusting a
bright thought to fit your situation requires intelligence & logical
thought, plus the confidence in ones own conclusions to push for what
comes out. Many people (not managers alone(!)) lack that level of
confidence in their own thinking. Are these people left to ride shotgun
to those who 'know' how to handle the reins? Can we (as teachers &
consultants) somehow instill sound thinking & confidence?

Jay
--
Jay Warner
Principal Scientist
Warner Consulting, Inc.
4444 North Green Bay Road
Racine, WI 53404-1216
USA

Ph: (262) 634-9100
FAX: (262) 681-1133
email: quality@a2q.com
web: http://www.a2q.com

The A2Q Method (tm). What do you want to improve today?

On 28 Feb 00, at 22:14, Jay Warner wrote:

> Dr. Gary Lundquist wrote:

> > Let's pay attention to the people who receive the best practice
> > ideas. They
> > are intelligent. Give them a good idea, and they'll fit it into their
> > job, their context, and their intangibles. Just like TQM evolved to fit
> > different companies.
> >
> > Best practices forced on us create all sorts of push back. Ideas fed to
> > us generate new ways of succeeding.
> >
> > The idea isn't wrong or right; the way it is applied (or forced) can be
> > great or terrible.
> >
> > This is another area in which leadership is required, not management.
>
> Yup, agreed on your slant. The trick is that adapting/adjusting a
> bright thought to fit your situation requires intelligence & logical
> thought, plus the confidence in ones own conclusions to push for what
> comes out. Many people (not managers alone(!)) lack that level of
> confidence in their own thinking. Are these people left to ride shotgun
> to those who 'know' how to handle the reins? Can we (as teachers &
> consultants) somehow instill sound thinking & confidence?

I have to disagree with Gary's point, at least partially. I think what
he is saying is the way things should be, but certainly not the way
things "is", in TQM, or in similar areas of management. The figures
I'd seen on TQM a few years back indicated that more than half of
the implementations did NOT work by any criteria, including
satisfaction surveys of the implementers.

And certainly, the same thing applies in my area, performance
management. The why is where the crunch lies, and I think it is not
so much that people are intelligent or dumb, but that it's a fast
food, fast management trick world out there, where there isn't that
much time for reflection, reading in depth about something or
understanding it properly. so we get corrupted best practice
implementations from two sources. Information about best
practices is often too superficial, and implementers of these best
practices lack the commitment to going beyond that superficiality.




Visit the work911.com supersite at http://www.work911.com
for work related articles, or to find almost anything including
book reviews and suggestions, discussion lists and more.