Why Deming’s Management Philosophy is More Relevant Today

Premise Edwards Deming has been one of the most influential figures when it comes to management thinking. He is known as the father of the quality movement and was hugely influential in post-WWII Japan, credited with revolutionising Japan’s industry and making it one of the most dominant economies in the world. There is a lot that has been written about him, his management philosophy and the impact he had while he was still operating. However, there is nothing better than hearing from the man himself talk about his philosophy. So, when I stumbled onto an hour long interview where he was […]

How to find Opportunities to Unlock Significant Performance

Premise One of the things that every leader is expected to do is to find ways to drive significant value from their teams. Good leaders are always trying to look for opportunities that can unlock significant value creation. If you know me at all, you know that I am a big fan of the work done by Dr. Eliyahu Goldratt, the creator of the “Theory of Constraints“. He had this belief that the biggest constraint that any business faces is Management attention. If we rephrase this, the biggest constraint that any organisation faces is the paucity of their leadership team’s […]

PBTO: Asking the Right Questions and Questioning the right things with Dr. Alan Barnard

In this conversation with @DrAlanBarnard, we explore how the principles of the Theory of Constraints (originally created by Dr. Eliyahu Goldratt) can be used to not only drive significant business results but also to help us make high stake decisions as leaders. In this freewheeling conversation, we explore Dr Barnard’s story about how he met with Dr. Goldratt and his famous motto. We explore who is a true expert. He shares how he got into an argument with Dr. Goldratt and how he then formed a life long connection with Dr. Goldratt. He shares his most important lessons from all […]

Story of the Creation of the Humble Mouse as Narrated by Steve Jobs and Its Lesson in Leading Innovation

Earlier today, I stumbled upon a video of Steve Jobs talking about the creation of the humble mouse and why he had to go to David Kelly Designs (which later on became IDEO) to get it done. You can watch the video here. In the video, he shares that content is more important than process, when it comes to innovation and creativity. The question is what does he mean by content? He is not talking about the content that we refer to. He is talking about the sum of character, knowledge and the curiosity of the people as their content. […]