Re: Stirring things up

[Bob Mason <bob@cc-m.com>]

We attended the Juran Summit at the Carlson School of Management, U.
Minnesota, in June.  It was a very significant, hopeful meeting of business
and academic people considering, as I probably already have written, why
quality improvement has not endured in many organizations and what utility
there is in the current love affair with Six Sigma taught by quickly trained
Black Belts.  The most hopeful note was the seeming agreement among
researchers in several universities that the Juran Center's call for an
ongoing collaboration among scholars in perhaps a dozen leading institutions
could advance knowledge about the efficacy of various approaches to quality
improvement found in scattered organizations.  The universities represented:
Arizona State, Columbia, Georgia Tech, Harvard, Purdue, Michigan State, Penn
State, Rutgers, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Wisconsin.

It was regrettable that no one from the Deming community was present with
the possible exception of the following individuals whom I happened to
identify: Peter Kolesar from Columbia, Jack Evans from North Carolina, and
Glen Nelson, retired from Medtronic.

Dr. Juran was present.  He was amazingly vital and responsive.  (You all
know, I suppose, that several years ago he folded his Juran Foundation in
favor of seeding a Juran Center for Leadership in Quality.  Minnesota
responded and Juran gave his funds to establish this academic center.

Jim Buckman, the co-director and formerly head of the Minnesota Quality
Council, is a devoted, visionary and highly skilled leader who understands
the contributions of Dr. Deming as well as Dr. Juran, and the limitations of
both personalities.  The vision that such a concerted scholarly effort is a
necessary foundation for new knowledge is the product primarily of Buckman
and Bob Galvin, retired Motorola chairman.

Dr. Juran did not remark on the history of quality and said nothing about
Deming.  He maintained his lasting resentment against Clare Crawford-Mason
because she told Deming's story and not his in If Japan Can....  He would
not even speak to Clare.

Dr. Juran's criticism of Deming's interest in statistics and his failure to
manage anything is of course beside the point.  Dr Juran made important
contributions in his long life and the Center may be his finest gift to the
future.  He knew from personal, hands-on experience about work processes on
the factory floor and remained fascinated by process improvement.  But his
thinking never resulted in a philosophical system.  What a pity that Ed
Deming could not plant such an institutional seed.

Dr. Juran is no exception to the rule that the toughest of challenges is to
deal with old men who feel they have not received their due.  Clare's gift
was that she was up to the test.

Bob Mason
-- 
CC-M Productions
7755 Sixteenth Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20012
202 882-7430 - Fax 202 882-7432 - bob@cc-m.com
http://www.managementwisdom.com - htpp://www.armchairfitness.com