Deming and volunteer organizations

["John Constantine" <thesfg1@cox.net>]

Jim,

Sorry to hear that you are having a bit of difficulty transferring your
understanding of Deming to others in your organization. And, sad to say, you
are not likely to be the last.

Yes, it is about psychology; group as well as individual psychology.
Different reasons and motives for becoming, and for remaining, a volunteer
in an organization.

Aside from the knowledge base problem, which prevents some from knowing what
in god's name this guy is talking about, there is the silent prohibition
against speaking out against the establishment. This may help to explain why
there is so little movement from year to year, or from appointment to
appointment. Maybe some of your fellow volunteers don't want to upset the
apple cart, or just don't like people with curly hair, or heaven knows what
else.

In my case, my fellows Commissioners (I'm an appointed member with a three
year life span) have a basic purpose, which is to assist the City
administration in the area of persons with disabilities. Along the way, I've
made it a point to ask pointed questions and to challenge the accepted mode
of thinking, and thereby change the status quo. What I have to show for it
is a vast silence after eighteen months of PowerPoint presentations,
committee discussions, and individual asides with other commissioners and
committee members.

This has all the earmarks of bureaucracy at its worst; leaving your brain in
a jar at home, and picking it up again when you return. Some of said this
explains why so many state and federal employees remain on the job for a
long time, eventually filtering to the top (since no one else has
longevity).

I remain convinced nonetheless that systems approaches and out of the box
thinking is what is called for in these cases; it is just that the longer
you go, it seems like the fewer people there are who even have an inkling of
the concepts. So, you start at the beginning, as I did, and hope for the
best. I use the "shock and awe" method of PowerPoint barrage, complete with
charts a plenty. Either the jaws hit the table or else the eyes spring to
life spontaneously. It is quite a sight to see.

As David Kerridge said a while back, there needs to be a critical mass of
knowledge in order to sustain the discussion and expand it. Perhaps
Frontline or some PBS affiliate will think it useful (marketable) to bring
up Deming's Ideas in a sort of "retro" view of the World since 1980. How
might things have changed? How might they have improved? And so on and on...

As for your organization of volunteers, it's all about the Aim isn't it?


Best wishes,

______________
John Constantine
Phoenix, AZ
thesfg1@cox.net