RE: Using Deming Does Have A Personal Risk

["Vic Forte" <vic@vicf.com>]

I'm really sorry to read about your experience. It must be quite depressing
for some of us to read. I have often wondered how difficult it must be in
large organisations without commitment from the top. It may sound glib but
you are well off out of it. You have your learning to take with you and by
the sound of it a few people who might want to follow you to the new
company!

How will you make sure this does not happen again ?

> Meanwhile, do I dare use what I learned here in my next job? I haven't
> decided yet.

Could you live with yourself if you didn't? Are you honestly telling us that
you could go back to the old ways easily without becoming switched off, or
worse, negative and bitter ? Dare. Life's too short.

> It seems to me at this moment, that the only way to bring this
> "philiosphy"
> to reality is to start a new company and use it from the
> beginning. Trying
> to convert an existing system, company, may not be possible.

Well. I don't know your circumstances. But here are a few shared experiences
about running a small business.

You will be concentrating a lot on the basics of running a business. The
simple commercial backbone of cash flow, sales, tax, legislation, imposed
standards etc. will take up a lot of your personal time. You will be dealing
with people bigger than yourself who will have a major say in your future.
Customers, banks, landowners. Your fate will not only be determined by your
own efforts. You can do all the right things, but remember that the majority
of start up businesses go bust quickly and often it's not their fault.
There's a big risk involved.

It is quite likely that finances will dictate that you will not be able to
afford to spend money on efforts that will pay off long term but cost hard
cash now. Cash that you have not got. You will be calling on your own
personal resources a great deal of the time. If you don't actually go bust
it is likely that you will come close to it a few times and come out
stronger and better for the experience.

But you can bring the Lens of the system of profound knowledge to bear on
all these things.

I feel that developing a successful business is a very rewarding thing. Once
you have developed it, and it's successful, and you have made lots of money,
what are you going to do ? Will you sell it ? What will be the fate of that
great team you have nurtured and developed ? How will they feel about it ?