Re Variation as a doorway

["Jean-Marie Gogue" <jmegogue@wanadoo.fr>]

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On  Tue, 16 Nov 1999 Loren Bawn wrote :

>>>
Some time back, Anton back-channeled me to see if I'd found a way to make
the concept of variation easily presentable to senior management. I must
confess I haven't. (snip)... Anyone have any success stories on how to "work
this in" at a management level meeting?
>>>

Many times I attempted to persuade top management people that thinking in
terms of variations would be better for them. I never succeeded during the
steering commitee meetings I attended, because people cannot accept to
recognize in public that they are doing wrong. But I could convince some of
them individually. Some decisions they take during these meetings looked so
unreasonable !... The most convincing argument IMHO is the Deming's 4x4
matrix "under control or not, vs special action or not". 

The best case of a good management practice I know is this of my friend
Claude Cavey, CEO of Alcyon Electronics, and V.P. of the French Deming
Association. Many years ago I witnessed his conversion to the new way of
thinking during a public seminar I gave in Paris. Then, he attended 4 Day
Deming Seminars in Birmingham and Zurich. The crux was the Red Beads
Experiment. Since that time, climate has drastically changed in his company.

Claude is not a DEN subscriber, but anyone may ask him some questions.
E-mail  alcyon@world-net.sct.fr

Best wishes,

Jean-Marie Gogue
President
The French Deming Association
Versailles, France
jmegogue@wanadoo.fr
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