Every manager needs a periscope - quality training

A friend sent me a post by Will Herman about the impact of software bugs during the sales process. I'm sure many a salesperson since the first software sale ever made could relate to that. It reminded me of the importance of total quality management (TQM), something I was fortunate to have training in (Florida Power and Light TQM) back in the 90's. I use much of what I learned still today. It's especially important in any software development environment but also very important in security, or any management discipline.

By applying quality principles, it enables something TQM leader Edward Deming said in his 14 principles of management; Management should lead, not supervise. When asked by new managers, "what's this job really about", I always tell them your job is about two things, getting the team or organization operating at a repeatable and effective state for what ever you do (software, security, service, etc.). In other words, creating the engine of producing what you are there to produce.

But that's only half your job. The other half is manning the periscope. Even today's high tech submarines  with the most sophisticated navigation and surveillance systems in the world still have a periscope and a conning tower on them. Why? Every once in a while you just have to raise periscope to look around and make sure your instruments are telling you the truth, and adjust when they aren't. You have to look above water to see how you are doing, study the readings and then make adjustments. Yep, that really is a rough patch of water ahead so we better prepare now. This information helps a manager to either help the team get to the next level, or avoid an impending pitfall no one has their eye one because they are too busy running the engine.

Deming called this process The Deming Cycle - PDCA; Plan, Do, Check (or Study) and Act. It's a constant process, one you repeat over and over. But there's an equally important component. You can't improve what you don't measure. That's another very important saying I recall from training and it's so true. Often teams get into a repetitive cycle but only look at problems and improvements within each cycle, rather than across them. The real value in quality occurs when you are on your 3rd or 4th (or more) repetition. That's when the data starts talking to you and jumping up and down with pointers to more systemic problems. The ideas from TQM can be applied in so many ways. I just find that they can help you see what you can't, and give you factual references to what you suspect is going on. In either case it is an extremely valuable tool for any manager.

I hope you find this information valuable. Here's Deming's fourteen principles of management, courtesy of the Value Based Management.

1. Create constancy of purpose for improvement of product and service (Organizations must allocate resources for long-term planning, research, and education, and for the constant improvement of the design of their products and services)

2. Adopt the new philosophy (government regulations representing obstacles must be removed, transformation of companies is needed)

3. Cease dependence on mass inspections (quality must be designed and built into the processes, preventing defects rather than attempting to detect and fix them after they have occurred)

4. End the practice of awarding business on the basis of price tags alone (organizations should establish long-term relationships with [single] suppliers)

5. Improve constantly and forever the system of production and service (management and employees must search continuously for ways to improve quality and productivity)

6. Institute training (training at all levels is a necessity, not optional)

7. Adopt and institute leadership (managers should lead, not supervise)

8. Drive out fear (make employees feel secure enough to express ideas and ask questions)

9. Break down barriers between staff areas (working in teams will solve many problems and will improve quality and productivity)

10. Eliminate slogans, exhortations, and targets for the work force (problems with quality and productivity are caused by the system, not by individuals. Posters and slogans generate frustration and resentment)

11. Eliminate numerical quotas for the work force and numerical goals for people in management (in order to meet quotas, people will produce defective products and reports)

12. Remove barriers that rob people of pride of workmanship (individual performance reviews are a great barrier to pride of achievement)

13. Encourage education and self-improvement for everyone (continuous learning for everyone)

14. Take action to accomplish the transformation (commitment on the part of both [top] management and employees is required).

Comments

[John Hunter]

For those interested in more on Deming's ideas, I have put together some thoughts on Deming's Management philosophy - http://curiouscat.com/deming/. Also my Curious Cat Management Improvement blog Deming category includes many posts on the topic - http://management.curiouscatblog.net/category/deming/.

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