Deming – The Key Point

June 6, 2016November 28, 2022 andreweverett360 Book Review, Management

Turn the Ship Around

turn-the-ship-around

Turn the Ship Around: How to Create Leadership at Every Level

by L. David Marquet , Captain, U.S. Navy (Retired)

Capt. Marquet writes about implementing a profoundly different management approach when he took command of the worst performing submarine in the U.S. Navy. “Within a year, the situation was totally turned around. We went from worst to first in most measures of performance, including the one I valued the most—our ability to retain our sailors and officers.”

“Disengaged, dissatisfied, uncommitted employees erode an organization’s [productivity] while breaking the spirits of their colleagues.” Marquet found the root cause of the problem to be the leader-follower structure, in which subordinates “have limited decision-making authority and little incentive to give the utmost of their intellect, energy, and passion… We had 135 men on board and only 5 of them fully engaged their capacity to observe, analyze, and problem solve.” Continue reading “Turn the Ship Around” →

April 23, 2013November 29, 2019 andreweverett360 Book Review, Management

The Toyota Way

the-toyota-way

The Toyota Way

by Jeffrey Liker

The Toyota Way provides an excellent introduction of the Toyota Production System and insights into the company culture.

Toyota is the leader of lean production. In contrast to batch and queue systems, lean focuses on one-piece flow. The customer is the next process and the ideal batch size is one, so the source of defects can be discovered before thousands of defective parts are made. Continue reading “The Toyota Way” →

April 22, 2013November 29, 2019 andreweverett360 Book Review, Management

Data Driven

data-driven

Data Driven: Profiting from your most important business asset

by Thomas C. Redman

Written for business managers, this book is about managing data as an asset. As with any asset, data only create value when used, as opposed to merely being stored. Data can support internal processes and decisions or it can be sold to external customers. Continue reading “Data Driven” →

January 21, 2013January 23, 2021 andreweverett360 Book Review, Marketing

Pyramids Are Tombs

pyramids-are-tombs

Pyramids Are Tombs

by Joe Phelps

Pyramids Are Tombs covers two major topics: organizational structure and integrated marketing communications.

Many companies claim to be focused on the customer, but Joe Phelps walks the walk. His marketing agency is structured around “self-directed, client-centered teams” which he describes as “the optimum model for today’s knowledge workers.” Continue reading “Pyramids Are Tombs” →

January 17, 2013September 12, 2021 andreweverett360 Book Review, Management

The New Economics

the-new-economics

The New Economics for Industry, Government, Education

by W. Edwards Deming

Deming is a legendary name in quality management, especially in Japan through his consulting work with Japanese industry from 1950 onward. He died in 1993 at age 93 before the second edition of this book went to press.

“This book is for people who are living under the tyranny of the prevailing style of management,” writes Deming in the preface. He has strong convictions, many of which are counter to conventional management thinking. Continue reading “The New Economics” →