“Western management has failed to understand cause and effect.” W. Edwards Deming
There is no effect without a cause. This is the basis of the scientific method, and the aim of science is always to discover underlying causes. Without that knowledge, we are exposed to an array of ‘symptoms’ we are unable to decipher, predict, control, or prevent. In other words, we are in the Dark Ages.
The last 20 years have seen an exponential growth in the planetary interconnections of which we are all part. The pandemic has made this dramatically evident, along with the related supply chain disruptions. The artificial walls built by our inability to conceive and experience higher levels of interdependency are crumbling. It is time for the science of management to play its part in helping our lives to be meaningful in the work place.
The Decalogue is a science-based methodology that equips leaders and managers with the insight and foresight that comes from a systemic approach. It is founded on cause and effect logic that views an organization as a system, i.e. a set of components that work together to achieve the goal of the system. By understanding a company as a system and applying principles of systems theory, it enables whole system optimization.
The Decalogue integrates for the first time into a cohesive and rigorous whole the work of two systemic approaches to management: the work of W. Edwards Deming, the father of Quality, and the work of Dr. Eliyahu Goldratt known as the Theory of Constraints.
This new, systemic approach to management demonstrates how choosing a strategic Constraint and managing Variation provide the foundations for sustainable growth for any company.
The Ten Steps of the Decalogue equip business owners and leaders with a clear and focussed path to achieve the maximum value with the resources available. The steps combine the essence of Deming – a common goal and focus on processes and variation – with the essence of Goldratt’s message – focussing on the one factor that determines the pace of throughput and on overcoming the cognitive barriers to change. Continuous improvement and continuous innovation becomes part of the day-to-day.
A leader of today must construct a theory for today’s world, and must develop an appropriate system for management of his theory. Why? Because without theory there is no learning, and thus no improvement – only motion. The theory that he requires is knowledge about a system and optimization thereof. W. Edwards Deming
The Decalogue is an original contribution to the Theory of constraints and organizational science. Since 1999, it has been used by dozens of companies to achieve fundamentally more with the resources available.
You can read about the Decalogue steps in more detail here: Decalogue in More Detail
Books about the Decalogue methodology
Over the years we have communicated our approach to systemic management in a variety of ways. At the end of the 1990s, the unique blending of Deming and Goldratt into a methodology was first fully described by Domenico Lepore and Oded Cohen in ‘Deming and Goldratt: The Decalogue’. North River Press, 1999, translated into several languages and recommended reading in universities around the world. This was further developed after a decade of implementations by Lepore et al in ‘Sechel: Logic, Language and Tools to Manage Any Organization as a Network’. Intelligent Management Inc., 2011.
Our most scientific publication is a chapter we were invited to contribute to a volume on Complexity from Springer.
‘Managing Complexity in Organizations Through a Systemic Network of Projects’. Chapter in ‘Applications of Systems Thinking and Soft Operations Research in Managing Complexity’, Springer, 2015.
Following in the footsteps of Dr. Goldratt, we chose to narrate an entire novel about management in 21st century. Bought in 40 countries, ‘The Human Constraint’ is a Business Novel with website. See: www.thehumanconstraint.ca
We were invited by CRC Press to give a complete summary of the Decalogue approach for complexity aimed at leaders and C-Suite executives. ‘Quality, Involvement, Flow: The Systemic Organization’ 2016 is available from CRC Press, New York.
Our latest book is ‘Moving the Chains: An Operational Solution for Embracing Complexity in the Digital Age’ The digital age is reshaping value chains and interactions. Dr. Domenico Lepore provides an operational solution for transformation.
We also blog continuously at www.intelligentmanagement.ws
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