Why do we work? Work has almost completely changed its shape in the last 40-50 years, and the aim that work is designed to accomplish should change accordingly. Work can no longer simply be the organization of many elements to achieve a profit for a tiny minority. People today have different expectations and a different […]
The Physics of Management: Network Theory and Us
What impact has Network Theory had upon the way we implement the Decalogue Management Methodology, based on Deming and the Theory of Constraints? The Physics of Management We were recently asked what we now do differently since the Decalogue methodology has become informed by a new area of science called Network […]
Do the right Think: Critical Thinking is a Prerequisite to Acting Ethically and Profitably
Students today may be engaged in many interesting activities, but if we’re not teaching them to think critically then we’re doing them, and ourselves, a disservice. Action heroes A recent article by a Yale PhD student stresses how students’ resumes are well padded, but they lack the ability to think critically, and this needs to […]
A Quality System for Sustainable Mining: guest blog from Corrado De Gasperis, CEO Comstock Mining Inc.
In this post Corrado De Gasperis, CEO of Comstock Mining Inc., answers to a query about Standard Operating Procedures and explains how Comstock Mining uses the Decalogue Methodology to build and operate its Quality System. Question: Does Comstock Mining also need to have Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and other controls in place to manage processing? […]
Perfection vs Quality: Eliminating a Toxic Belief
In our last post, we looked at eliminating toxic beliefs that choke organizations. In this post, we focus in on the toxic belief of wanting perfection, and how this relates to the serious business of Quality. Perfection – an unattainable goal In his article entitled ‘5 Toxic Beliefs that Ruin Careers‘, Geoffrey James cites the […]
Eliminating Toxic Beliefs That Choke Organizations
An excellent article appeared recently entitled ‘5 Toxic Beliefs that Ruin Careers‘. The piece hits on a key issue in life and business, namely how our perceptions affect the way we think and act. In this post, we look at how the Decalogue Methodology can address toxic beliefs. Why do some succeed where others fail […]
Sustainability Is Actually About Survival
Why is it that we bump into the word ‘sustainable’ all over the place now? In this week’s post, Dr. Giovanni Siepe explains how sustainability is, in fact, about survival. Sustainability is a word that we often hear in conversations that involve environment, economy, organizations and many other aspects of our everyday lives. What is […]
Dealing with our Cognitive Constraints to Get to Breakthrough
A major stumbling block to growth for organizations lies in the ‘cognitive constraints’. In other words, there are mental models, or, more simply, limiting beliefs that prevent us from seeing solutions. In the Decalogue approach, we have worked over the last 15 years with hundreds of top and middle managers to build custom made implementations […]
The Constraint as Leverage Point for Sustainable Growth
By correctly identifying the constraint (bottleneck) of our organization, we can manage its inherent complexity with greater precision and predictability. As we saw in the last entry of this blog, every human process, from getting to work in the morning to sending a man to the moon, is affected by variation. In other words, a […]
Leadership of a Sustainable Enterprise
A leader is somebody who has a theory; somebody who “owns” a body of knowledge that backs his claims that they can accomplish a transformation within their span of control. That transformation must be one of system optimization as a prerequisite for innovation; one in which competition is replaced by cooperation, where performances are managed […]
