The Man Behind the Method If you can't describe what you are doing as a process,
you don't know what you're doing.
—W. Edwards Deming
By David Skinner
The next 1200 words describe the essential concepts and practice of a powerful and proven method for effecting change and improvement. Originally developed as a corporate and governmental planning tool, more recently it has attracted an ardent and growing number of devotees with personal gains in mind. They’ve discovered that whether you apply it on the job to advance and earn more income, in business to increase efficiency and production, or at home to realize personal goals—this stuff works.
Like most of us, you probably have a garage full of old motivational tapes. You can’t remember how many forgettable seminars you’ve attended. And you’ve got journals full of well-intentioned, but unmet, goals. Who wouldn’t be cynical? But wait! So long as what you want to improve can be measured, this no-nonsense system will not fail you. There are study guides, Web sites, and support organizations available if you’re hesitant and want to research more.
But before you put it off, realize right now and right here in front of you—for free—you have all you need to get started today on the path to success. The success you know you want and are certainly worth. Don’t take my word for it. There’s plenty of proof. Here are just three examples of these universal principles at work:
And they can do the same for you!
The Man Behind the Method W. Edward Deming was his name, and he is considered the father of the product quality movement which gained popularity in the 1980s and continues today in such programs as the Baldrige Award, Total Quality Management (TQM), and Six Sigma.
Years earlier he was assigned by the US Army to assist in the reconstruction efforts of post-war Japan. It was Deming’s innovative theories and revolutionary concepts that soon propelled the Japanese auto industry past its US and global competitors.
Deming titled his philosophy, “The System of Profound Knowledge.” He didn’t name it for some obscure logic or secret formula. Rather, it is “profound” for its simple, elegant, and accessible explanation for how things work, how things happen, and how to make them better. Rather than resigning one’s life to accident or fate, Deming proposed a more optimistic view called “systems thinking,” wherein chaos gives way to order, accident to intent, and destiny to determination. By reassembling the means at a higher level, the end becomes realizable.
As Einstein said, “You can’t solve a problem at the level it was created.” Accordingly, Deming raises the playing field and changes subjective involvement to objective judgment, and bewilderment to empowerment. To make some sense of this, imagine you’re lost in the forest and climb a tree for a better view. The forest has not changed, but you’ve gained more knowledge and can see your way home. That’s “profound knowledge.”
The heart of his doctrine is: everything purposeful is a system, and a system contains processes to accomplish that purpose. Manufacturing and assembly lines come to mind, but timeshare sales are also purposeful in that they contain processes and are therefore in accord with Deming’s theorem. Don’t confuse this with your “A-to-Z-one-size-fits-all” sales pitch. A process, as Deming explained, it is a set of goal-seeking activities accompanied by a feedback loop that helps to maintain course. He emphasized that 85% of all problems affecting businesses are process-related, rather than operator- or employee-related. Did you managers and sales people get that? He’s saying the greatest improvement in sales will come by focusing on the process. In other words, “It’s more about how than whom!”
As mentioned, a process is differentiated from other “activity” by the presence of a feedback loop—similar to a thermostat that measures room temperature and then activates the heating or cooling until your prescribed setting has been reached. This is called a cybernetic (Greek for steersman) system.
The essential elements of a process are:
Input—The objects and/or efforts entered.
Throughput—The mixing of the different inputs.
Output—The final product or result.
Feedback loop—Measurement and comparison of intent to actual.
RULE NO. 1: Desired outcomes must be clearly defined to recognize success or failure. Otherwise, how do you know you’ve arrived?
Lack of clarity and communications in outcome leads to performance plateaus, stalemates, and burn-out in individuals, or disunity, jealousy, and distrust in organizations.
RULE NO. 2: All steps in the process must be standardized to allow for repetition and consistency. Randomness, the opposite of standardization, is the bane of any system.
In sales, the lack of a standardized process is the primary cause of the familiar “peaks and valleys.” We’re speaking here of the excessive and uncontrolled variety that swings wildly from high to low, from “feast to famine.” When sales presentations are all over the board (non-standardized), there can be no meaningful measurement, no conclusive judgment or real improvement. And success by accident is not a part of Deming’s philosophy.
RULE NO. 3: Variation naturally exists in all systems. It is discovered by measurement of process outcomes. Common variation, as Deming called it, are the daily ups and downs in performance. They ideally fall within an excepted range and form a “normal distribution pattern,” or “bell curve.” The amount of variation, or “deviation from the mean,” should be monitored and controlled to maintain acceptable levels, but cannot be eliminated. Special Causes of variation are those caused by forces outside the system. They happen unexpectedly and cannot be controlled, though we often insure against them. Economic recessions and acts of god are examples.
To better understand process flow, systems experts suggest drawing a process map showing each step of the process and its relationship to the other steps. Here’s a simple process map, called a “feature/benefit statement,” for a sales activity, followed by a “tie down”—a question asking for agreement or objection. Notice how the “tie down” serves as a feedback loop.
For your part as operator, observer, or systems manager, your job is to perform the four functions described by Deming in his PDSA Cycle. These functions are applied to each repetition of your sales presentation or any other recurring process, thereby fostering a state of continuous learning and improvement. To this day, out of reverence for him, the Japanese call this Deming’s Wheel.
The principles underlying “systems thinking” are universal. They are as applicable to single-cell protozoa as they are to galactic systems in space. And too, they apply to your other sales practices, such as your “90-minute presentation,” your monthly sales goals, and so forth.
Deming’s method does not require a Herculean effort to master. You need only view life differently—with purpose—using Profound Knowledge. At the heart of Mr. Deming’s philosophy is the belief that each of us would gladly improve ourselves, our lives and their outcome, if we only knew how. Gratefully, he showed us!
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