I read a book a very long time ago that I was looking through again the other day. The book's name is The Nordstrom Way - The Inside Story of America's #1 Customer Service Company, written by Robert Spector and Patrick D. McCarthy. A couple of paragraphs from the first chapter caught my eye and reminded me why I got so much from this book so long ago. Read on ... Donald E. Peterson, the retired chairman of the … [Read more...]
Adopt And Institute Leadership
The Seventh Of W. Edwards Deming's 14 Points
W. Edwards Deming's 7th point is "Adopt and institute leadership." What was he talking about and how does it translate to the business of the church? In his book Out Of The Crisis, Deming says, "The job of management is not supervision, but leadership." I've devoted lots of writing energy to the topic of good leadership. Check out my Fundamentals Of Leadership for more detail. Specific to this one of Deming's … [Read more...]
Process Improvement
Contemplating Deming's Third Point: Cease Dependence On Mass Inspection To Improve Quality
Continuing my series of posts on W. Edwards Deming's 14 Points, I've spent some time re-reading what Mary Walton and he wrote on the third point: Cease dependence on mass inspection. The tricky part of this point as it relates to the church is taking the concept of mass inspection from the manufacturing industry to the service industry. Why? Well, the church isn't manufacturing anything that can be inspected. … [Read more...]