Deming's 14 Points: A timeless leadership philosophy

Among the many contributions of Dr. Deming, his 14 points still seem as profound today as they were decades ago. Regardless of industry the following points, if practiced consistently, will greatly improve your effectiveness as a leader and the success of the organization.

1. Create and publish to all employees a statement of the aims and purposes of the company or other organization. The management must demonstrate constantly their commitment to this statement.

2. Learn the new philosophy, top management and everybody.

3. Understand the purpose of inspection, for improvement of processes and reduction of cost.

4. End the practice of awarding business on the basis of price tag alone.

5. Improve constantly and forever the system of production and service.

6. Institute training.

7. Teach and institute training.

8. Drive out fear. Create trust. Create a climate for innovation.

9. Optimize toward the aims and purposes of the company the efforts of teams, groups, staff areas.

10. Eliminate exhortations for the workforce.

11. a. Eliminate numerical quotas for production. Instead, learn and institute methods for improvement.
    b. Eliminate MBO. Instead, learn the capabilities of processes and how to improve them.

12. Remove barriers that rob people of pride and workmanship.

13. Encourage and self-improvement for everyone.

14. Take action to accomplish the transformation.

It is interesting to see that even amidst the constantly evolving business world that these points remain appropriate. A great number of our projects involve implementing or teaching the lean philosophy. Deming's 14 points are a driving force behind even this most modern management approach. Despite the many changes that will surely arise in business operations, one thing has remained a pillar in effective leadership; these 14 points.

If you would like more information feel free to contact us. We will be than happy to help educate your workforce and to establish methods of adhering to these points