DAY 12: BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER—AND MAKING IT HAPPEN

~ 3 min reading

DAY 12: BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER—AND MAKING IT HAPPEN

This final day of the course comprises seven sections:

Section	Title	Pages
Section 1:	Your radar diagram	pages 2–6
Section 2:	Wisdom from Peter Scholtes	pages 7–10
Section 3:	“But what can I do?”	pages 11–21
Section 4:	Leadership for the transformation	pages 22–29
Section 5:	Activity on the previous two sections	pages 30–33
Section 6:	Major Activity	pages 34–41
Section 7:	Epilogue	pages 42–43

These seven sections are briefly summarised below. Most of your time today will be devoted to Sections 5 and 6: two Activities that are both designed for you to customise in order to concentrate on matters that are particularly relevant to the position you personally hold in your organisation.

On Days 10 and 11 you recorded your “scores” relating the four parts of the System of Profound Knowledge to the 14 Points and the Deadly Diseases. In Section 1 you’ll begin by collecting together that information and then we’ll consider what you can learn from it. The end-product of that learning should be that you will understand how to fit together yet more pieces of the jigsaw that have not “gelled” sufficiently so far.

Section 2 contains some excellent material from Peter Scholtes. We will begin by reading a fascinating account of one of his earliest experiences as a teacher and guide on management and quality. This was long before Deming came up with the System of Profound Knowledge: yet, looking back, Peter later realised that what had happened was a supreme illustration of the latter’s relevance and strength. His account is reproduced from The Leader’s Handbook pages 45–46. It will, I believe, be helpful to you in the important Activity which then follows, an Activity that uses Peter’s portrayal of the System of Profound Knowledge to focus on some rather larger pieces of the jigsaw. Finally, as promised earlier and as a parody of the System of Profound Knowledge, we’ll take a look at Peter’s superb portrayal of “A System of Profound Trouble”. That will, I think, speak for itself!

The title of Section 3 probably echoes a plaintive thought that you may have had already, especially if you are relatively junior in your organisation. Let me immediately express my sincere gratitude to Dave Young who has contributed this valuable section.

Then, in Section 4, I shall bring together a wealth of advice from Dr Deming about the kind of leadership necessary to help put the theory into practice.

Section 5 is a substantial Activity which invites you to work in detail on the previous two sections in a way that, as mentioned above, will be personalised as appropriate for the position you hold in your organisation.

Section 6 is your final Major Activity of the course. This encourages you to develop the implications of what you have learned during the course in the context of your own organisation, and to consider possibilities for the way forward.

Section 7 is the Epilogue. It contains a concluding memorable extract from The Deming of America.