Deming Institute Podcast Interview with Dr. Bill Bellows

From Taguchi to Deming and Some Parts In-Between

The characteristic way we have taught management in the Western world is take a complex system, divide it into parts then try to manage each part as well as possible. And if that’s done, the system as a whole will behave well, and that’s absolutely false, because it’s possible to improve the performance of each part taken separately and destroy the system at the same time.

Dr. Russell Ackoff, Interview with Dr. Ackoff & Dr. Deming, Tape #1A

THE AIM for today’s post is to share with you a recent interview between Dr. Bill Bellows and Andrew Stotz of the Deming Institute Podcast about Bill’s learning journey from the teachings of the legendary Dr. Genichi Taguchi to Dr. W.E. Deming. It can be found via The Deming Institute site here (with full transcript), or on their YouTube channel, which I’ve included below. If this is anything like the series the Institute did with David Langford, there are possibly fourteen more episodes to come…

I’ve known Bill since 2017 and find his enthusiasm for conveying the philosophy and teachings of Dr. Deming in novel ways with stories, anecdotes, and thought-experiments engaging and infectious. This podcast reflects, quite accurately, what it is like to have a conversation with him- you can’t help but come away inspired.

In this interview he stays true-to-form, dispersing epiphanies throughout that demonstrate how changing how you think using a Deming “lens” can reveal solutions that were always there, staring you in the face.

Topics covered include:

• How he discovered Dr. Genichi Taguchi while working on solving problems with gas turbine engines in M1A1 Abrams tanks

• His first exposure to Deming’s thinking and subsequent revelations about solving vs. preventing problems

• Competition

• Continuum vs. black and white thinking

• Dr. Russell Ackoff’s view of a system, related to organizations and teaching

• The difference between handoffs “at home” and handoffs “at work”

• How Deming’s System of Profound Knowledge has helped improve his thinking

Reflection Questions

After listening to the podcast consider the following questions:

• What epiphanies or sudden flashes of inspiration occurred to you? What was it that Dr. Bellows said that led to your insights?

• How many examples of how you do handoffs of tasks at home vs. at work can you think of? What differences do you notice when you’re the user of your own work compared with how your work integrates with others in your organization?

• Consider Dr. Bellows’ metaphor of the gas gauge and continuum versus black and white thinking with respect to understanding causes of problems and how to prevent them: What is the predominant mode you think in at work? Is there gas in the car, or how much gas do we have? How do you know? What “gas gauges” do you have? How could you implement one? What would be the implications?

• In what ways do you think the domain of Variation is related to Psychology ?

• Try asking a colleague to finish Dr. Ackoff’s phrase about Western management as Dr. Bellows suggests, starting with “And if that’s done…” (refer to the original quote above). Ask why they think that and what they may not have considered: Do the parts only work well in isolation of each other, or together?