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Aim and Stats
Now in our fourteenth year of operation, the aim of the "OD" and "BTA" sessions is to continue to foster an appreciation of InThinking
within an emerging network that is developing inside Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne and beyond. Dates for future "OD" and "BTA" sessions along with additional "thinking" opportunities for 2013 can be found in this announcement.
OD + BTA Stats
For an update on OD and BTA statistics, this month's invitation is going out to 4300+ partners in the U.S., as well as fellow InThinking partners in Australia, Austria, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Chile, Dubai, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and the U.K. Taken together, these individuals represent over 600 organizations in this list of nations, from elementary schools and senior high schools to colleges and universities, from one-person consulting firms to United Technologies, GM, IBM, General Electric, NASA, Philips Electronics, and The Boeing Company.
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As we get ready to celebrate Presidents' Day in the US (February 18th in 2013), which honors both George Washington (22nd) and Abraham Lincoln (12th), we can also pause to celebrate the birthday of Russell Lincoln Ackoff. According to Russ, his middle name was not chosen by his parents. Rather, it was inserted on his birth certificate on February 12th, 1919 by the doctor who delivered him and didn't want to see the space for middle name left blank. In honor of Russ and the many memories he left us during his frequent visits to Canoga Park, here's a reminder about problems;
A problem never exists in isolation; it is surrounded by other problems in space and time. The more of the context of a problem that a scientist can comprehend, the greater are his chances of finding a truly adequate solution.
In the spirit of fostering better thinking about thinking, here's an invitation to our second Ongoing Discussion (OD) of 2013 and our first "Better Thinking About..." (BTA) webinar. The OD sessions are set for February 28th and March 1st, with John Pourdehnad leading us in a conversation on the topic of "Integrating Systems Thinking and Design Thinking." Link here for the PARTICIPANT SURVEY and to receive the conference call information, plus a link to John's Thought Piece, once you complete the survey. Find details on this Ongoing Discussion below.
In our next BTA webinar, set for February 15th, Doug Krug will lead us in a focus on "Better Thinking About Leadership." Link here to register to attend our webinar with Doug. Details follow below.
In addition to these opportunities for both "in person" and "distance learning" participation, we are hosting our annual "InThinking Roadmap Week" during the week of October 21st, with an opportunity to attend the "InThinking Together," "Managing Variation as a System (MVS)," "Six Thinking Hats," as well as the "Organization Workshop." Details follow below.
Cheers...
Bill Bellows
Associate Fellow and Lead
InThinking Network
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne
Canoga Park, California
william.bellows@pwr.utc.com |
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Better Thinking About... Webinar Series
In February 2012, PWR's InThinking Network launched a monthly webinar series, titled "Better Thinking About..." It was designed with the aim of being connected to the many other activities of our InThinking Roadmap, to further enhance what we refer to as "better thinking about thinking." As with all continuous improvement efforts, the use of the term "better" does not imply what we're currently doing is "bad," "dumb," "unwise," or "thoughtless." Rather, the notion of improvement implies that our efforts, processes, products, ideas, and thinking can be better and better yet again. Whether or not improvement is worth the investment of resources will always be a worthwhile question to ask. Such was the thinking behind launching this series and our theory is that this effort will be a worthwhile investment for our attendees and presenters, as well as organizers.
In our first session of 2013, Doug Krug, from Centennial, Colorado, will present on Friday, February 15th, from 11:30-1pm PT, on the topic of "Better Thinking About Leadership." Later this year, Doug will serve as a keynote speaker at the In2:InThinking Network's Forum, set for June 19th - 23rd in Los Angeles (on the campus of California State University Northridge. Go to www.in2in.org for Forum details.) As for his background, Doug's primary role is helping top executive teams create and sustain the focus and alignment essential to successfully deal with today's most pressing l eadership challenges. This includes three Governor's Cabinets, the top executive teams at FBI, Medicare/Medicaid, U.S. Marshals and all 50 Admirals in the Coast Guard; as well as numerous executive teams in the corporate arena. The essence of Doug's work is built around the premise that the core of what makes an effective and inspiring leader cannot be taught, not in the traditional sense; it has to be brought out from within.
Doug served as part of the MBA Program at Johns Hopkins University's Division of Public Safety Leadership for 15 years. He also served as part of Executive Development Programs throughout the federal government. This includes IRS, FBI, DEA, Veterans Affairs, Center for Disease Control, Secret Service, Office of Personnel Management, NASA, Department of Interior and Department of Labor.
With a diverse career as an entrepreneur and management consultant, Doug has proven skills for effectively creating powerful organizational results. Through 'enter- trainment', Doug provides inspiration and information, giving participants tools that are immediately applicable. Link here to find the website for Doug's company, E.L. Solutions.
Link here to register to attend our webinar with Doug.
New participants in this webinar series are encouraged to perform an access test in advance of the scheduled webinar conference call. Access instructions are provided in the registration survey.
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Memories of Genichi Taguchi, 1924-2012
Profit to Society
Genichi Taguchi, the father of "Taguchi Methods," (a subject matter coined by Don Clausing, termed Quality Engineering by Dr. Taguchi in his native Japan) died on Sunday, June 3rd. Beginning in the late 1980s, Dr. Taguchi traveled to the U.S. to consult with Xerox, where he met Don Clausing, and later AT&T's Bell Labs, where he mentored Madhav Phadke, who later authored Quality Engineering Using Robust Design. In his last book, titled Taguchi's Quality Engineering Handbook and released in 2004, he and co-author Yuin Wu presented strategies and techniques for topics ranging from his Quality Loss Function to Robust Design, Parameter Design, Tolerance Design, Signal-to-Noise rations, On-Line Quality Control, and Mahalanobis Distance. Over the last 20+ years, Dr. Taguchi served as the Executive Director of the American Supplier Institute, based in Dearborn, Michigan. Dr. Taguchi visited PWR on three occasions, twice in 1994 and later in 1996. His first two visits included lectures and application sessions ranging from materials processing to rocket engine design. On his third visit, he was joined by Yuin Wu, who in 1986 was the first Taguchi Methods consultant in the U.S. Together, they provided advice to PWR engineers on the how to apply the concept of robustness to the development of the RS-68 engine. Among his many honors, Genichi Taguchi was awarded his first Deming Prize in Literature for his efforts to create and promote the use of a somewhat radical definition of quality. Instead of the traditional mechanistic definition, based on the standard practice of assessing the quality of parts and processes and the ability to conform to requirements, Taguchi suggested a definition based on minimizing loss to others downstream. Specifically, he defined quality as, The minimum of loss imparted to society by a product after its shipment to the customer. In doing so, quality can also be defined in terms of relationships between parts, not in terms of the parts taken separately. While they never met, such thinking aligns extremely well with the thinking of Russ Ackoff, who encouraged a shift from managing parts to managing the interactions between the parts. In receiving the Deming Prize in September 1960, statistician Donald Wheeler (see page v) reported that Genichi Taguchi provided the world with a new definition of quality, On target with minimum variance Years later, in his 1986 book, Out of the Crisis, W. Edwards Deming defined Dr. Taguchi's Quality Loss Function as "a better view of the world." His ideas have the ability to reduce loss to society, which is a profit for all. Tributes to Dr. Taguchi can be posted online at this link. |
Memories of and from Russ Ackoff
The one and only Russ Ackoff served as our "January" Ongoing Discussion Thought Leader on four occasions between 2006 and 2009. In addition to these "visits" with us from his home in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, he also traveled to Canoga Park every year, from 2003 through 2007, to deliver half-day and full-day lectures in our Leadership & Learning Center (picture above), as well as in Boeing's Conference Center in nearby Huntington Beach. In doing so, he inspired us with his countless "systems" stories, from his chance visit to AT&T's Bell Labs to experience the account of the "overnight destruction of the Bell telephone system" (and his discovery of their use what came to be known as the Idealized Design process) to the tale of a cost-cutting paper company client, who continued to offer sales of a paltry amount (think "loss leader") of specialty photographic paper to Claire Booth Luce, whose husband's company, Time magazine, was their number 1 customer. One of these stories, plus many more from his career in the U.S. Army, stationed in the South Pacific, to his lengthy career as a management consultant, is told by Russ in the first of two recent posthumous publications by Triarchy Press, titled Memories. Follow this link for more details on this book, in addition to news of the second book, Differences That Make a Difference. Here's a link for details on a special discount.
To view a video of John Pourdehnad's fond memories of Russ, follow this link on YouTube. NEW - Link here to download a 90-page transcript of a video with Russ Ackoff and W. Edwards Deming. The conversation took place in l992 and was edited and released as Volume 21 of The Deming Library series in l993. It is called "A Theory of a System for Educators and Managers" It is available from CC-M Productions and includes a second DVD with discussion/teaching guides for it and the rest of the Deming Library at The CC-M website at |
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Welcome First Timers
Your names have been added to this announcement list by virtue of your attendance in our series of InThinking Roadmap seminars, workshops, and overviews within Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, or attendance at the annual In2:InThinking Network Forum, through a personal request, from you or a friend. Welcome to our thinking networks.
Click either link below to send me the name(s) and e-mail address(es) of anyone you would like to have added to this mailing list, or let me know if you would like to be removed. Thanks!!!
ADDITIONS DELETIONS |
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Meeting Notice Service - OD and BTA
If you'd like to receive meeting notices on your Microsoft Outlook schedule for upcoming Ongoing Discussions and Better Thinking About... webinars, reply to Bill Bellows at william.bellows@pwr.utc.com and your name will be added to our announcement list. |
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The Essential Deming
by W. Edwards Deming
Under the editorial leadership of Joyce Orsini, The W. Edwards Deming Institute has recently released the latest book by Dr. Deming, titled "The Essential Deming." According to Joyce, "This book is about Deming's theory of management, in his own words, gleaned from articles and papers he wrote, and speeches he gave at conferences and seminars -- little-distributed until now....I have reviewed the Deming Collection of materials in the Library of Congress Manuscript Division in Washington, DC, materials that Deming gave to me over the years, and copies of papers he handed out in classes, at various seminars, and that I have gathered from other sources. I have also reviewed hundreds of hours of video and audio recordings of his lectures to students and at conferences....After skimming thousands of documents, I reviewed in detail some 850 articles, letters, papers, cases, lectures, speeches, and notes by Deming that contained potential material for this book. I've selected about a hundred for inclusion in whole or in part for this book."
The material in this 313-page book is arranged in 8 chapters, with titles reflecting familiar themes,
1 - The World Is Being Ruined by Best Efforts
2 - Quality Is Made in the Boardroom
3 - By What Method?
4 - There Is No Such Thing as Instant Pudding
5 - A System Must Be Managed
6 - There Is No Substitute for Knowledge
7 - Management Is Prediction
8 - What Happened in Japan?
Link here to find The Essential Deming on Amazon. |
A Beginner's Guide to the Brain
by Elaine Johnson
Elaine Johnson, our Thought Leader in March 2010 on the topic of "Understanding "Context" to Achieve Harmony in Organizations and on Earth", has released her most recent book, titled "A Beginner's Guide to the Brain: Major Discoveries That Will Change Your Life," available at this link. This guide book builds upon the 1-day seminar she presented at the In2:InThinking Network's 2011 Forum, titled "An Introduction to the Human Brain: Understand Your Brain, Improve Your Life," with content ranging from Understanding Plasticity: How Experience Changes the Brain to How Relationships Forge the Brain to an appendix with a guide to Ways the Brain Learns Best. As with her Forum session on the brain, Elaine's book addresses questions such as How does a brain-friendly leader behave?, What specific things can organizations do to strengthen brains, raise IQ, and generate creativity?, and How brain-friendly is the digital age? |
Menlo Labs' "Garden of Eden" in LA
Tracy Huston, our Ongoing Discussion Thought Leader in 2007 and again in 2009, with Dave Flanigan, has been putting her green thumb to work in Los Angeles, guided by her systemic thinking and joining minds and arms with Dave Flanigan to initiate an urban farming project that is serving 150 families a week (including 40+ within Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne) with everything from carrots to chilies, employing at-risk youth in the San Fernando Valley, and providing free training for more than 75 employees. In a recent visit to their North Hollywood farm (covered by local media, including the LA Daily News) on land provided by the Department of Water and Power, and a project funded by the city of Los Angeles, Tracy and Dave shared a vision of "an Eden in the middle of a city" and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa imagined "what we could do if the city could now find more land." While we wait for a return visit by Tracy and Dave as Ongoing Discussion Thought Leaders in 2011, link here for more about their recent book, Gardening for People and Planet. |
Multi-Matrix: The Brain Game
Leslie Peters, our March 2011 Thought Leader, led a session titled "Vision Dominates Thinking." Link here to find the announcement. Leslie followed her OD appearance with a presentation at the In2:InThinking Network's 2011 Forum on the same topic. During her presentation (link here for details), she shared a "brain game," which is now available for purchase. According to her website http://sensoryprocessingcourses.com, here are details on the game; Develop the brain through integration of multiple senses within a 3-dimensional, motor challenge. The companion online, all-video course teaches you to improve key skills that are the foundation for reading and learning. "Brain Loads" combine multiple sensory systems to maximize brain development.
Designed by a developmental optometrist and director of a brain rehabilitation clinic, The Multi-Matrix Game assists children and adults with learning challenges, reading delays, attention disorders, and brain damage.
For more information, visit www.multimatrixgame.com |
| Thought Leader - John Pourdehnad
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne's InThinking Network welcomes John "Johnnie" Pourdehnad, from Berwyn, Pennsylvania, to lead our second Ongoing Discussion of 2013 on February 28th and March 1st (and our 158th session since we began in January 2000). Johnnie has selected "Integrating Systems Thinking and Design Thinking" as his topic in his fifth time with us as a Thought Leader.
I met Johnnie in 2006 during a visit with Russ Ackoff in Philadelphia. Johnnie and I have met many times since in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Sonoma. I can always count on him to provide timely answers to questions about systems thinking and, most recently, design thinking, when it was a featured topic in a recent edition of the CBS news program, 60 Minutes. In this month's Thought Piece (provided with permission from our friends at Pegasus Communications) Johnnie and his co-authors, Erica Wexler and Dennis Wilson focus their attention on "Integrating Systems Thinking and Design Thinking."
The Thought Piece begins with;
As readers of this [Pegasus's Systems Thinker] newsletter are, systems thinking is evolving as an alternative to the old paradigms. Richard Mattessich wrote that "systems thinking is first and foremost a point of view and a methodology arising out of this viewpoint" ("The systems approach: Its variety of aspects," Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 33(6), 1982). It is a lens through which you can look at the world. That lens determines what you see and often influences what you do about it. Systems thinking replaces reductionism (the belief that everything can be reduced to individual parts) with expansionism (the belief that a system is always a sub-system of some larger system), and analysis (gaining knowledge of the system by understanding its parts) with synthesis (explaining its role in the larger system of which it is a part). According to Russell Ackoff, analysis is useful for revealing how a system works, but synthesis reveals why a system works the way it does.
They add,
The term "design thinking" now generally refers to applying a designer's sensibility and methods to problem solving, no matter what the problem is. IDEO's Tim Brown explains that, from this perspective, it is not a substitute for the art and craft of designing, but rather "a methodology for innovation and enablement." Lately, some in the management sciences think that a lot can be learned from the way designers think and "know" that could help us with innovative solutions.
The Thought Piece closes with these words,
In today's business world, design thinking and systems thinking are considered separate things. The challenge remains how the design thinking community can learn from the systems thinking community and vice versa.We believe that practitioners should intentionally integrate systems thinking with design thinking to enhance the chances of creating the right designs!We have shown that systems thinking can help designers better understand the world around them. Furthermore, designers can achieve more sustainable
designs by following systems principles. Design can be greatly enhanced if it improves the performance of the system as a whole, even if you are redesigning the part. Being aware of the principal of unintended consequences can also enhance design thinking.
Link here to download Johnnie's Thought Piece.
Biography
John Pourdehnad is an educator and a consultant. He is the Associate Director of Training and Consulting Services at the School of Arts and Sciences and adjunct Professor of Systems and Design Thinking at The University of Pennsylvania. From 1979 to 2009 Dr. Pourdehnad was, first a student, and later an associate of the late Russell Ackoff, one of the founding fathers of Systems Thinking.
John has worked as a consultant in a broad range of industries spanning numerous Fortune 100 corporations, non-profit organizations, and government agencies. He has published on systems and design thinking and lectured around the world in various educational, corporate and government institutions.
John has received several awards and honors for his work including Highly Commanded Award from Literati Club, Fellow of Da Vinci Institute of South Africa, Member of Organizational Excellence, Bulgaria, and he is a Fulbright Scholar. He is a member of the editorial board for a number of journals and was a featured contributor to BusinessWeek online.
John holds a Ph.D. in social systems sciences from the Wharton School of University of Pennsylvania.
Contact John by e-mail at jp2consult@aol.com with any questions or comments you would like to share with him in preparation for this OD session. |
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February 28 - March 1 OD Details
Please join us for one or all of this month's first series of ODs. As always, you are invited to participate for as long, or as short, as you can in one or more of these sessions. Note that the conversations vary from session to session, due to a variety of causes, such as who participates and what questions are asked. This diversity is captured every month, as the calls are recorded and posted as mp3 files on a PWR OD website that is being created.
Option - Date/Time (Pacific Time);
1 - Thursday, February 28th - 12:00-1:00pm
2 - Thursday, February 28th - 1:00-2:00pm
3 - Friday, March 1st - 12:00-1:00pm
4 - Friday, March 1st - 1:00-2:00pm
The agenda for each option will be:
Timing: Topic
Opening 10 minutes: Call in & Introductions
Next 45 minutes: Ongoing Discussion
Last 5 minutes: Farewells and Close
Please reply to this note by noon, Pacific Time on Wednesday, February 27th to confirm your plans to participate in one (or more) of these options. If you do plan to attend, please complete the OD PARTICIPATION SURVEY by using the link below...
PARTICIPANT SURVEY
Telecon lines (including a pass code and a security code) have been arranged for those who cannot join us in a conference room at our DeSoto facility and are provided upon completion of the participant survey.
As always, please forward this announcement to anyone we missed who would also like to participate.
Regards...
Bill
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International Participants
Our conference call sessions are toll-free within the U.S. and Canada. Several international participants have been able to connect toll-free using Skype for a VOIP connection, which we now recommend to others calling in from outside (or inside) the U.S. and Canada.
First, you'll need to establish a Skype account at www.skype.com. Once Skype is set up and functioning correctly the only thing that is different when connecting with our "InThinking Roadmap" conference call sessions ("OD" or "The New Economics Study Sessions") is the use of a pass code and security code. For our "OD" sessions, these numbers are provided once the "participant survey" is completed. For the "The New Economics Study Sessions," these numbers are provided in an email from Tim Higgins, who hosts these calls. In either case, when prompted by Skype to enter these codes, use the keyboard not voice option and be sure to turn off the computer's microphone, otherwise the numeric keys don't function. If the microphone is left on when the codes are entered, Skype's automated operator will reply with "number not recognized," as no number has been transmitted. Also, please note that the "pound key" in the U.S. (#) translates to the "hash key" in the U.K.
New users of Skype are encouraged to perform a conference call test in advance of the scheduled "InThinking Roadmap" conference call. Contact Bill Bellows to arrange for a test call. |
Future OD Dates
Mark your calendars - future Ongoing Discussion sessions will be held on the following dates (subject to slight changes), from 12-1pm and 1-2pm Pacific Time.
Month, Dates, Thought Leader(s), Topics:
March 28-29, Thought Leader and Topic to be determined
April 25-26, Thought Leader and
Topic to be determined
May 20-21, Thought Leader and
Topic to be determined
June 27-28, Thought Leader and Topic to be determined
Note that the "OD" home page on the In2:InThinking Network web site is being moved to a PWR website. Stay tuned for the new address. |
Future Better Thinking About... Dates
Mark your calendars - future Better Thinking About... webinars will be held on the following dates, from 11:30-1pm Pacific Time. Details for how to participate in this webinar series are provided upon registering using the participant survey for each event.
Date, Presenter, and Topic (link on each topic to register)
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Systems Thinking Newsletter
Available online for Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne employees...
The Systems Thinker is an electronic newsletter made available monthly (on a subscription basis) by Pegasus Communications. Each issue provides articles and case studies on systems thinking concepts and is available only electronically (as a pdf file). Tools and techniques for use in the Learning Organization are regularly included in this valuable publication. Featured authors include thought leaders and consultants well known in organizational learning and change management circles.
The current edition of the SYSTEMS THINKER, as well as archived issues from December 2002 through January 2013, is available for reading and printing by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne employees here.
Network friends outside of Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne can learn more about this newsletter AND read a variety of sample issues
and articles online. Individual and site licenses are available. |
InThinking Roadmap Seminars and Workshops
The following in-house "InThinking Roadmap" seminars and workshops are open to employees of Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR), as well as suppliers, customers, family members, and "Members of the Community." "Members of the Community" are individuals who are involved full or part time, or in a volunteer capacity, in community related work.
The schedule below includes the next available offerings for the listed seminars in Canoga Park, California. Contact Bill Bellows to request additional information.
Background information on PWR's InThinking Roadmap, in addition to seminar and workshop descriptions and upcoming schedules, are being added to a new PWR website, to be announced.
Note that the dates listed below are subject to change. All times listed are Pacific Time.
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4th Annual InThinking Roadmap Seminar Week (October 21-25)
During the week of October 21st, PWR's InThinking Network will be hosting a week of activities from our InThinking Roadmap. Such a design offers a convenient way for visiting attendees to attend a selection of our sessions during one trip to Los Angeles. Current plans include the following day-by-day agenda;
Monday, October 21st
8:00-11:00am - Managing Variation as a System - Part 1
1:00-5:00 - InThinking Together - Part 1
Tuesday, October 22nd
8:00-11:30am - InThinking Together - Part 2
1:00-5:00pm - Thinking Tools - Part 1
Wednesday, October 23rd
8:00-11:00am - Managing Variation as a System - Part 2
1:00-5:00pm - Thinking Tools - Part 2
Thursday, October 24th
8:00-11:00am - Managing Variation as a System - Part 3
1:00-5:00pm - OPEN
Friday, October 25th
8:00-11:30am - Organization Workshop - Part 1
1:00-5:00pm - Organization Workshop - Part 2 |
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InThinking Together
Description: This seminar explores the philosophies of a variety of management theorist, including but not limited to Russell Ackoff, W. Edwards Deming, Edward de Bono, Tom Johnson, and Genichi Taguchi, among many others; as they apply to the management of organizational resources, including ideas, innovation, knowledge, money, equipment, and space. Among the topics of discussion will be the concepts of "better thinking about thinking" (InThinking) and "Purposeful Resource Management." The seminar will introduce you to these ideas through a series of questions that are specially selected to create awareness of a new approach to working together, learning together, and thinking together.
Registration Fee - there is NO fee to attend
Prerequisites - there are NO prerequisites
Format - two 4.5-hour sessions over two days, offered as an in-person event
Presented by: Bill Bellows
Schedule for InThinking Together classes in Canoga Park, CA for Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne
Class #CP-2013-02
Part 1 - 21-Feb- 7:00-11:30am
Part 2 - 22-Feb- 7:00-11:30am
Class #CP-2013-03
Part 1 - 28-Mar- 7:00-11:30am
Part 2 - 29-Mar- 7:00-11:30am
Class #CP-2013-04 Part 1 - 25-Apr- 7:00-11:30am Part 2 - 26-Apr- 7:00-11:30am
Register to attend InThinking Together
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Six Thinking Hats
Description: This seminar is designed to present a more structured approach to thinking, for individuals and teams. We have developed many excellent thinking tools for argument and analysis. Our information technology methods are constantly improving. We have, however, developed few tools to deal with our ordinary everyday thinking - the sort of thinking we do in conversations and in meetings. What is needed is Parallel Thinking or Thinking Together, where each thinker puts forward his or her thoughts in parallel with the thoughts of others. The Six Thinking Hats method is a practical way of carrying out Parallel Thinking. This seminar explores Edward de Bono's concept of Six Thinking Hats as a way to unbundle thinking, separating out its different aspects. Use of the Six Thinking Hats can result in more productive meetings on the road to better resource management within a growing environment of "InThinking Together."
Registration Fee - there is no fee for PWR employees to attend. For visitors, we charge $165, payable to Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne.
Prerequisite - there are NO prerequisites
Format - one 8-hour session offered over one day (or, two 4-hour sessions offered over two days), presented as an in-person event, or through web meeting for attendees within United Technologies.
Presented by: Tim Higgins
Schedule for Six Thinking Hats classes in Canoga Park, CA for Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne
Classes for 2013 have not yet been scheduled.
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Lateral Thinking
Description: This seminar provides participants with a number of deliberate, formal tools for creative thinking followed with opportunities to practice building usable skills. Seminar content is based on the work of Edward de Bono, an international authority on creative thinking and the direct teaching of thinking skills. Edward de Bono's Lateral Thinking tools are based directly on how the brain functions as a self-organizing information system. Here are some notes from Edward de Bono on the definition of Lateral Thinking:
1. You cannot dig a hole in a different place by digging the same hole deeper.
2. Lateral Thinking is for changing concepts and perceptions instead of trying harder with the same concepts and perceptions.
3. In self-organizing information systems, asymmetric patterns are formed.
Lateral Thinking is a method for cutting across from one pattern to another. This course develops skill in the use of the Lateral Thinking tools by means of practice exercises. Skills learned will build upon concepts covered in other classes on our InThinking Roadmap.
Registration Fee - there is no fee for PWR employees to attend. For visitors, we charge $120, payable to Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne.
Prerequisite - Six Thinking Hats
Format - two 8-hour sessions, presented as an in-person event
Presented by: Tim Higgins
Schedule for Lateral Thinking classes in Canoga Park, CA for Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne
Classes for 2013 have not yet been scheduled.
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Managing Variation as a System
Description: This seminar continues to explore the prospects of better thinking as defined by the management and leadership philosophies of Russell Ackoff, W. Edwards Deming and Genichi Taguchi and other like-minded systemic thinkers. The topics of discussion will be "Resource Management" (the systemic application of resources, including activities without problems, but featuring opportunities for investment) and it's applicability to variation management and systems thinking. This seminar will introduce you to these ideas through a series of questions specially selected to reveal a refreshing perspective when managing variation as a system.
Registration Fee - there is NO fee for employees to attend. Visitors are asked to bring a copy of the course textbook (Donald Wheeler's
Understanding Variation), which can be purchased online for as low as $25. Follow this link to Amazon for one purchase option.
Prerequisite - there are NO prerequisites
Format - three 3-hour sessions over three days, presented as an in-person event
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Kepner-Tregoe Problem Solving and Decision Making
Description: The seminar presents more rational approaches to problem solving, decision making, and successful planning. The seminar content is based on the work of Charles Kepner and Ben Tregoe who studied the methodology of "successful" managers and concluded that better skills in problem solving, decision-making and planning were a key distinction.
Registration Fee - there is no fee for PWR employees to attend. For visitors, we charge $330, payable to Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne.
Prerequisite - there are NO prerequisites
Format - three 7-hour sessions over three weeks, presented as an in-person event
Presented by: Tim Higgins
Suggestion: If you are unable to attend all three sessions in a given monthly series, we encourage you to attend the first session and then attend the second and third in any order during a future monthly series.
Schedule for Kepner-Tregoe classes in Canoga Park, CA for Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne |
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The New Economics Study Session
Description: A group of participants assembles, some in-person and some via teleconference, for this 14-hour series. Participants discuss W. Edwards Deming's last book, The New Economics, in which he introduced his concept of a "System of Profound Knowledge." The group reads specified chapters before each session and discusses the meaning and application of the ideas, as well as personal reactions to the ideas. Supplemental reading material become part of the conversations, as do reactions to video tapes of Dr. Deming.
Registration Fee - there is NO fee to attend. In addition, this is a toll-free call from the United States and Canada. International participants are welcome to join in as well, provided they do so at their own expense for the conference call. PWR attendees will be given copies of The New Economics. Non-PWR attendees can purchase copies on Amazon at this link, with used copies selling for $15 and Kindle copies available for $15.95.
Prerequisite - there are NO prerequisites
Format - seven 2-hour sessions over three and a half weeks, presented as a teleconference event
Presented by: Tim Higgins
Schedule for The New Economics Study Session
Class #CP-2013-01
Starting on 25-Feb, seven sessions on Mondays and Wednesdays, from 3:00-5:00pm
Register to attend the TNE Study Session |
Design of Experiments & Taguchi Methods -An Overview
Description: This seminar introduces the fundamentals of both Design of Experiments (DOE) and Taguchi Methods and also serves to relate both bodies of knowledge to PWR's InThinking Network efforts. This course is a condensed version of two extensive 40-hour Taguchi Methods seminars. The shorter overview is designed to provide a strong foundation in the thinking and applicability of DOE and Taguchi Methods for both process and product improvement.
Registration Fee - there is NO fee to attend Prerequisite - there are NO prerequisites
Format - eight 2-hour sessions over four weeks, presented both as an in-person event and through web meeting for off-site participants, both inside and outside of United Technologies.
Presented by: Bill Bellows
Schedule for Design of Experiments & Taguchi Methods - An Overview
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