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Aim and Stats Now in our sixteenth year of operation for our "OD" sessions and the fourth year for our "TTA" sessions, the aim of both is to continue to foster an appreciation of InThinking within an emerging network that is developing inside Aerojet Rocketdyne and beyond. Dates for future "OD" and "TTA" sessions along with additional "thinking" opportunities for 2015 can be found in this announcement. OD + TTA Stats
For an update on OD and TTA statistics, this month's invitation is going out to 2,000+ 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, Kuwait, 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 GenCorp, United Technologies, GM, IBM, General Electric, NASA, Bechtel, Kuwait Energy Company, Philips Electronics, and The Boeing Company. |
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 Aerojet 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 |
Meeting Notice Service - OD and TTA If you'd like to receive meeting notices on your Microsoft Outlook schedule for upcoming Ongoing Discussion conference calls and Thinking Together About... webinars, reply to Bill Bellows at william.bellows@rocket.com and your name will be added to our meeting notice list. |
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. |
Additional Reading Beginning in 2009, a series of articles have been prepared for the Lean Management Journal (LMJ) to share InThinking insights with the Lean community. This month's feature LMJ article, Contact Bill Bellows with questions, comments, or observations about this article. |
| Good afternoon from the Los Angeles campus of Aerojet Rocketdyne, located in Canoga Park, California, on the western end of the San Fernando Valley. Aerojet Rocketdyne's InThinking Network welcomes Tom Smith, from Lake Orion, Michigan, to lead our sixth Ongoing Discussion conference call of 2015 on June 25th and 26th and also our 186th session since we began in January 2000. As for a topic, Tom has selected A Personal Development Strategy for Safety in his first time with us as a Thought Leader. 
I was introduced to Tom by way of his participation in the Research Conference hosted by the W. Edwards Deming Institute in March. As I learned more about his work in the field of safety and his thinking about safety and how well it aligned with the management philosophy of Dr. Deming, I reached out to him to learn more. The more we spoke, the more I was convinced of the value of sharing his strategies for managing safety by featuring him as an Ongoing Discussion Thought Leader. I welcome you to join us for an exploration of safety through Tom's interpretation of Dr. Deming's System of Profound Knowledge, with implications that extend well beyond safety. Tom begins his Thought Piece with these words,
One of the first axioms I was taught in safety management was unsafe acts + unsafe conditions + time = an accident. It sounds right. The logic is simple, neat and as I spent time in safety management it became readily apparent - it was wrong. The theory unsafe acts causes the majority of industrial accidents came out of research conducted from 1931-50 by Herbert H. Heinrich, considered the father of modern industrial safety. Heinrich worked in the safety department of the Travelers insurance company where he investigated thousands of industrial accidents. He concluded when it came to accidental injuries man failure was the heart of the problem and methods of control must be directed toward man failure.Heinrich said that 85% of industrial accidents were the direct result of the unsafe actions of workers. Safety management has focused its effort to prevent accidents on fixing the behaviors of workers ever since.
Tom's Thought Piece continues with these ideas, The second important thing Sarasohn and Deming professed was the interactions of the components of the system are responsible for most of the outcomes of the system. That means individual workers are not responsible for most of the things that go wrong in the system. This includes the quality, productivity and safety outcomes. That distinction of responsibility goes to management. In other words the majority of the problems of work including employee accidents are a result of the decisions and directions of management. Only management has the power to make decisions about the system. Deming often pointed out management cannot abdicate its responsibility for outcomes of the system. It must be held accountable for deficiencies it causes in the system, not the workers. This thinking is exactly opposite of one of the most enduring beliefs held by American managers. That is if something goes wrong at work someone - a single solitary person - must be identified and held accountable for it. For managers Heinrich's theory makes sense. It is a logical, simple, easy way to hold workers accountable for accidents. Ironically workers are in no position to refute this proposition. If you are involved in an accident and you agree you can't control your actions you sound incompetent. No one in their right mind is going to admit that. The easiest thing to do is to accept your portion of the blame (85%), commit to try to do better the next time and hope you aren't reprimanded by management. Managers are comfortable with Heinrich's theory. It reinforces what they have been taught. It's OK for them to assume everything they've done up to the moment just before an accident happens is working properly. It is easy to accept the premise that if workers would only do what they are told and obey safety rules and regulations no accidents would occur. Link here to download Tom's Thought Piece. Link here to register to attend.
Thomas ("Tom") Smith, President of Mocal, Inc. has over 25 years of experience as a consultant to business in the areas of quality and safety management. He was a Loss Control Manager for Reliance Insurance Company for 15 years. He works with all levels of management and hourly employees on consulting assignments to improve business operations, team development/problem solving and culture change. His clients include: ABB, Bama Foods (A Baldridge winner), Becton-Dickinson, Callaway Golf, Chrysler Corp., Elliott Equipment, Ford Motor Company, Pfizer, Time Warner Cable, Wyeth. Recently he has been working with Staffing Firms to help them apply continual improvement management theory to their safety management system. Tom was invited to present his article: Measuring the Soft Skills of Teams: Producing data from mental processes to the 20th Annual Deming Research Conference, Fordham University, NY, March 2014. Most recently, Tom presented his article: The Limiting Factors Of Safety Management And How They Can Be Overcome at the 18th International Deming Research Seminar, Fordham University, NY, Feb. 2012. Tom's book, System Accidents: Why Americans Are Injured At Work And What Can Be Done About It- published in 2008 has received outstanding reviews and endorsements in the safety field. In addition, Tom has developed a new safety model called CRISP™ an acronym for Continual Renewal and Improvement of System/Safety Performance. He has also published numerous articles on the new theory of safety management in various professional safety journals. His 1999 article "What's Wrong With Behavior Based Safety?" is often cited in safety journals as a rebuttal to Behavior Based Safety. Some of his recent articles include: Safety Management: A Personal Development Strategy, March, 2011 in Professional Safety, The Journal of the American Society of Safety Engineers: Safety and the Red Bead Experiment, EHS Today Magazine, Jan. 2011 and Why Traditional Safety Cannot Achieve Continual Improvement, EHS Today Magazine, Jan. 2012. Tom is a graduate of Northern Michigan University. His Professional Certifications include Certified Hazard Control Manager, Certified Product Safety Manager. He is a frequent speaker at National Safety events on the topic of modern safety management. He has also been certified/approved to provide Loss Control Management services to insurance clients in the States of Texas, Pennsylvania and Arkansas. Coming next is our Thinking Together About... (formerly known as Better Thinking About...) webinars next month, with a focus on Positional and Non-Positional Thinking, hosted by Ariane David on Thursday, July 16th, from 11:30-1pm Pacific Time. Link here to register to attend in advance of the announcement, coming the first week in July.Cheers...
Bill |
| 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. To view a 10-minute video of John Pourdehnad's fond memories of Russ, follow this link on YouTube. 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" and is available from the W. Edwards Deming Institute at this link. Link here to find a 1949 article in the Detroit Times about Wayne University's pending decision to drop Russ Ackoff from their faculty over a dispute within the Philosophy department. |
The W. Edwards Deming Institute's Fall Conference, September 18-20 Next Generation LeadershipShaping the Future September 18 - 20, 2015
Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa
New knowledge for breakthrough performance Join us to hear and meet industry leaders who are shaping their businesses and industries by breaking performance barriers often thought impossible. They did it through the adoption of a management and leadership philosophy that transformed them as individuals as well as their organizations. Their stories will inspire you to learn more and begin your own journey, whether you are a student or early in your career, a small business owner or executive. Come explore the new knowledge and unique approaches these leaders have embraced to dramatically improve their organizations. Link here to find out more, including details on scholarships. |
Podcasts from The W. Edwards Deming Institute Beginning in 2014, The W. Edwards Deming Institute has recorded podcasts on a monthly basis, featuring 20 to 30-minute interviews by Tripp Babbitt with members of the Deming Community who are advancing the use and explanations of Dr. Deming's ideas. This week's Podcast features Louis Altazan, President of AGCO Automotive Corporation in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Louis discusses his introduction to Dr. Deming and his philosophies, his "aha" moment, and the long-term thinking and trust that must be established to succeed.
Louis starts with a brief introduction of AGCO, and his feeling that the automotive industry could be doing better. After toiling for 10 years with various philosophies, it was the 1980 NBC documentary "If Japan Can, Why Can't We" that hit home with him. He picked up the phone and called Dr. Deming. And as they say "the rest is history."
Louis began implementing Deming's 14 points right away. His biggest "aha" moment was that "I was the problem." Once he realized this, he called a meeting to apologize and things started to get better right away. Louis removed everyone from the "flat rate" pay system and put them on salary. This helped his staff change their focus from short-term thinking and profits to long-term thinking and trust.
Louis warns that you can't apply some part of Dr. Deming's philosophy and not others - that "it's a cohesive system that all works together." Done this way you will start seeing improvement almost immediately, but the real benefits will be felt about 20 years down the road.
Link here to find the podcast with Louis. Link here to find the previous podcasts, featuring Bob Mason and Clare Crawford-Mason, Paula Marshall, Bill Bellows, Bob Browne, Kelly Allan, Kevin Cahill, Andrea Gabor, Steven Haedrich, David Langford, and Dan Robertson. Link here to find these podcasts on iTunes. |
Leader of One, by Gerald Suarez "Endorsements like these are seldom needed. Heed this one, read, study, and learn. Gerald Suarez is the future." Russ Ackoff 
Gerald Suarez, our inaugural "Better Thinking About..." in February 2012 on the topic of Leadership, has released his first book, titled "Leader of One: Shaping Your Future through Imagination and Design." Find it on Amazon at this link. Link on the book image to learn more about Gerald.
With endorsements from two of his mentors, Stephen Covey and Russ Ackoff, Gerald has fulfilled his dream of "writing a book that reflects my philosophy and experiences in the White House, the boardroom, and the classroom and to pay tribute to the major influences in my thinking." This 18-chapter book offers a 4-phase "methodology" that consists of a cycle of activities that "work together in a holistic fashion"; Contemplation, Desire, Design, and Creation.
Gerald offers this advice at the outset:
Becoming a "Leader of One" and taking on the challenge of shaping your future is not easy. Transformative efforts never are. The task ahead will feel overwhelming, but commitment to initiate and sustain action, no matter how small, will move you closer to a new and desired reality.
There are no short cuts. Every building begins its steps upward with a single brick, every marathon race with a single step, and every book with a single word. The same can be said for every minute of your life, so seconds count. The first steps are always the most difficult, but each one will bring you closer to "there." |
June 25th - 26th OD Details Please join us for one or all of this month's series of OD conference calls. As always, you are invited to participate for as long, or as short, as you can in one or more of these sessions, Options 1-4. Note that these conference calls are "conversations, not presentations," which vary from session to session, due to a variety of causes, such as who participates, what questions are asked, and what learning transpires. This diversity is captured every month, as the calls are recorded, with links to these audio files shared with all who register to attend. Option - Date/Time (Pacific Time); 1 - Thursday, June 25th, 12:00-1:00pm 2 - Thursday, June 25th, 1:00-2:00pm
3 - Friday, June 26th - 12:00-1:00pm
4 - Friday, June 26th - 1:00-2:00pm The agenda for each option will be: Opening 15 minutes: Call in and Introductions Next 40 minutes: Ongoing Discussion Last 5 minutes: Farewells and Close
Please reply to this note by noon, Pacific Time on Wednesday, June 24th 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 Canoga Park 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 |
Future Ongoing Discussion Conference Calls Mark your calendars - future Ongoing Discussion conference calls 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 (link on each session to register): |
Future Thinking Together About... Webinars
Mark your calendars - future Thinking Together About... (formerly 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 session to register): |
InThinking Together Seminar 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 as well as Purposeful Resource Leadership. 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 Aerojet Rocketdyne Class #CP-2015-07, Aerojet Rocketdyne Part 1 - 30-Jul - 7:00-11:30am (Pacific Time) Part 2 - 31-Jul - 7:00-11:30am Class #CP-2015-08, Aerojet Rocketdyne Part 1 - 27-Aug - 7:00-11:30am (Pacific Time) Part 2 - 28-Aug - 7:00-11:30am
Register to attend InThinking Together |
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. Aerojet Rocketdyne attendees will be given copies of The New Economics. Non-Aerojet Rocketdyne 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-2015-03 Starting on 14-Sep, seven sessions on Mondays and Wednesdays, from 3:00-5:00pm, Pacific Time (ending on 5-Oct) |
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