Blog — Differentiating Strategies

Let’s Plan, Do, Check and Adjust It!

Let’s Plan, Do, Check and Adjust It!

Most of us realize that no plan remains intact as written following its first introduction to reality. Those who do not know that are not paying attention. So what do we do about that? 

Edward Deming articulated a process now referred to as plan-do-check-adjust (PDCA). The following explanation of Mr. Deming’s cycle would probably cause him to blanch. PDCA is based on the same rational approach as the scientific method:  observe, gather data, hypothesize, and test then repeat until you cannot disprove your hypothesis. 

 

Critical Praise

Critical Praise

You are trying to develop your team. You have been coaching them to improve their performance. You have been careful to stay focused on issues and not on their personal idiosyncratic differences. You even tried praise as a motivator. The problem is you usually see improvements in performance when you criticize problems. When you praise the good performance people seldom repeat it. Doesn’t it just make more sense to criticize, for the good of the team’s performance?