Standard work The process guys will tell you that you should standardise and reduce variation. Variation is a bad thing. The customer experience guys will tell you every interaction is different. No customer is the same. Variation is a good thing. Which camp is right? The case for allowing variation Some situations call for a […]
Should you Standardise?
There is a line of thought that says standardise your processes. After all without standardisation you just have anarchy. But every customer is different There is another line of thought that every customer is different: So no customer wants a standard outcome. If you insist in giving cookie-cutter service all you will do is create […]
Are Your Neighbours Spying On You?
W Edwards Deming is often quoted as saying: “In god we trust, all others must bring data”. His point was that if you want to improve an operation; hunches, beliefs and superstitions just won’t cut it. You need to have the data that shows what is really going on. No data, no improvement. Unfortunately the […]
Regression to The Mean
Is the Stick Mightier Than the Carrot? Psychologists will tell you that carrots are a far more productive strategy than sticks. You might think this is a blindingly obvious statement, but the facts don’t always support it. Sometimes the psychologists are proven wrong, often by a case of “regression to the mean”. That is exactly […]
How to Be as Good as You Can Be
Here is an analytical question, where can you see variation? It sounds like a dumb question, you are probably looking at the screen wondering what on earth I am smoking. Let me ask it another way: When you are shopping and try on two pairs of jeans, identically sized, do they fit exactly the same […]