Podcast: Why Dr. Deming’s First Point of Management Transformation Is Critical

“Create constancy of purpose toward improvement of product and service, with the aim to become competitive and to stay in business, and to provide jobs.”

Often referred to as the father of the quality movement, Dr. W. Edwards Deming developed the above statement as the first of his 14 points of management transformation. In this episode of Behind the Curtain: Adventures in Continuous Improvement, cohosts Dr. Mohamed Saleh and John Dyer delve deep into the idea of “constancy of purpose,” — exploring what it means and how it applies to building a culture of team-based continuous improvement.

Dyer discusses the importance of focusing attention of the entire statement, not simply the often shortened “constancy of purpose” component. Don’t omit the key meaning embedded in such words as “competitive, “stay in business,” and, most importantly, suggests Dyer, “provide jobs.”

Provide jobs is “there in order to highlight the fact that it's critically important to take into consideration the well-being of all the workers within the company. That's how you build trust,” Dyer says. Moreover, he adds, “It's about the culture. It's about the willingness for the leaders to do what they can to expand and grow and create more jobs—which means you're not letting people go. You're not laying people off.”

Saleh adds that Deming’s words point to the thought leader’s dislike of programs.

“Constancy of purpose requires you to think in future terms. A program has a beginning and an end,” he notes, while constancy suggests “ongoing; this is a way of life. It’s not a flash in the pan.”

Saleh says when people ask him what Deming’s first point means, he compares it to: Are you going to the gym to lose weight, or are you going to the gym to stay fit? The former suggests a short-term focus until you hit weight, then relaxing until the need to focus once again arises.

“There’s no discipline behind it,” he says. Similar to staying fit, however, Demin’s first point includes “very deep-rooted discipline.”

The cohosts also weigh in on obstacles that prevent companies from achieving constancy of purpose, including key performance indicators by which leaders are measured, as well as short-term pressures to perform.

Dyer and Saleh conclude this episode with a conversation about tools.

"When you look at something like a balanced scorecard or an X matrix, or like hoshin kanri or strategy deployment process, its initial intent was to drive constancy of purpose,” Saleh says. “It asks you, ‘Where do you want to be in 10 years, five years, three years, next year?’” so that you understand how this year's contributions fit into longer-term goals.

Many organizations copy the tool without understanding the “constancy of purpose” aspect, he suggests.

In this podcast, Dyer references an IndustryWeek article he wrote about the demand/capacity curve. Here is the link: Understanding the Demand/Capacity Curve.