Systems thinking: Notes from “The Symphony of Profound Knowledge”
Everything that we see in life is something of a shadow cast by that which we do not see. Plato was right: “The visible is a shadow cast by the invisible.” —
Martin Luther King
It’s not a coincidence that the book where I read this quote first is about the writings of a thinker whose work reflected its wisdom. In management theory, the writings of W. Edward Deming have truly made me appreciate that “The visible is a shadow cast by the invisible”.
Deming was widely considered the master of continual quality improvement. But, instead of one size fits all solutions for quality control, he created what he called as the “System of Profound Knowledge”. What I appreciate about the SOPK is that 1) it encourages systems thinking — where you don’t see events in isolation but appreciate their presence as an outcome of underlying interactions, 2) it focusses on individual transformation, and 3) its relevance is not limited as it can be used by organisation of any size/industry.
In this book — “The Symphony of Profound Knowledge”, Edward Martin Baker, one of Deming’s closest associates, has shared his perspective and understanding on Deming’s work, with the help of stories and case studies, for the reader to understand the thought behind the system.
To give you a flavour of Deming’s teachings, I’ve picked some quotes directly from the book:
- Drawing parallels between multi-layered and synergistic attributes of a musical symphony and an organisation
Not only did our father and grandfather love music, but the underlying symbolism of a musical score where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts is a foundational theory of the “systems” view that is the basis for much of the management theory.
“An example of a system, well optimized, is a good orchestra. The players are not there to play solos as prima donnas, each one trying to catch the ear of the listener. They are there to support each other. Individually they need not be the best players in the country … An orchestra is judged by listeners, not so much by illustrious players, but by the way they work together.” — W. Edwards Deming
2. Deming’s criticism of Management By Objectives
In summary, he explains that our ills are due primarily to the following: 1. Lack of constancy of purpose, knowing what business you are in. 2. Emphasis on the short term, the immediate, rather than thinking long-term to keep the organization viable. Short-term thinking, such as focusing on maximizing this quarter’s sales and profits, is promoted by the pressures produced by management by objectives (MBO), also known as management by results (MBR). 3. Management solely by use of visible figures, ignoring figures that are unknown or unknowable, also called management by numbers (MBN).
3. Call to Whole-system thinking
“A system includes the future,” said Deming. Planning is guided by long-term purpose in order to create a desired future, actively or passively.
Whole-system thinking is the appreciation that problems occur within a larger context, that life is lived within a larger context. Just as the weather outside your door is produced by a complex interaction of forces that occurred earlier and in other places, the same is the case for enterprise. Managers should be able to mentally trace the various system consequences of their plans and actions.
The processes of thinking, within business, education, and government organizations, family, and life in general, often are fragmented. Fragmented action derives from fragmented thinking. It is costly materially, psychologically, socially, and spiritually.
4. Asking leaders to take ownership of their people’s performance
When management rates employees, they are rating themselves since they are responsible for hiring, placing, and training employees.
Part of the role of leadership is to engage each person by connecting their role and contribution in a meaningful way to the work and learning of others, to a greater purpose and to the joy of the collaborative effort.
People are evaluated as if they have complete control over their performance once they are put into motion in a system where unwanted variation is viewed as someone’s error rather than due to the system itself.
5. Thinking of employees not as resources but as whole individuals that are part of large systems
He called for a way of thinking and being that is rational, sane, and spiritual. He envisioned a whole, healthy individual, not fragmented in thought and action, existing as part of undivided larger wholes, the organizations, families, communities, and nation in which the individuals participate.
“Anything less than direction of best efforts of everyone toward achievement of the aim or aims of the whole organisation is a directed verdict toward failure to achieve best overall results.”
6. Influence of the work of C.I. Lewis on Deming
The philosopher C. I. Lewis, who greatly influenced Deming’s thinking about theory of knowledge through his book Mind and the World Order, wrote that a person does not hear a symphony in its opening passage, nor in the middle of the second movement, nor in the finale: one hears it and appreciates it as a progressive and cumulative whole
C. I. Lewis warned that much of human behavior, for which we must be responsible, is rarely a result of explicit foresight and assignment of values, and that much of people’s actions, for which they are held legally accountable, could not be regarded as taken with prevision and evaluation of consequences. Behavior, rather than being thoughtful, results from automatic responses or habits without assessment of consequences
7. On purpose and its impact on quality
The absence of constancy of purpose is one of the “deadly diseases” that Dr. Deming diagnosed as a destructive lack of an essential management value. It is characterized by short-term thinking, a focus on immediate results, management by visible figures, making the bottom line look good by layoffs, buying cheaper tools and cheaper materials, deferring repairs and maintenance, and shipping everything produced regardless of quality.
“At least half of the world’s avoidable troubles are created by those who do not know what they want and pursue what would not satisfy them if they had it. And we could deal with the villains if it weren’t for the fools.”
8. Managing interactions in teams and organisations
Interactions Management to Optimize Enterprise Performance “You think because you understand one you must understand two because one and one make two. But you must also understand and.”
Effective corporate management must focus on the interactions of its parts rather than on their actions taken separately … Supervision and command are the management of actions; coordination and integration are the management of interactions, and this requires leadership. — Russell Ackoff
A company president must draw on the talents of the people in the organization, just as a conductor does. Ohga also said, “The conductor must allow the orchestra to express the music. At the same time he must make the performance a finished product in a short period of time. That is the same at Sony.”
I hope this post will encourage you to read the book. If you can take out time, you should definitely give a read to The System of Profound Knowledge.
Cheers!
