
Chapter 3 n Implementing an Effective IQ Environment 69
IMPROVEMENT BY SLOGANS — NOT!!!
I was called into an insurance company to help them create a shared data
environment. They had brought in object-oriented technology to increase
data sharing and reuse and reduce the costs of redundancy. Their Information
Systems Department cubicle walls were littered with posters of cute slogans,
such as “The Bug Stops Here.” I reviewed their Information Standards for the
object classes and found their naming convention started with a two-character
“application system” code! Their proof-of-concept project failed spectacularly,
and many of the most capable systems personnel left the company.
11a. Eliminate Work Standards (Quotas) on the Factory Floor.
Substitute Leadership.
11b. Eliminate Management by Objective. Eliminate Management
by Numbers, Numerical Goals. Substitute Leadership.
Quotas and other work standards hurt quality probably more than
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any other single working condition.
Quotas cause above-average Workers to slow their output and cause
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below-average Workers frustration.
IQ 11. Eliminate Work Standards (Quotas) for Quantity of
Information Work. Substitute Leadership.
Replace information “productivity” quotas with focus on Quality,
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real
Business Performance, and Cost of Ownership:
Management Ownership (Total) Costs of doing business
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Reduced costs of Information Scrap and Rework