Dec

13


2011

2011 December Meetup

Tue (06:30 PM - 09:00 PM)

Summary

If you want to find out why most management information is worse than useless and what you can do about it, then come the the Agile Yorkshire meeting on 13th December. This will be a rare opportunity to experience Dr W Edwards Deming’s famous ‘Experiment with Red Beads’, with someone who first did this experiment with Dr Deming over 20 years ago and has run it many times since then. This is a classic exercise that highlights the dangers of relying on arbitrary targets and performance comparisons in business metrics. Paul will explore how practices such as setting unrealistic KPIs, comparing performance across different time periods (this month vs last month, or this year vs last year), and using misleading metrics like league tables and traffic lights can lead to flawed decision-making.

Programme

The Red Bead Experiment
In this session, Paul will demonstrate how these "tools for numerical naivety" fail to provide meaningful insights and often distort the reality of team and organizational performance. Through the Red Bead Experiment, we’ll gain a deeper understanding of how to recognise and avoid common traps when analyzing data, and how to focus on the true insights that drive improvement. This talk will challenge the way we approach performance measurement and help you rethink how you assess and improve processes in your team or organization. It’s a must-attend for anyone interested in metrics, performance analysis, or improving decision-making practices. Don’t miss this chance to learn from Paul’s expertise and gain valuable insights into better, more meaningful ways to measure success!
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Paul Hollingworth
In 2024 Paul was awarded the Deming Medal by the American Society for Quality (ASQ). The citation reads: “For exceptional effectiveness in coaching leaders to adopt Profound Knowledge: steering personal and organizational transformations over periods of 10+ years, to produce lasting excellent outcomes including individual ownership of, and Joy in Work”.