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I Want You to Cheat: The Unreasonable Guide to Service and Quality
Illustrates many key principles which need to be understood when improving the performance of organisations.
160 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1992
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March 26, 2017
I have to say that in my professional career there is one book that helped me formulate my thinking more than any other - that book was John Seddon's 'Freedom from Command and Control' and was my introduction to Systems Thinking. Previously I had head of Lean and Kaizen etc. and was already formulating my own views on managing people which differed from the 'command and control' style that is still prevalent in organisations today. I had always viewed the management role as managing people and helping them do the work better. One day I had an epiphany - I realised that 99% of my efforts were a complete waste of time and rather than managing people perhaps I should look at the work..... Then someone lent me Seddon's work.
'I Want You To Think' is John Seddon's first book and it is very interesting to see the beginnings of the Vanguard method that has been developed and improved over the last 20 years or so. I don't think this is a 'great' book, the writing style is a little clunky and there is a terrible sexism that pervades the book (all references to managers are referred to as 'he'. I get 1992 was a long time ago but it wasn't the dark ages!).
It's almost not fair for me to review this as a) I get the point of the book, there was nothing in the book I hadn't considered before or new ideas b) I am already a convert - the light bulb has already gone off.
But I am still giving this a generous score, because I believe viewing work as a system is vital for improving service. I am passionate that focussing on quality - what matters to the customer is the most important thing a manager can do. Most of all I am certain that the best way to improve morale is to put decision making on improvements and doing the right thing should be left in the hands of the front line staff - the people who do the work know what their customers want.
This book isn't the call to arms that 'Freedom From Command and Control' or 'Systems Thinking in the Public Sector' is but nevertheless it is a useful book to read for those new to Systems Thinking. My favourite topics of listening to customer demand, acting on the causes of variation and measuring what matters are all covered.
If you're interested in systems thinking check these blogs out;
https://thinkpurpose.com/
https://squiretothegiants.wordpress.com/
'I Want You To Think' is John Seddon's first book and it is very interesting to see the beginnings of the Vanguard method that has been developed and improved over the last 20 years or so. I don't think this is a 'great' book, the writing style is a little clunky and there is a terrible sexism that pervades the book (all references to managers are referred to as 'he'. I get 1992 was a long time ago but it wasn't the dark ages!).
It's almost not fair for me to review this as a) I get the point of the book, there was nothing in the book I hadn't considered before or new ideas b) I am already a convert - the light bulb has already gone off.
But I am still giving this a generous score, because I believe viewing work as a system is vital for improving service. I am passionate that focussing on quality - what matters to the customer is the most important thing a manager can do. Most of all I am certain that the best way to improve morale is to put decision making on improvements and doing the right thing should be left in the hands of the front line staff - the people who do the work know what their customers want.
This book isn't the call to arms that 'Freedom From Command and Control' or 'Systems Thinking in the Public Sector' is but nevertheless it is a useful book to read for those new to Systems Thinking. My favourite topics of listening to customer demand, acting on the causes of variation and measuring what matters are all covered.
If you're interested in systems thinking check these blogs out;
https://thinkpurpose.com/
https://squiretothegiants.wordpress.com/
Displaying 1 of 1 review