Interview #7 - John Hunter

The QIC – Quality Interview Chain is growing! My pleasure to present today ASQ Influential Voice John Hunter: Senior Facilitator at The W. Edwards Deming Institute, Senior Consultant at Hexawise and CEO of Curious Cat Ltd with more than 15 years of experience in management consulting, software development and internet consulting. Enjoy and learn from his experience!

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* YOURSELF / OCCUPATION: Who are you and what you do?

For the last few years I have travel around South-East Asia: doing some work for clients and managing web sites while delivering a few management seminars.

I write many blogs on things I like to explore and learn about. In my most recently blog I am covering topics related to a freelance nomad lifestyle and entrepreneurship. On my web site I provide links to other interviews and podcasts with me on the topic of management improvement.

I lived in Malaysia for 3 years and now am pursuing a nomadic lifestyle. Since leaving Malaysia I have spend a month or two in: Chiang Mai, Thailand; Luang Prabang, Laos; Siem Reap, Cambodia and Hoi An, Vietnam. Next will be Japan (I think) and likely more time in Kyoto than anywhere else but also more internal country travel than I have had so far.

* CHALLENGES: What was the biggest challenge you faced in your job and how did you handle it?
Isolated urgent challenges I don’t see as that big a deal. You figure something out and make it work if you have ability, critical thinking skill and an understanding of the work.

I think the biggest challenges is to change the management system so that it is much more robust and effective. Making that happen is pretty much what my blog has been about for over 10 years and is the theme of my book – Management Matter: Building Enterprise Capability.

Some blog posts that address this issue:

– Building a Great Software Development Team

– A Good Management System is Robust and Continually Improving

– Building A Culture of Continual Management Improvement in Your Organization

– Circle of Influence

* CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT: What are you doing to ensure you continue to grow and improve as a professional and/or as a person?

I don’t do anything consciously to achieve that. I think if we retain a thirst for knowledge and curiosity and have a desire to do a good job we will do what is necessary. I follow my passion to learn largely through the internet (blog, webcasts, articles and podcasts). And I constantly question and experiment and adapt based on what I learn.

* QUALITY QUOTE: Which is your favorite quality quote?

There are so many I don’t have a favorite, more like 50 favorites. But here are four:

“The old-fashioned idea of a good manager is one who is supposed to know all the answers, can solve every problem himself, and can give appropriate orders to his subordinates to carry out his plans… A good modern manager is like a good coach who leads and encourages his team in never-ending quality improvement” by George Box – When Murphy Speaks, Listen

“Hire and promote first on the basis of integrity; second motivation; third capacity; fourth understanding; fifth knowledge; and last and least, experience. Without integrity, motivation is dangerous; without motivation, capacity is impotent; without capacity, understanding is limited; without understanding, knowledge is meaningless; without knowledge, experience is blind” by Dee Hock on Management

The common objection to seniority pay is, “It’s rewarding dead wood!” My response is, “Why do you hire dead wood? Or why do you hire live wood and kill it?” by Peter Scholtes on The Leader’s Handbook

“There are three ways to get better figures… Improve the system… Distort the system… Distort the figures” by Brian Joiner on Fourth Generation Management

* MOTIVATION / PASSION: What motivates you to do what you do? What are you truly passionate about?
I am most passionate about improving the system for long term success. Achieving some visible short term success is fine but really I mainly care about visible improvements as a lever to convincing people to make more systemic improvements.

I also care about providing people good jobs – that provide them a good income and joy in work. I am happy when I feel I am contributing to others having good jobs. In a post on my management blog, The Importance of Management Improvement I talk more about some of these ideas.

* ADVICE / RECOMMENDATION: What advice would you pass along to others taking the same path as you? Any specific books/blogs/authors you would like to recommend?

I would recommend: W. Edwards Deming, Peter Scholtes, Russell Ackoff, George Box, Brian Joiner. I could go on with many more but really understanding these five would get you very far. And they are compatible with each other.

* FREE TIME: In your free time, what do you like to do to relax?

Travel, basketball, read, photography, invest, learn.

Share > NOMINATE > Connect > Learn

Gerald Suarez :http://www.geraldsuarezconsulting.com/
Andrea Gabor: http://andreagabor.com/
Mark Graban: http://www.leanblog.org
Mike Stoecklein: http://gembawalkabout.com/

Share > Nominate > CONNECT > Learn
Connect with John Hunter on Twitter, Google +, Blog and John Hunter online

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Thank you so much JOHN HUNTER for being part of this project! I appreciate it!

Interview #7 – John Hunter

Published by jimecalfa on June 1, 2015June 1, 2015

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