The Control Theory Manager

"The lead-manager continually teaches the workers that the essence of quality is constant improvement. To help them, he makes it clear that he believes his main job is as a facilitator."

"Any business doing well through its ability to offer a quality product that wants to continue to prosper should have only one goal in mind: continually improve the product and, at the same time, try to maintain or even lower the price."

"Managers will frequently be called upon to counsel, because workers or subordinates naturally look to their superior or supervisor for advice and guidance in areas that have nothing to do with the job."

"You cannot make anyone do what he or she does not want to do. You can only teach him a better way and encourage him to try it. If it works, there is a good chance he will continue."

"Control theory explains that all behavior is more accurately called total behavior?total because it is always the sum of four separate components: actions, thoughts, feelings, and physiology."

"It is the specific, highly need-satisfying knowledge that we store in our relatively small quality world that is the driving force of our lives."

"When lead-management is succeeding and there is only a small difference between the quality we are accomplishing and the quality we want, we tend to become increasingly aware of both our creativity and how we might use it to improve what we do."

"The lead-manager focuses on eliminating criticism from all he does with everyone in the company: subordinates, equals, and superiors."

"To deal with people noncoercively means to make work a talking and listening place, especially listening. This helps the workers feel as if they have some power, and the more workers feel empowered the more likely they are to do quality work."

"Since workers with unsolved problems are a source of low-quality work, the payoff in increased quality for solving them will far outweigh the small amount of time and money it takes to prepare managers for this important job."