Out of the Crisis.Org

[Louis Altazan]

When I started my business in 1974 [has it been that long already?] I was a technician. I thought of myself as a technician and thought as a technician thinks. I believe this was very good. Techs seem to think in ideals, what can be rather than what is. I saw problems with the way things were being done and I wanted to change them. After a few years of owning my own shop, changes came, but it was me, rather than the things I saw as wrong.

When the “real world” hit, my ideals suffered. Don’t get me wrong, I hate the words “real world.” I have always felt they represent a cop out, an excuse for not doing what I know I should; a justification. I had become part of the problem.

The cost of doing business were much higher than I thought and the profit much lower than I hoped. I worked harder and longer hours. Weekends, late evenings, still very little was left after paying bills. I saw employees as lazy and clients as tight wads. Soon I was exhausted, broke and at wits end.

I hoped learning more about management might help. Most of what I read and heard talked about incentives and tracking cost. It seemed to make sense. I started with flat-rate, worked my way through guarantee with a bonus and several other schemes. I measured car-count, weekly sales, later daily sales and finally hourly sales.

By 1984 I had two shops and pile of unhappy employees that turned over at a regular pace. I was still working about 80 hours a week, mostly putting out fires all day long. The money was a bit better, but I was miserable. What happened to my ideals, the changes I was going to make?

One night, exhausted, I was channel surfing on the TV. I came across a program on PBS. The name was, “If Japan can, why can’t we?” On the program was a gentleman, named W. Edwards Deming. I listened as he spoke about problems I experienced day to day. As he talked about solutions, a tiny remaining spark of the way I used to feel perked up. At that moment, I realized how far I had come, from where I wanted to be.

The next day I began looking for more information on this person. That was twenty-three years ago and the changes for me have been phenomenal. I have often been asked, why I write and preach so much on this topic. It is because of my enthusiasm for the results. For me, the Deming philosophy was life changing. Having seen what can be, my hope is to allow the same opportunity to as many as possible.

_________________
Louis Altazan
Owner/Manager AGCO Automotive Corporation
Baton Rouge, LA

[Bud]

I didn't know it was preaching.

What I remembered from business school about Deming was only a tiny spark compared to what I've since learned about his methods, or points.

And, at work, I see the points broken every day.

[Dave]

[Louis Altazan]

[Louis Altazan]