The Improvement Guide

2ND EDITION

the

IMPROVEMENT

GUIDE
A PRACTICAL APPROACH to E N H A N C I N G O R G A N I Z AT I O N A L P E R F O R M A N C E
GERALD J. LANGLEY, RONALD D. MOEN, KEVIN M. NOLAN, THOMAS W. NOLAN, CLIFFORD L. NORMAN, LLOYD P. PROVOST

More praise for The Improvement Guide
“We have used the work of these authors since 1994 to successfully operate, improve, and build a customer-focusedand employee-oriented company. We owe them a great debt of gratitude. The improvements made to this edition, specifically about the role of leadership in improvement, make it a great resource for businesses of all sizes.” —O. Joseph Balthazor, president and CEO, Hallmark Building Supplies, Inc. “The Improvement Guide has opened my eyes regarding the science of improvement. In my role as ahealthcare leader, I use the methods of systems understanding on a daily basis. The methods presented in the book have resulted in better outcomes and more integrated care for our patients.” —Mats Bojestig, M.D., Ph.D., chief medical officer, Jönköping County Council (Sweden) “If you’re frustrated by significant investments in improvement not adding up to better sustained performance of your business, you’llfind The Improvement Guide to be of enormous help.” —Ian Bradbury, president and CEO, Peaker Services, Inc. “The methods described in The Improvement Guide have been instrumental to our efforts to continually improve quality and productivity. The second edition is a must-study for any organization wanting to sustain profitability in a challenging business environment.” —A. Kim Brittingham, sitemanager, Lewes DE Plant, SPI Pharma “If you are in a fast-moving and rapidly changing sector, whether not-for-profit or commercial, the technology taught in this book is organizationally transforming. It includes but goes far beyond ‘lean.’ We’ve incorporated these methods into our health insurance business and created a network of ‘collaborations’ with our doctor, clinical, and hospital partners tomutually transform a broken medical system together. Our experience found that these methods were enthusiastically accepted: the impact is profound and rapid. This book and the sets of methods taught here are robust and foundational to tactically and strategically being a rapid, continuously adapting, world class firm.” —David Ford, CEO, CareOregon

“The authors have successfully turned Dr. W. E.Deming’s ‘what to do’ into ‘how to do’ in a simple yet effective and pragmatic way. We have used The Improvement Guide’s Model for Improvement at Unicard since 2001. Besides the results, the organization’s great new ability to mobilize and transform itself has greatly impressed me. These characteristics bring a built-to-last capability to the company and renew our expectations regarding futureresults.” —Carlos R. Formigari, general director, Unicard Unibanco (Brazil) “Health care is a values-based system and must be part of a continuing learning process. The Model for Improvement provides ways for articulating, agreeing on, and inculcating values that focus on the patient, and it creates methods that have energy, so that we can be refueled in our own efforts.” —Göran Henricks, directorof development, Jönköping (Sweden) “The Improvement Guide was instrumental in helping Armstrong World Industries win the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and in helping HP reach industry-leading levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty. Combined with the expertise API provides in teaching and guiding, this has proven to be a very powerful approach to achieving performance excellence.” —BoMcBee, vice president of total customer experience and quality, Hewlett-Packard “Dr. W. Edwards Deming provided a timeless theory for management and transformation through the application of his system of profound knowledge. The authors have masterfully answered the question, ‘How do I apply the lens of profound knowledge in my business or organization?’ We have used the methods and tools from...