Out of the Crisis.Org

[Louis Altazan]

Owning a small business was far from what I had expected. Long hours, hard work and worst of all, a seemingly endless stream of fires to put out. I tried every management fad there was, read endlessly and attended seminar after seminar. It just seemed the crisis-of-the-week always kept me from accomplishing what I had set out to do. And what was it again that I had set out to do?

Over the years I have met and spoken with more small business managers than I can recall. Many have recounted similar tales to me. It seems in the day to day struggle to survive, a lot of what we started the business to do, tends to get loss. For me the solution came when I first heard Dr. Deming speak.

I started my business because I saw a need. A need that I felt was largely going unmet, in the trade I had selected. I always felt things could be the way I imagined, but could never seem to accomplish my aim. Listening to Dr. Deming, something clicked. Watching the ¹funnel experiment, I began to understand variation. The ²red-beads helped me understand systems thinking. Special causes and common causes explained so much I had not understood.

The approach, to me was a blend of common sense, timeless truth and science. I realized this was a management philosophy, not a management gimmick. One philosophy that could be applied to all of my concerns, with seamless continuity.

Over the years (30) it has at times been difficult, but the philosophy has never failed me. As my understanding and implementation increased, things got not only better but exponentially better. Each point, properly implemented, tended to build on the others. Today I can imagine no other way. Business is enjoyable, my staff are some of my closest friends and I am working on the third generation of many clients family’s vehicles.

After thirty years I am as enthusiastic today as I was in 1989. Dr. Deming led me out of the crisis. Could he do the same for you?

^{1, 2} Out of the crisis; W. Edwards Deming; 1984 MIT Press

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