Lean Blog Interviews: Real-World Lean Leadership Conversations in Healthcare and Beyond John Willis on Deming's Journey to Profound Knowledge in IT & DevOps
In this discussion, John Willis, a veteran IT management expert and co-author of The DevOps Handbook, explores the integration of Deming's philosophies with modern IT practices. He emphasizes the importance of systems thinking and psychological safety in effective incident management and cybersecurity. John recounts his journey through DevOps history, the impact of the Phoenix Project, and how eliminating fear can enhance team performance. He also highlights the relevance of Deming's principles in addressing contemporary IT risks and cybersecurity challenges.
01:00:08
Starting DevOps Days In The U.S.
- John recalled running the first U.S. DevOps Days and meeting Gene Kim, which led to collaboration on DevOps books.
- Those events connected operations, Agile, and Lean into a movement that birthed The DevOps Handbook.
Deming Reframed IT Challenges
- Discovering Deming reframed John’s view of modern IT problems as longstanding management and systems issues.
- He traced contemporary DevOps challenges back to Deming's principles of quality, variation, and systems thinking.
Avoid Dogmatic Six Sigma Practices
- Avoid dogmatic implementations of Six Sigma that create fear and micromanagement.
- Prioritize meaningful learning over rigid metrics that make people afraid to act or speak up.
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Intro
00:00 • 1min
John Willis: career beginnings at Exxon and computing
01:21 • 4min
Transition to distributed computing and startups
05:00 • 5min
The on-ramp to DevOps and influences
09:55 • 2min
Meeting Gene Kim and Phoenix Project impact
11:56 • 3min
Deming discovery and deep dive begins
14:59 • 2min
From Phoenix follow-ups to Deming to DevOps
16:53 • 3min
Writing Deming as narrative storytelling
19:39 • 41sec
Applying Deming to IT risk and system analysis
20:20 • 2min
Experience with GE, Six Sigma, and management training
22:21 • 4min
Eliminating fear and its effects in organizations
26:01 • 4min
Psychological safety and incident management
30:15 • 4min
System of Profound Knowledge framed for IT
34:40 • 7min
Control charts, variation, and epistemology in practice
41:37 • 3min
Digital Cambrian explosion and cloud-era changes
44:47 • 4min
Applying Deming to cybersecurity and medical device risks
48:24 • 2min
Why cyberterrorism is a top global threat
50:41 • 5min
Normalization of deviance and learning from near-misses
55:18 • 3min
Books, upcoming AI history project, and closing thoughts
58:34 • 3min
Outro
01:01:17 • 60sec
#261
• Mentioned in 96 episodes
The Goal
Eliyahu M. Goldratt
The book tells the story of Alex Rogo, a factory manager who is given three months to improve his underperforming plant or face its closure.
With the guidance of his former physics professor, Jonah, Alex learns to apply the Theory of Constraints to identify and manage bottlenecks in the production process.
Through this approach, Alex and his team transform the factory, improving efficiency, reducing inventory, and increasing profitability.
The novel uses the Socratic method to teach fundamental business concepts and emphasizes the importance of continuous improvement and critical thinking in management.
#748
• Mentioned in 46 episodes
The Phoenix project
Lambeth London Borough Council
In this novel, Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, and George Spafford tell the story of Bill, an IT manager at Parts Unlimited, who is tasked with turning around the company's failing IT department.
The book delves into the challenges of IT management, the importance of DevOps practices, and how these practices can lead to significant improvements in efficiency, reliability, and customer satisfaction.
#27190
• Mentioned in 2 episodes
Beyond the Goal
Eliyahu M. Goldratt
Beyond the Goal, an audio-only work by Eliyahu M. Goldratt, delves into the complexities of organizational management and systems thinking.
It builds upon the concepts introduced in Goldratt's earlier work, The Goal, offering further insights into the Theory of Constraints.
The book explores how to identify and overcome bottlenecks in various systems, emphasizing the importance of continuous improvement and holistic thinking.
It provides practical tools and strategies for improving efficiency and achieving organizational goals.
Goldratt's unique approach combines storytelling with practical advice, making complex ideas accessible to a wider audience.
The book's focus on systems thinking and continuous improvement remains highly relevant in today's dynamic business environment.
#50
• Mentioned in 252 episodes
Moneyball
The Art of Winning an Unfair Game
Michael Lewis
The book tells the story of the Oakland Athletics' 2002 season, where General Manager Billy Beane and his assistant Paul DePodesta used advanced statistical analysis, known as sabermetrics, to assemble a competitive team despite a limited budget.
The approach, pioneered by Bill James, focused on metrics such as on-base percentage and slugging percentage rather than traditional measures like batting average and runs batted in.
This data-driven strategy allowed the Athletics to compete with teams having much larger payrolls, like the New York Yankees, and achieve significant success, including a 20-game winning streak and a playoff appearance.
#11256
• Mentioned in 5 episodes
Deming's Journey, Profound Knowledge
John Willis
#13329
• Mentioned in 4 episodes
Toyota Kata
Managing People for Improvement, Adaptiveness and Superior Results
Mike Rother
#1909
• Mentioned in 23 episodes
The DevOps handbook
Gene Kim
The DevOps Handbook provides a detailed and practical roadmap for improving IT in any organization by bridging the gap between development and operations teams.
It includes case studies from companies like Google, Capital One, Netflix, and others, demonstrating how DevOps practices can enhance business outcomes.
The book focuses on culture, automation, measurement, and sharing, and it extends the solutions presented in 'The Phoenix Project' to cover information security and compliance.
The second edition features new case studies and insights from renowned researcher Dr. Nicole Forsgren.
#7512
• Mentioned in 7 episodes
Jack
Straight from the Gut
John A. Byrne
Jack Welch
This book is an insightful look into Jack Welch's career as the CEO of General Electric.
It covers his early days, his rise through the corporate ranks, and his unique leadership strategies, including the Differentiation Vitality Curve and Six Sigma.
Welch discusses significant events, such as major acquisitions and the growth of GE Capital, and reflects on both his successes and mistakes.
The book provides a candid view of Welch's management style and the cultural changes he implemented at GE, making it a valuable read for management professionals and anyone interested in business leadership.
#18254
• Mentioned in 3 episodes
The High-Velocity Edge
Steve Spear
#714
• Mentioned in 47 episodes
Flash Boys
A Wall Street Revolt
Michael Lewis
In 'Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt', Michael Lewis delves into the world of high-frequency trading (HFT) and its corrupting influence on the U.S.
stock market.
The book follows a group of Wall Street iconoclasts, including Brad Katsuyama and Sergey Aleynikov, as they uncover and challenge the unethical practices of HFT firms.
Lewis explains how these firms use advanced technology to front-run orders, creating a rigged market that benefits insiders at the expense of ordinary investors.
The narrative is engaging and accessible, making complex financial concepts understandable for a broad audience.
The book highlights the efforts of these individuals to reform the market and restore fairness, and it has had significant impact, including prompting investigations and public discussions about market structure and fairness.
#59861
The Challenge of Disaster
Diane Vaughan
#56243
Visible Ops
Gene Kim
#62254
Lean IT
Steve Bell
My guest for Episode #524 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is John Willis, an accomplished IT management expert with over 45 years of experience. His extensive body of work includes contributions to Deming's Journey to Profound Knowledge and co-authoring The DevOps Handbook.
See video, transcript, and more
Hosts a podcast that I was recently on, "Profound."
John focuses his current research on DevOps, DevSecOps, IT risk, modern governance, and audit compliance. Over the course of his career, he has sold companies to Docker and Dell, and he played a foundational role at Opscode (now Chef).
In addition, John founded Gulf Breeze Software, an award-winning IBM business partner recognized for its successful deployment of Tivoli technology for enterprise clients. He has authored six IBM Redbooks on enterprise systems management and served as the founder and chief architect of Chain Bridge Systems. Altogether, John has written more than 11 books and launched over 10 startups, cementing his reputation as a significant innovator in the IT industry.
In this episode, the discussion navigates the intersection of lean principles, agile methodologies, and Deming's philosophies as they apply to modern IT and operations. John delves into how systems thinking, profound knowledge, and psychological safety underpin effective incident management and cybersecurity practices. The conversation explores practical challenges and the proactive strategies necessary for integrating legacy improvement methods with today's cloud innovations and infrastructure as code.
Throughout the episode, John examines the real-world application of these timeless principles, offering listeners actionable insights into continuous improvement and risk management. He highlights the importance of questioning established norms and embracing complexity to drive operational excellence, providing a compelling roadmap for navigating the evolving digital landscape.
Questions, Notes, and Highlights:
- Could you share your origin story regarding Lean and continuous improvement--specifically, what you learned during your early years at Exxon?
- How have you seen Deming's principle of eliminating fear put into practice in IT and entrepreneurial settings?
- Is the phenomenon you described established fact or more of a hypothesis?
- How can we confirm or measure the validity of that knowledge?
- Why do you consider cyber terrorism one of today's most significant threats?
This podcast is part of the #LeanCommunicators network.