“The economic loss from fear”, says Deming, “is appalling … [so, we should] Drive out fear”.
An extract from a 1981 article from Deming (summary posted in the new year), highlighting the negative role that fear has in creating silence of ideas, asking questions, or improving process and conditions.
Fear also creates an “inability to serve the best interests of the company”.
And besides the hugely important part of human wellbeing, the need for people to feel secure is also “…necessary … for better quality and productivity”.
[Note: When Deming says workers don’t understand what the job is, nor what is right or wrong, he’s referring more to a deep statistical basis of understanding the system and systems of production – not their technical ability or knowledge.]
I don’t have much else to say.
Ref: Deming, W. E. (1981). Improvement of quality and productivity through action by management. National productivity review, 1(1), 12-22.
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