Total Quality Management and Quality of Life Coaching

by Joe Dean Williams PhD
(Aptos, CA, US)

Total Quality Management and Quality of Life Coaching

© Joe Dean Williams, PhD
April 12, 2012

The beauty of Deming's philosophy of management is its human-centric focus. Reading Deming's Fourteen Points and Profound Knowledge leads to the realization that he viewed people as any business or organization's greatest asset. He clearly explains how to release employees' creative power and optimum performance.

I first encountered TQM (Deming style) while working over thirty years in mental health and related settings as both an administrator and counselor. As a youthful senior, I went back to school and got a PhD in TQM, with a focus on human services. Combining the new knowledge with my established training and experience, I decided to form a private practice as a Quality of Life Coach; merging counseling and management with life coaching, grounded on Deming's philosophy of management.

A way to view one's personal life is from a management perspective. For example, my life is a complex system with many processes, all of which can be examined individually and together. Root cause applies; special and common cause applies; PDSA cycles apply; management by data applies; releasing creativity and optimum performance applies, and most of all, focus on the internal customer, one's self. Most of us are looking for purpose and meaning in life, and have a vision and mission statement, albeit perhaps not very well articulated. The phrase I like to use is: successful, yet not fulfilled in some way. Many dreams have been derailed by the need to get a job and pay the bills.

Discernment and wisdom are more difficult than ever to come by in our very high pressure and complex society and growing global context. What I have come to realize even more clearly at this time of my life is that a core set of values and principles can really help negotiate life's complexities and lead to a much better quality of life. With that in mind another wonderful aspect of Deming's work is that his philosophy and principles of management are compatible with most cultural and spiritual settings. TQM is working globally; it can and does work individually, in families, and the community.

Finally, Deming's work is holistic; it works with the entire person. Communication, self-care, nutrition, parenting, caring for elders, career, personal development; any life challenge large or small; mental health issues. All fall easily under the aegis of Deming/TQM

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