John Seddon

John Seddon is a British occupational psychologist and "management guru", specialising in the service industry. He is lead consultant of Vanguard, a consultancy company he formed in 1985. [http://www.speakers-uk.com/profile.phtml?id=219&act_id=1&sid=82 John Seddon biography] on speakers-uk.com. Accessed 3 August 2007.]

Management consultancy

Seddon has grown to prominence as a management consultant following attacks on current British management thinking, such as the NHS modernisation agenda and ISO9000. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardian_jobs_and_money/story/0,,1508734,00.html Teaming Up With Local Teens] , June 18 2005, "The Guardian". Accessed 3 August 2007.] The "Daily Telegraph" described him as a "reluctant management guru", with a background in clinical psychology." [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/core/Content/displayPrintable.jhtml?xml=/money/2006/02/16/ccboot16.xml&site=1 Bootcamp tactics won’t win the battle] ", Stefan Stern, "Daily Telegraph", 16 February 2006.]

He is known for adapting the Toyota Production System and the work of W. Edwards Deming and Taiichi Ohno into a methodology for improving performance in service industries he describes as "systems thinking", as opposed to the top-down rigid "management thinking" (or "Command and Control" thinking) that predominates most service industries today. He is particularly critical of target-based management, and of basing decisions on economies of scale, rather than "economies of flow"."Freedom from Command and Control: a better way to make the work work", John Seddon (2003), Vanguard Press. (ISBN 0-9546183-0-0)]

John Seddon has published four books. A website that reviews management books described Seddon's work, "Freedom from Command and Control", as an important read for service industry professionals, labelling it "convincing" and "valuable", but criticised it for being "dense, sometimes repetitive, and inherently self-promotional". [http://www.trustedleader.org/book_reviews_g.asp?page=78 Book Reviews] , www.trustedleader.com (17 May 2005). Accessed 3 August 2007.] In his 2008 book, "Systems Thinking in the Public Sector", he provided a fundamental criticism of the UK Government reform programme and advocated its replacement by systems thinking.

Academia

John Seddon earned a BSc (Hons) in Psychology with the University of Wales in 1974, and graduated with an MSc in occupational psychology from the University of London in 1977. [http://www.cf.ac.uk/carbs/lom/lerc/centre/staff/seddon.html Details on John Seddon] from the Lean Enterprise Research Centre. Accessed 3 August 2007.]

He has been awarded the title of honorary visiting professor at the Lean Enterprise Research Centre, at the University of Cardiff. [http://www.cf.ac.uk/carbs/lom/lerc/teaching/MSc/servicemsc.htm MSc in Service Lean] , www.cf.ac.uk. Accessed 3 August 2007.]

Bibliography

*"I Want You to Cheat: the unreasonable guide to service and quality in organisations" (1992) (ISBN 0-9519731-0-X)
*"The Case Against ISO9000: How to create real quality in your organisations" (1996, revised 2000) (ISBN 0-9519731-0-X)
*"Freedom from Command and Control: a better way to make the work work" (2003) (ISBN 0-9546183-0-0)
*"Systems Thinking in the Public Sector: The Failure of the Reform Regime.... and a Manifesto for a Better Way" (2008) (ISBN 978-0-9550081-8-4)

References

External links

* [http://www.lean-service.com Vanguard Consultancy]
* [http://www.lean-service.com/5-3.asp Books by John Seddon]
* [http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/carbs/research/centres_units/lerc/news.html Lean Enterprise Research Centre]
* [http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200203/cmselect/cmpubadm/62-viii/3012305.htm Memorandum by Mr John Seddon] , submitted to Parliament