"One of [[Walter Shewhart|Shewhart]]’s models became a cornerstone of [[W Edwards Deming|Deming]]’s teachings. I**t was the cycle for continuous improvement, often referred to as the PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) cycle**. There are many variations in the words used, but the cycle is a fundamental concept in performance improvement. Basically it pictures a heavy sphere moving up an incline by rotating constantly through the steps of planning, implementing, measuring, being dissatisfied with the results, and starting the cycle over again. Over time, the results keep improving and the ball progresses up the incline toward perfection, which is always just out of reach. **The point here is that it takes being dissatisfied with current results to keep the ball from resting in a state of inertia or rolling backward**. What inspires and motivates and is ultimately gratifying to people is the positive trend they see over time, which makes all their cyclical efforts worthwhile." --- **Tags** -- [[quotes]], [[continuous-improvement]], [[kaizen]], [[motivation]], [[innovation]] **Source** -- [[20250112015442 - B - If Disney Ran Your Hospital]]