1900 - 1993
W. Edwards Deming (1900-1993) was an American statistician, professor, author, and consultant. He is best known for his work in Japan after World War II, where he taught statistical process control methods to improve quality in manufacturing and management. Deming's principles later became the foundation for Total Quality Management (TQM) and had a significant impact on the global industry.
If you can't describe what you are doing as a process, you don't know what you're doing.
Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival.
A cardinal principle of Total Quality escapes too many managers: you cannot continuously improve interdependent systems and processes until you progressively perfect interdependent, interpersonal relationships.
In God we trust; all others must bring data.
One good test is worth a thousand expert opinions.
Profit in business comes from repeat customers, customers that boast about your project or service, and that bring friends with them.
Attempting to change an organization’s culture is a folly; it always fails. People’s behavior is a product of the system; when you change the system, peoples’ behavior changes.