Quotes from W. Edwards Deming

Management must understand design of product and of service, procurement of materials, problems of production, process control, and barriers on the job that rob the hourly worker of his birthright, the right to pride of workmanship.

The wealth of a nation depends on its people, management, and government, more than on its natural resources.

Poor quality begets poor quality and lowers productivity all along the line, and some of the faulty product goes out the door, into the hands of the customer. And unhappy customer tells his friends. The multiplying effect of an unhappy customer is one of those unknown and unknowable figures, and likewise for the multiplying effect of a happy customer, who brings in business.

Experience alone, without theory, teaches management nothing about what to do to improve quality and competitive position, nor how to do it.

Experience alone, without theory, teaches management nothing about what to do to improve quality and competitive position, nor how to do it. Experience will answer a question, and a question comes from theory.

The most important figures needed for management of any organization are unknown and unknowable.

It is not enough that top management commit themselves for life to quality and productivity. They must know what it is that they are committed to- that is what they must do.

MBWA (management by walking around) is hardly ever effective. The reason is that someone in management, walking around, has little idea about what questions to ask, and usually does not pause long enough at any spot to get the right answer.

The aim of supervision should be to help people and machines and gadgets to do a better job.

Put everybody in the company to work to accomplish the transformation. The transformation is everybody's job.

There are two problems: i. Problems of today; ii. Problems of tomorrow, for the company that hopes to stay in business

The purchasing department must change its focus from lowest initial cost of material purchased to lowest total cost.

Two items from two different suppliers met the specifications, yet they were sufficiently different for one to be usable, the other usable only with costly rework, a heavy loss to the plant. The explanation was that one supplier understood what the blocks were to be used for , the other did not - he mere satisfied the specifications.

She asked a vendor if it would not be a good idea to inform the customer that his order will come late. No, he would get mad. Well, what happens when you deliver order late? He gets mad. Then why didn't you tell him in advance, so that he could prepare? He would get mad twice.

Money and time spent for training will be ineffective unless inhibitors to good work are removed.

A new president came, talked with the head of sales, design, manufacturing, consumer research, and so forth. Everybody was doing a superb job, and had been doing so for years. Nobody had any problems. Yet somehow or other the company was going down the tube. Why? The answer was simple. Each staff area was sub-optimizing its own work, but not working as a team for the company.

The fact is, they tell me, that they are forced to cut corners to meet production. They never have time to finish anything. Push for production robs them of the chance to go into the production area to learn the problems created by the designs that they construct.

These suggestions are only preliminary. A statistician on the job will of course modify and revise them to suit his own inclinations and local conditions.

Blame the process, not the people.

The job of management is to replace work standards by knowledgeable and intelligent leadership.

How can he, when, after stopping his machine to adjust it because it was making only defective product, the foreman comes and along and orders him in two words, "Run it". In other words, "Make defective product.

The superintendent is afraid to make a decision. If he does nothing, he has nothing to explain to his superiors. No explanation is required if a man in management for doing nothing.

A supervisor comes in and is gone in five weeks. Another one comes in. He likewise knows nothing about this job and has no intention to learn much about it, as he too will move on any day.

You can't build quality by inspection, but when the quality is not there, the inspection may be the only answer.