Opening Insights
Deming was a Mentor of Dr. Richard Jorgensen. Richard’s deep respect for the legacy of Deming is clear and infinite. Richard often says life is a measure of the steps that we take and the people we take those steps with. Richard teaches about the importance of living a life of passion, purpose, skill and wisdom to uncover and discover self and others.
From the W. Edward Deming Institute:
Born on October 14, 1900, Dr. W. Edwards Deming was an eminent scholar and teacher in American academia for more than half a century. He published hundreds of original papers, articles and books covering a wide range of interrelated subjects—from statistical variance, to systems and systems thinking, to human psychology. He was a consultant to business leaders, major corporations, and governments around the world. His efforts lead to the transformation of management that has profoundly impacted manufacturing and service organizations around the world.
https://deming.org/deming-the-man/
Informational Insights
W. Edward Deming Institute continues:
Considered by many to be the master of continual improvement of quality, as well as their overall operation, Deming is best known for his pioneering work in Japan. Beginning in the summer of 1950, he taught top managers and engineers the methods for improving how they worked and learned together. His focus was both internally, between departments, and externally, with their suppliers and customers. As a trusted consultant, Deming significantly contributed to the dramatic turnaround of post-war Japanese industry, and their rise to a world economic power. Dr. Deming’s role as the architect of Japan’s post-World War II industrial transformation is regarded by many Western business schools and economists as one of the most significant achievements of the 20th century (LA Times, 10/25/99.) He is often called the “father of the third wave of the industrial revolution.”
In June 1980, the acclaimed documentary “If Japan Can, Why Can’t We” reintroduced Dr. Deming to America. He quickly became the voice of quality and sparked the quality revolution. Playing a major role in the resurgence of the American automobile industry in the late 1980’s, Dr. Deming consulted with corporations such as Ford, Toyota, Xerox, Ricoh, Sony and Proctor & Gamble, whose businesses were revitalized after adopting his management methods.
Dr. Deming continued to author and lecture well into his 90’s. His final book, The New Economics, was published after his passing in 1993 at the age of 93. It was the culmination of his life’s work, detailing The Deming System of Profound Knowledge®.
Deming was a visionary, whose belief in continual improvement led to a set of transformational theories and teachings that changed the way we think about quality, management, and leadership. He believed in a world where there is joy in learning and joy in work – where “everyone will win.” Throughout his career, he remained devoted to family, supportive of colleagues and friends, and true to his belief in a better world.
https://deming.org/deming-the-man/
As from Encyclopedia Britannica:
W. Edwards Deming in full William Edwards Deming (born Oct. 14, 1900, Sioux City, Iowa, U.S.—died Dec. 20, 1993, Washington, D.C.), American statistician, educator, and consultant whose advocacy of quality-control methods in industrial production aided Japan’s economic recovery after World War II and spurred the subsequent global success of many Japanese firms in the late 20th century.
The son of a small-town lawyer, Deming attended the University of Wyoming (B.S., 1921), University of Colorado (M.S., 1924), and Yale University (Ph.D. in mathematical physics, 1928). He then taught physics at several universities, worked as a mathematical physicist at the United States Department of Agriculture (1927–39), and was a statistical adviser for the U.S. Census Bureau (1939–45). From 1946 to 1993 he was a business consultant and a professor of statistics at New York University’s graduate school of business administration. He was also appointed a distinguished professor in management at Columbia University in 1986.
In the 1930s Deming became interested in ways that statistical analysis could achieve better quality control in industry. Deming’s quality-control methods were based on a systematic tallying of product defects that included the identification and analysis of their causes. Once the causes of defects were corrected, the outcomes were tracked to measure the effects of those corrections on subsequent product quality.
In 1950 Japanese business leaders invited Deming to Japan to teach executives and engineers about the new methods. Japanese companies quickly adopted his methods, with the result being a commitment to quality control that helped Japanese firms dominate some product markets in many parts of the world. The Deming Prize (established 1951), awarded annually to Japanese corporations that win a rigorous quality-control competition, is named in Deming’s honor. It was not until the 1980s that Deming’s ideas were adopted by American corporations seeking to compete more effectively in the world market.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/W-Edwards-Deming | W. Edwards Deming | American statistician and educator | Britannica.com
Possibilities for Consideration
Many people today are so wrapped up in self they fail to relate, connect and learn from great mentors, leaders and teachers and their legacies die along with them. We must change the tide and paradigm of selfishness, if we are to survive and truly live amongst and within the human race. In doing so, we must learn to value great leaders, men and teachers past and present.
Take a moment and examine…
- As you reviewed the material above, what stood out to you?
- What is the potential impact, economically and/or socially?
- What action is needed to stop or support this idea?
- You may want to consider whether you:
- want to be aware of,
- should become supportive of,
- would want to be active in this topic?
Add Your Insight
I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply.
Being willing is not enough; we must do.
LEONARDO DA VINCI