W. Edwards Deming Quotes - Page 3

A leader is a coach, not a judge.

When asked what single event was most helpful in developing the Theory of Relativity, Albert Einstein replied, "Figuring out how to think about the problem".

Quality starts in the boardroom.

Research shows that the climate of an organization influences an individuals contribution far more than the individual himself.

When we cooperate, everybody wins.

All models are wrong; some models are useful.

To manage one must lead. To lead, one must understand the work that he and his people are responsible for

Eliminate slogans, exhortations, and targets for the work force asking for zero defects and new levels of productivity. Such exhortations only create adversarial relationships, as the bulk of the causes of low quality and low productivity belong to the system and thus lie beyond the power of the work force

Does experience help? NO! Not if we are doing the wrong things.

A system is a network of interdependent components that work together to try to accomplish the aim of the system. A system must have an aim. Without the aim, there is no system.

Long-term commitment to new learning and new philosophy is required of any management that seeks transformation. The timid and the fainthearted, and the people that expect quick results, are doomed to disappointment.

Management's job is to optimize the whole system.

If you destroy the people of a company, you do not have much left.

Whenever there is fear, you will get wrong figures.

Nothing happens without personal transformation.

You have to manage a system. The system doesn't manage itself.

Eighty percent of American managers cannot answer with any measure of confidence these seemingly simple questions: What is my job? What in it really counts? How well am I doing?

Without questions, there is no learning.

The system that people work in and the interaction with people may account for 90 or 95 percent of performance.

Part of America's industrial problems is the aim of its corporate managers. Most American executives think they are in the business to make money, rather than products or service. The Japanese corporate credo, on the other hand, is that a company should become the world's most efficient provider of whatever product and service it offers. Once it becomes the world leader and continues to offer good products, profits follow.

We cannot rely on mass inspection to improve quality, though there are times when 100 percent inspection is necessary. As Harold S. Dodge said many years ago, 'You cannot inspect quality into a product.' The quality is there or it isn't by the time it's inspected.

It is a mistake to assume that if everybody does his job, it will be all right. The whole system may be in trouble.

A committee appointed by the President of a company will report what the President wishes to hear. Would they dare report otherwise?.

Profit in business comes from repeat customers, customers that boast about your project or service, and that bring friends with them.

A leader must have knowledge. A leader must be able to teach.