Home / Authors / W. Edwards Deming

W. Edwards Deming

W. Edwards Deming Quotes

Statistician

W. Edwards Deming was a renowned statistician and management consultant, best known for his contributions to quality management theory. He worked for the United States Navy during World War II and later promoted the concept of statistical process control (SPC). Deming's theories and methods had a profound impact on the manufacturing industries in Japan and other countries, widely regarded as a key factor in Japan's economic miracle.

Filter quotes by topic

All Management Quality People Knows Should Customers Jobs Aim Improvement Needs Theory Ifs Important Products Problem Risk Risk Management Doe Helping Learning

Famous W. Edwards Deming Quotes

“To successfully respond to the myriad of changes that shake the world, transformation into a new style of management is required. The route to take is what I call profound knowledge, knowledge for leadership of transformation.”

World Style Transformation Management Profound Shakes Routes

Author:W. Edwards Deming

“Knowledge is theory. We should be thankful if action of management is based on theory. Knowledge has temporal spread. Information is not knowledge. The world is drowning in information but is slow in acquisition of knowledge. There is no substitute for knowledge.”

Ifs World Should Action Information Theory Management Spread Substitutes Being Thankful Drowning Acquisition

Author:W. Edwards Deming

“All anyone asks for is a chance to work with pride.”

Asks Chance Quality Pride Management Quality Work Quality In Business

Author:W. Edwards Deming

“The emphasis should be on why we do a job.”

Should Jobs Quality Management Improvement Business Success Emphasis Quality In Business

Author:W. Edwards Deming

“Whenever there is fear, you will get wrong figures.”

Reality Quality Figures Management Improvement Quality In Business

Author:W. Edwards Deming

“Any manager can do well in an expanding market.”

Wells Can Do Management Managers Expanding

Author:W. Edwards Deming

“When a system is stable, telling the worker about mistakes is only tampering.”

Mistake Quality Management Workers Stable Quality In Business

Author:W. Edwards Deming

“Eliminate numerical quotas, including Management by Objectives.”

Knowledge Learning Management Including Objectives Quota

Author:W. Edwards Deming

“Two basic rules of life are: 1) Change is inevitable. 2) Everybody resists change.”

Two Knowledge Learning Management Inevitable Rules Of Life Change Is Inevitable

Author:W. Edwards Deming

“Our prevailing system of management has destroyed our people. People are born with intrinsic motivation, self-respect, dignity, curiosity to learn, joy in learning. The forces of destruction begin with toddlers - a prize for the best Halloween costume, grades in school, gold stars - and on up through the university. On the job people, teams, and divisions are ranked, reward for the top, punishment for the bottom. Management by Objectives, quotas, incentive pay, business plans, put together separately, division by division, cause further loss, unknown and unknowable.”

“It's management's job to know.”

Knows Jobs Management

Author:W. Edwards Deming

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

Important Figures Organization Management

Author:W. Edwards Deming

“Management does not know what a system is.”

Knows Doe Management

Author:W. Edwards Deming

“Cease dependence on inspection to achieve quality. Eliminate the need for inspection on a mass basis by building quality into the product in the first place.”

Needs Firsts Quality Risk Achieve Building Products Mass Bases Management Cease Dependence Risk Management Inspection

Book:The Essential Deming: Leadership Principles from the Father of Quality

Source: The Essential Deming: Leadership Principles from the Father of Quality

“Management by results - like driving a car by looking in rear view mirror.”

Results Views Risk Car Mirrors Management Driving Risk Management Rear View Rear View Mirror

Author:W. Edwards Deming

“Quality is made in the board room. A worker can deliver lower quality, but she cannot deliver quality better than the system allow.”

Made Rooms Quality Risk Management Workers Boards Risk Management

Author:W. Edwards Deming

“The aim proposed here for any organization is for everybody to gain - stockholders, employees, suppliers, customers, community, the environment - over the long term.”

Long Term Community Environment Risk Gains Organization Aim Management Customers Long Term Employee Risk Management Suppliers

Author:W. Edwards Deming

“To copy is to invite disaster.”

Risk Management Disaster Copies Invites Risk Management

Author:W. Edwards Deming

“No one can measure the loss of business that may arise from a defective item that goes out to a customer.”

May Loss Risk Management Customers Arise Items Risk Management Defective

Book:The Essential Deming: Leadership Principles from the Father of Quality

Source: The Essential Deming: Leadership Principles from the Father of Quality

“I should estimate that in my experience most troubles and most possibilities for improvement add up to the proportions something like this: 94% belongs to the system responsibility of management 6% special”

Should Responsibility Risk Trouble Special Possibility Management Add Improvement Proportion Risk Management

Author:W. Edwards Deming

“Managers don't like giving appraisals, and employees don't like getting them. Perhaps they're not liked because both parties suspect what the evidence has proved for decades: Traditional performance appraisals don't work.”

Giving Party Risk Evidence Performances Management Decades Traditional Managers Employee Suspects Risk Management Appraisal

Author:W. Edwards Deming

“The most basic problem is that performance appraisals often don't accurately assess performance.”

Problem Risk Performances Management Risk Management Appraisal

Author:W. Edwards Deming

“If you do not know how to ask the right question, you discover nothing.”

Ifs Knows Asks Quality Know How Management Improvement Continuous Improvement Right Questions Quality In Business Asking The Right Questions

Author:W. Edwards Deming

“Quality starts in the boardroom.”

Quality Management

Author:W. Edwards Deming

“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?”

Wells Jobs Simple Answers Percent Management Managers Eighty

Author:W. Edwards Deming

“Eighty-five percent of the reasons for failure are deficiencies in the systems and process rather than the employee. The role of management is to change the process rather than badgering individuals to do better.”

Reason Individual Process Roles Five Percent Management Employee Eighty Deficiency Systems And Processes

Author:W. Edwards Deming

“You can not hear what you do not understand.”

Understanding Management Can Not

Author:W. Edwards Deming

“Failure of management to plan for the future and to foresee problems has brought about waste of manpower, of materials, of the machine-time, of all which raise the manufacturer's cost and price that the purchaser must pay”

Problem Pay Quality Plans Materials Cost Waste Machines Raises Management Manpower Purchasers

Author:W. Edwards Deming

About the Author

Born: October 14, 1900
Died: December 20, 1993
Known for: Statistician
Quotes: 229

Related Topics

Management Quality People Knows Should Customers Jobs Aim Improvement Needs Theory Ifs Important Products Problem Risk Risk Management Doe Helping Learning

Popular Topics

People Ifs Thinking Knows Men World Way Want Love Life Inspirational Needs Giving Feels Should Writing Trying Years Mind Firsts

Books & Sources

The Essential Deming: Leadership Principles from the Father of QualityRelated source material

Similar Authors

Brian L. JoinerBrowse related quotes
John TusaBrowse related quotes
Robert H. JohnsonBrowse related quotes
Robert HellerBrowse related quotes
Oswald GrubelBrowse related quotes
Jason JordanBrowse related quotes
William HunterBrowse related quotes
Richard MoranBrowse related quotes
Peter DruckerBrowse related quotes
Richard PascaleBrowse related quotes