Deming Devotional #1: Where Transformation Begins
An Experiment in Motivating Personal Change Through Reflection on Deming
Long-term commitment to new learning and new philosophy is required of any management that seeks transformation. The timid and the fainthearted, and people that expect quick results, are doomed to disappointment.
Solving problems, big problems and little problems, will not halt the decline of American industry, nor will expansion in use of computers, gadgets, and robotic machinery. Benefits from massive expansion of new machinery also constitute a vain hope. Massive immediate expansion in the teaching of statistical methods to production workers is not the answer either, nor wholesale flashes of quality control circles (QC-Circles). All these activities make their contribution, but they only prolong the life of the patient; they can not halt the decline. Only transformation of the American style of management, and of governmental relations with industry, can halt the decline and give American industry a chance to lead the world again.
Deming, W. Edwards. Out of the Crisis (The MIT Press) (Preface, p. ii)
THE AIM for this new style of post is to try an experiment in bringing Dr. Deming’s thinking into your world more directly through reflection on distilled excerpts from his books, lectures, and interviews. My theory is that this exercise, probably once or twice a week, can help to transform your own thinking or that of those you seek to influence toward developing an intrinsic curiosity about leading purposeful change with a Deming view.
Think of it as a super-distillation of a longer-form Digestible Deming post, but aimed more at just reflecting on Deming’s thinking with the aim to shift your own.
I’ve chosen the above excerpt to start with because I think it meets with our times in the dawning age of AI super-automation and the massive upheavals in our economy and society it is leaving in its wake while leaving the prevailing style of management used almost everywhere unchanged.
In this passage, drawn from the preface of his first major management book, Out of the Crisis, Dr. Deming lays out his perspective on where transformation begins: with the commitment to long-term learning. He warns that this is hard work and disappointment awaits those with expectations of quick turnarounds and lasting results. He further observes that our salvation won’t be found in more computers, gadgets, or robotic machinery, which only prolong the life of our patient, but in solving problems in our current thinking about management.
Instructions for Use
First, use this passage for a personal moment of reflection and thought:
Consider Dr. Deming’s thinking and proposal for halting the decline of (North) American industry. What words or phrases strike you most? What reaction does it provoke in you? Do you agree? What are the implications? How feasible do you think it is? What holds this kind of change back? Does all management seek transformation, or quick results? Why?
Consider any questions that come to mind — write them down. Reflect on what the passage means in your current situation.
Second, share this passage with a friend or colleague you’d like to influence. Dr. Deming himself was a consummate student, always seeking new knowledge and the perspectives of others. What can you learn? Do you align or depart in meaningful ways? Why?
