W. Edwards Deming Biography Quotes 22 Report mistakes

Early Life and Education
W. Edwards Deming, born William Edwards Deming in 1900 in Sioux City, Iowa, grew up in the American West, where his family moved when he was young. He developed an early interest in mathematics, engineering, and practical problem solving, interests that would shape his lifelong commitment to understanding variation and improving systems. He studied electrical engineering at the University of Wyoming, earning a bachelor's degree in 1921. He continued with graduate work in mathematics and physics at the University of Colorado, obtaining a master's degree in 1925, and completed a PhD in mathematical physics at Yale University in 1928. This blend of engineering, physics, and quantitative analysis set the foundation for a career that would bridge science, statistics, and management.

Formative Influences in Statistics and Quality
As a young scholar and government scientist, Deming encountered the emerging field of statistical quality control. He learned directly from Walter A. Shewhart of Bell Telephone Laboratories, whose control charts and concepts of common and special causes of variation profoundly influenced Deming's thinking. Deming also drew on the work of Harold F. Dodge in acceptance sampling and on the theoretical advances of Jerzy Neyman in probability sampling. He built a distinctive synthesis: using statistical tools not only to detect problems, but to transform how leaders think about processes, systems, and responsibility for quality.

Government Service and Statistical Innovation
Deming worked in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where he combined research with teaching at the department's graduate school, training scientists and administrators in statistical methods. He later served at the U.S. Census Bureau around the time of the 1940 census, becoming a forceful advocate for probability sampling and for the practical application of statistical thinking in large-scale government operations. His efforts, strengthened by bringing Jerzy Neyman's ideas to federal statisticians, helped establish modern sampling methods in federal surveys. During this period, Deming authored Statistical Adjustment of Data (1943), a book that codified techniques for dealing with measurement and observational error, and he began writing and teaching for broad audiences of engineers, statisticians, and managers.

World War II and Industrial Training
During World War II, Deming trained thousands of engineers, supervisors, and production workers in statistical process control so that wartime manufacturing could achieve consistent, predictable quality. Building on Shewhart's approach, he emphasized understanding variation, using data to guide action, and improving the system rather than blaming individuals. This practical wartime education showed industry leaders that statistics could be a day-to-day tool on the factory floor, not just an academic specialty.

Japan and the Deming Prize
After the war, Deming was invited to Japan, initially to advise on statistical methods for the national census under the Allied occupation authorities. In 1950, at the invitation of the Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers (JUSE), he delivered a landmark series of lectures on quality management to executives, engineers, and scholars. He taught that quality begins in the boardroom, that most problems are systemic, and that leadership must create an environment where people can do great work. Japanese leaders took his message seriously, integrating these ideas into corporate strategy and daily practice.

To recognize and encourage this transformation, JUSE established the Deming Prize in 1951, one of the world's most respected honors for quality and organizational excellence. Deming's work in Japan intersected with the contributions of important figures such as Kaoru Ishikawa, who developed cause-and-effect diagrams and quality circles; Genichi Taguchi, known for robust design; and Joseph M. Juran, a fellow pioneer in quality management who also lectured widely in Japan. Together, these leaders helped embed a culture of continuous improvement across Japanese industry, from manufacturing to services.

Management Philosophy and Method
Deming articulated a philosophy that he later summarized as the System of Profound Knowledge, with four interrelated components: appreciation for a system, knowledge of variation, theory of knowledge, and psychology. He argued that leaders must view the organization as a system of interdependent components working toward a stated aim; that variation must be understood statistically so that responses are appropriate and non-random; that decisions should be grounded in a theory that can be tested and refined; and that human behavior, motivation, and dignity are central to improvement.

He popularized a cycle of learning and improvement that he called Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA), adapting and extending Shewhart's original ideas. In Deming's view, PDSA represents iterative, evidence-based progress: plan a change, try it on a small scale, study the results, and act on what is learned. He also set out his famous 14 Points for Management, which urged constancy of purpose, refusal to manage by fear, elimination of slogans and arbitrary quotas, and partnership with suppliers, while calling for leadership that develops people and improves processes. These points challenged prevailing practices that rewarded short-term gains over long-term capability.

Teaching, Consulting, and Professional Engagement
From the mid-1940s onward, Deming served on the faculty of the New York University Graduate School of Business Administration, teaching statistics and management. He conducted rigorous four-day seminars around the world that attracted executives, engineers, and public officials. In these sessions he combined statistics, case studies, and direct critiques of management habits. He was active in professional societies such as the American Statistical Association and engaged a network of colleagues and students who extended his methods into diverse fields.

American Reawakening in the 1980s
For decades, Deming was better known in Japan than in his home country. That changed in 1980 when the NBC documentary If Japan Can… Why Can't We? introduced him to a broad American audience. Journalists Lloyd Dobyns and Clare Crawford-Mason brought his ideas into living rooms and boardrooms, sparking interest among corporate leaders confronted by global competition. Senior executives at major firms sought his counsel; at Ford Motor Company, for example, leaders including Donald Petersen listened as Deming insisted that management, not the workforce, held responsibility for quality. Companies began adopting statistical process control, cross-functional teamwork, customer-focused design, and long-term thinking, reporting notable gains in quality, reliability, and market share.

Publications and Ideas in Print
Deming wrote with clarity and urgency. Some Theory of Sampling (1950) became a standard reference for survey statisticians. Out of the Crisis (first published in the early 1980s) set forth his critique of Western management and offered the 14 Points as a guide to transformation. The New Economics for Industry, Government, Education (1993) distilled the System of Profound Knowledge and emphasized learning as the core of organizational life. Across these works he warned against reliance on visible figures alone, cautioned about the damage of arbitrary targets, and urged leaders to understand the cost of variation, rework, and wasted human potential.

Relationships and Influence
Deming's career is inseparable from the people who influenced and worked alongside him. Walter A. Shewhart provided the conceptual groundwork on variation and control. Jerzy Neyman's advances in sampling helped Deming modernize federal statistics. Industrial statisticians such as Harold F. Dodge built practical tools that Deming brought into everyday use. In Japan, Kaoru Ishikawa and Genichi Taguchi developed methods that complemented Deming's management philosophy, while Joseph M. Juran advocated managerial responsibility for quality, often in parallel with Deming's message. In the media and corporate arena, Lloyd Dobyns and Clare Crawford-Mason amplified his voice, and business leaders such as Donald Petersen applied his ideas at scale. This web of relationships, spanning academia, government, industry, and journalism, turned statistical thinking into a global movement for better management.

Later Years and Legacy
Into his nineties, Deming continued to teach, consult, and refine his ideas, holding seminars that filled halls with people seeking practical ways to improve. He lived and worked in the Washington, D.C., area, advising organizations in manufacturing, healthcare, government, and education. He died in 1993 at the age of 93.

Deming's legacy endures in the many organizations that transformed their results by transforming their systems, in the Deming Prize that continues to recognize excellence, and in the everyday language of quality and improvement that his work helped to define. He showed that quality is made, not inspected; that most failures are systemic; and that leadership grounded in knowledge and respect for people can create the conditions for learning, innovation, and enduring competitiveness. His synthesis of statistics and management remains one of the most influential bodies of thought in modern organizational life.

Our collection contains 22 quotes who is written by Edwards Deming, under the main topics: Learning - Work Ethic - Knowledge - Reason & Logic - Change.

Other people realated to Edwards Deming: Phil Crosby (Author), William Glasser (Psychologist), Donald Berwick (Public Servant)

• 1993 The New Economics: For Industry, Government, Education (Book)
• 1982 Out of the Crisis (Book)
• 1943 Statistical Adjustment of Data (Non-fiction)