Quotes by W. Edwards Deming

The supposition is prevalent the world over that there would be no problems in production or service if only our production workers would do their jobs in the way that they were taught. Pleasant dreams. The workers are handicapped by the system, and the system belongs to the management.

It is extension of application that discloses inadequacy of a theory, and need for revision, or even new theory. Again, without theory, there is nothing to revise. Without theory, experience has no meaning. Without theory, one has no questions to ask. Hence without theory, there is no learning.

This may be the world's most underdeveloped nation. We're number 1.

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

Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival.

the aim of leadership should be to improve the performance of man and machine, to improve quality, to increase output, and simultaneously to bring pride of workmanship to people. Put in a negative way, the aim of leadership is not merely to find and record failures of men, but to remove the causes of failure: to help people to do a better job with less effort.

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

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

It is easy to date an earthquake, but not an economic decline.

our system of make-and-inspect, which if applied to making toast would be expressed: “You burn, I’ll scrape.”