Quotes by W. Edwards Deming

There is no substitute for knowledge.


It is wrong to suppose that if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it – a costly myth.


A system must have an aim. Without an aim, there is no system.


Information is not knowledge.


As I use the term here, the job of a leader is to accomplish transformation of his organization. He possesses knowledge, personality, and persuasive power.


An operational definition is a procedure agreed upon for translation of a concept into measurement of some kind.


Money and time spent for training will be ineffective unless inhibitors to good work are removed.


The transformation can only be accomplished by man, not by hardware (computers, gadgets, automation, new machinery). A company can not buy its way into quality.


How can she put forth her best efforts when no matter how carefully she works, the item will still be defective? If no one cares, why should she? In contrast, when defects are rare or nonexistent or well explained, she understands that the management are accepting their proper responsibility, and she feels an obligation to put forth her best efforts: they are now effective.


The System of Profound Knowledge provides a lens. It provides a new map of theory by which to understand and optimize that we work in, and thus to make a contribution to the whole country.