W. Edwards Deming’s ideas about leadership, systems, variation, and psychology continue to shape how organizations pursue quality and improvement. This archive brings together blog posts, podcasts, and reflections exploring Deming’s teachings—and how they apply to Lean, healthcare, management, and continuous improvement today. Many of these posts challenge common misinterpretations of Deming’s work, emphasizing that quality cannot be delegated and that improvement starts with leadership.
My guest for episode #170 is Stephen Parry, joining us from England. He is a keynote speaker at the upcoming Lean Kanban North America conference in late April. I will also be a main stage speaker at the event. Parry…
In all of the news of the newly announced Pope Francis, this line from a news article made me chuckle… after three votes did not result in the election of a Pope: “You can’t expect a microwave pope. It’s a…
Producer Clare Crawford-Mason shares behind-the-scenes stories of W. Edwards Deming and the 1980 NBC documentary If Japan Can Do It, Why Can’t We?–and reflects on Deming’s lasting impact on management, healthcare, and leadership. Listen: My guest for episode #167 is…
I’m still reflecting on what a great conference the Society for Health Systems put on again this year. Here are some highlights from other talks… (see also my previous two posts)… if you’re curious about “Shocking Doctors” in the post…
I think this was my sixth consecutive year attending the annual Society for Health Systems Conference, held this year in New Orleans. In the next few posts, I will share at least one key point from the talks and sessions…
Don’t threaten people with this quote… One of the more popular email-signature quotes I still see–especially among Lean practitioners–is this supposed gem from Dr. W. Edwards Deming: “It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.” It pops up…
“A bad system, will defeat a good person, every time.” — W. Edwards Deming Would you polish drinking glasses at home with the furniture cleaner Lemon Pledge? Of course not – it’s got to be poisonous or at least harmful.…
TL;DR: W. Edwards Deming and Toyota each landed on 14 core principles, independently. They overlap most around long-term thinking, leadership responsibility, respect for people, and continuous improvement. The shared lesson holds in 2026: real improvement comes from disciplined, connected management…
Mark’s note — today’s guest post is by my friend Karen Martin, my guest for Podcast #151 where we talked about her latest book The Outstanding Organization: Generate Business Results by Eliminating Chaos and Building the Foundation for Everyday Excellence. Karen…
There is a wonderful two-hour video of Dr. W. Edwards Deming addressing a university in Connecticut back in 1990. There’s so much wisdom in what he says… but some have impatience, hin this fast-paced ADD day and age, for what…
No, this is not a program of Kaizen, or continuous improvement, for babies. Babies naturally grow, try new things, and gain new capabilities. But, we tend to lose that as adults. As Dr. Deming would say the “forces of destruction”…
As we enter the new year, it’s a great time to reflect back on 2012 – what worked and what didn’t work… what do we plan to do differently in 2013? Those are some of the core questions found on…
