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Part of America's industrial problems is the aim of its corporate managers. Most American executives think they are in the business to make money, rather than products or service...The Japanese corporate credo, on the other hand, is that a company should become the world's most efficient provider of whatever product and service it offers. Once it becomes the world leader and continues to offer good products, profits follow.

— W. Edwards Deming Out Of The Crisis (1982)

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More quotes by W. Edwards Deming

Improve constantly and forever the system of production and service, to improve quality and productivity, and thus constantly decrease costs.

Out Of The Crisis (1982)

Quality comes not from inspection, but from improvement of the production process.

Out Of The Crisis (1982)

Uncontrolled variation is the enemy of quality.

to Edward Deming (1980)

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

Without data, you're just another person with an opinion.

All W. Edwards Deming quotes →

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Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do, and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: W. Edwards Deming (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.