Competition should not be for a share of the market-but to expand the market.
W. Edwards DemingRead
Eighty-five percent of the reasons for failure are deficiencies in the systems and process rather than the employee. The role of management is to change the process rather than badgering individuals to do better.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Failure is often due to inadequate systems, not individual performance, and management should focus on improving processes.
W. Edwards Deming's quote emphasizes that a significant portion of failures in organizations can be attributed to insufficient systems and processes rather than the shortcomings of individual employees. He suggests that instead of pressuring individuals to perform better, management should take responsibility for analyzing and improving the underlying processes in order to foster a more effective and productive work environment.
Themes
FailureManagementProcessSystemsLeadership
In practice
Example use cases
In a team meeting discussing project setbacks, this quote could serve as a reminder to evaluate and improve our systems rather than placing blame.
More from W. Edwards Deming
All quotes →The job can't be finished only improved to please the customer.
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Just because you can measure everything doesn't mean that you should.
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