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The New Economics for Industry, Government, Education, third edition
A new edition of a book that details the system of transformation underlying the 14 Points for Management presented in Deming's Out of the Crisis . It would be better if everyone would work together as a system, with the aim for everybody to win. What we need is cooperation and transformation to a new style of management.”
—from The New Economics for Industry, Government, Education In this book, W. Edwards Deming details the system of transformation that underlies the 14 Points for Management presented in Out of the Crisis . The Deming System of Profound Knowledge, as it is called, consists of four appreciation for a system, knowledge about variation, theory of knowledge, and psychology. Describing the prevailing management style as a prison, Deming shows applying the System of Profound Knowledge increases productivity, quality, and people's joy in work and joy in learning. Another outcome is short-term and long-term success in the market. Indicative of Deming's philosophy is his advice to abolish performance reviews on the job, to look deeper than spreadsheets for opportunities, and even to rethink how we teach and manage our schools. Moreover, Deming's method enables organizations to make accurate predictions, which is a valuable tool in today's uncertain economic climate. This third edition features a new chapter (written by business consultant and Deming expert Kelly L. Allan) that explains the relevance of Deming's management method, and case studies from organizations that have adopted Deming's System of Profound Knowledge, and offers guidance on how organizations can effectively “do Deming.”
—from The New Economics for Industry, Government, Education In this book, W. Edwards Deming details the system of transformation that underlies the 14 Points for Management presented in Out of the Crisis . The Deming System of Profound Knowledge, as it is called, consists of four appreciation for a system, knowledge about variation, theory of knowledge, and psychology. Describing the prevailing management style as a prison, Deming shows applying the System of Profound Knowledge increases productivity, quality, and people's joy in work and joy in learning. Another outcome is short-term and long-term success in the market. Indicative of Deming's philosophy is his advice to abolish performance reviews on the job, to look deeper than spreadsheets for opportunities, and even to rethink how we teach and manage our schools. Moreover, Deming's method enables organizations to make accurate predictions, which is a valuable tool in today's uncertain economic climate. This third edition features a new chapter (written by business consultant and Deming expert Kelly L. Allan) that explains the relevance of Deming's management method, and case studies from organizations that have adopted Deming's System of Profound Knowledge, and offers guidance on how organizations can effectively “do Deming.”
240 pages, Paperback
First published November 30, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews
April 3, 2010
I didn't know what to expect from this - and it turned out to be one of the strangest reads I've had for a long time. The tone of the whole book reads like the translation I have of The Art of War.
Despite being brief, Deming covers a huge amount here. The key topics are:
* systems - treating organisations as wholes rather than bags of parts
* variation - understanding why the output of a system is not perfectly uniform, and the impact this has on correct management
* knowledge - building theories to predict the future over merely consuming information noise
* competition - why it is harmful to systems, and how it can be avoided
* leadership - and the importance of human psychology in this
Deming draws on many powerful anecdotes to explain his point. I prefer, however, the more coherent approach to describing systems found in The Goal. Where Deming gets real leverage is in his descriptions of the Red Bead and Funnel experiments. The Red Bead experiment is more famous, and illustrates the futility of judging people according to their part in a system they are largely helpless to control. But I found the Funnel experiment even more enlightening - illustrating not only the terrible consequences of naively managing by results, but how this can distract from simple solutions to improve a process.
Slightly disappointing is the emphasis on manufacturing/repeatable process over design/creative process. Deming makes one reference to design but does not directly tie this into his management style.
Deming has an agenda. He wants to replace the current system of management - isolated, competing business units; reward schemes; ignorance of theory, variation and psychology - with one of co-operation, intrinsic motivation and understanding of systems. And he wants to replace it in all forms of organisation. But as a social manifesto it has one alarming omission: biology. Deming appears to think that the problem of growing larger and larger co-operative systems is just one of more difficult management. But this assumes that all people want to co-operate in this way, that nobody has a personal, conflicting agenda. While a monopoly may be more efficient than a marketplace, and while it may be in the long-term harmful to abuse a monopoly position, that doesn't stop someone manipulating their way into a position of power and taking short-term advantage. The weakness of Deming's vision is, in my opinion, that it does not contain the assumption that some people will always be selfish and/or evil.
Overall, The New Economics is an immensely valuable collection of ideas for anyone in management (or suffering mismanagement), or with an interest in social change. But I suggest having some skepticism for its idealism.
Despite being brief, Deming covers a huge amount here. The key topics are:
* systems - treating organisations as wholes rather than bags of parts
* variation - understanding why the output of a system is not perfectly uniform, and the impact this has on correct management
* knowledge - building theories to predict the future over merely consuming information noise
* competition - why it is harmful to systems, and how it can be avoided
* leadership - and the importance of human psychology in this
Deming draws on many powerful anecdotes to explain his point. I prefer, however, the more coherent approach to describing systems found in The Goal. Where Deming gets real leverage is in his descriptions of the Red Bead and Funnel experiments. The Red Bead experiment is more famous, and illustrates the futility of judging people according to their part in a system they are largely helpless to control. But I found the Funnel experiment even more enlightening - illustrating not only the terrible consequences of naively managing by results, but how this can distract from simple solutions to improve a process.
Slightly disappointing is the emphasis on manufacturing/repeatable process over design/creative process. Deming makes one reference to design but does not directly tie this into his management style.
Deming has an agenda. He wants to replace the current system of management - isolated, competing business units; reward schemes; ignorance of theory, variation and psychology - with one of co-operation, intrinsic motivation and understanding of systems. And he wants to replace it in all forms of organisation. But as a social manifesto it has one alarming omission: biology. Deming appears to think that the problem of growing larger and larger co-operative systems is just one of more difficult management. But this assumes that all people want to co-operate in this way, that nobody has a personal, conflicting agenda. While a monopoly may be more efficient than a marketplace, and while it may be in the long-term harmful to abuse a monopoly position, that doesn't stop someone manipulating their way into a position of power and taking short-term advantage. The weakness of Deming's vision is, in my opinion, that it does not contain the assumption that some people will always be selfish and/or evil.
Overall, The New Economics is an immensely valuable collection of ideas for anyone in management (or suffering mismanagement), or with an interest in social change. But I suggest having some skepticism for its idealism.
June 22, 2021
Delicious Deming. Even better (or at least more concise) than Out of the Crisis. Inspires me to keep digging and read the related reading by Scherkenbach, Orsini, and others.
February 20, 2020
The New Economics is a series of flashcards, carrying telegraphic versions of Deming's Big Ideas. Deming, of course, was an American economist who helped trained the Japanese in a new style of quality management that arguably lead to decades of Japanese dominance in high technology. His ideas lay behind the Toyota Production System, and the maligned TPS reports of Office Space. He also passed away in 1993, just as Japan entered its lost decade. The New Economics was his last book.
The center of his ideas holds up. Think of a company as a system, with management's role being to organize the system for quality. Understanding that there is natural variation in a system, and don't go chasing randomness. Treat workers as humans beings and approach their psychology as high-morale team members, rather than creating self-defeating 'meritocratic' ranking systems.
But this book is scattered, organized anecdotally rather than thematically. It's one thing to proclaim that 'the firm is a system', but Deming lacks the theoretical tools to describe how systems self-organize and can be governed. It's a little unfair to argue that a dead man should be current with the latest research, but this book would be so much better in conversation with the Sante Fe Institute (see Mitchell's Complexity: A Guided Tour, John Boyd's OODA loop (Richard's Certain to Win, or even the intersection of epistemology and ecology (Miller et al. 2006. Epistemological Pluralism: Reorganizing Interdisciplinary Research, particularly the figure on the adaptive cycle from Reorganization, Growth, Conservation, and Release).
Deming is still a name to conjure with, but there are likely better books on the area.
The center of his ideas holds up. Think of a company as a system, with management's role being to organize the system for quality. Understanding that there is natural variation in a system, and don't go chasing randomness. Treat workers as humans beings and approach their psychology as high-morale team members, rather than creating self-defeating 'meritocratic' ranking systems.
But this book is scattered, organized anecdotally rather than thematically. It's one thing to proclaim that 'the firm is a system', but Deming lacks the theoretical tools to describe how systems self-organize and can be governed. It's a little unfair to argue that a dead man should be current with the latest research, but this book would be so much better in conversation with the Sante Fe Institute (see Mitchell's Complexity: A Guided Tour, John Boyd's OODA loop (Richard's Certain to Win, or even the intersection of epistemology and ecology (Miller et al. 2006. Epistemological Pluralism: Reorganizing Interdisciplinary Research, particularly the figure on the adaptive cycle from Reorganization, Growth, Conservation, and Release).
Deming is still a name to conjure with, but there are likely better books on the area.
April 4, 2021
Mon premier livre de Deming, qui vaut, selon moi, la lecture à plusieurs égards :
- l’histoire de l’auteur est vraiment intéressante : professeur méconnu aux US jusqu’à sa mort, alors qu’il est pour beaucoup dans le redressement spectaculaire du Japon
- l’ensemble de sa théorie est bien décrite : les systèmes, le profund knowledge, le leadership, les variations. Je trouve l’approche géniale car très bienveillante et humaniste et en même temps à contre pied de ce qu’on voit aujourd’hui dans nos entreprises occidentales. L’approche systémique des entreprises & des gouvernements semble permettre des situations incroyables.
Je mets pas plus car :
- compliqué de bien saisir toute la pensée du premier coup, certaines transitions sont pas claires, certaines parties trop détaillées pour moi
- manque d’exemples concrets de notre époque, le modèle se décrit beaucoup par opposition à ce qui existe, mais je vois pas concrètement comment l’appliquer, notamment sur les questions de management.
- l’histoire de l’auteur est vraiment intéressante : professeur méconnu aux US jusqu’à sa mort, alors qu’il est pour beaucoup dans le redressement spectaculaire du Japon
- l’ensemble de sa théorie est bien décrite : les systèmes, le profund knowledge, le leadership, les variations. Je trouve l’approche géniale car très bienveillante et humaniste et en même temps à contre pied de ce qu’on voit aujourd’hui dans nos entreprises occidentales. L’approche systémique des entreprises & des gouvernements semble permettre des situations incroyables.
Je mets pas plus car :
- compliqué de bien saisir toute la pensée du premier coup, certaines transitions sont pas claires, certaines parties trop détaillées pour moi
- manque d’exemples concrets de notre époque, le modèle se décrit beaucoup par opposition à ce qui existe, mais je vois pas concrètement comment l’appliquer, notamment sur les questions de management.
February 25, 2024
While the ideas in the book might have been considered groundbreaking decades ago, modern readers will probably not get a lot out of it. Much of the book focuses on Deming’s humbly named “System of Profound Knowledge”, which boils down to:
* Increases in product quality decrease long-term costs
* Most factors of quality are functions of the system, not individuals, so management techniques that emphasize competition or pure metrics are ineffective without empowering people to affect the system as a whole
* Variation within a system is expected and over-indexing on correcting individual instances of variance can be net destructive
In terms of the presentation of the content, the book reads like a collection of loose notes, with very minimal structure and very minimal/anecdotal (anonymous) “case studies”. The particular version I read was augmented with additional content from the Deming Institute intended to sell training/consulting, and included stern warnings about cherry-picking lessons without a comprehensive rollout strategy.
* Increases in product quality decrease long-term costs
* Most factors of quality are functions of the system, not individuals, so management techniques that emphasize competition or pure metrics are ineffective without empowering people to affect the system as a whole
* Variation within a system is expected and over-indexing on correcting individual instances of variance can be net destructive
In terms of the presentation of the content, the book reads like a collection of loose notes, with very minimal structure and very minimal/anecdotal (anonymous) “case studies”. The particular version I read was augmented with additional content from the Deming Institute intended to sell training/consulting, and included stern warnings about cherry-picking lessons without a comprehensive rollout strategy.
August 26, 2021
Despite looking like it’ll read like a free market libertarian book, Deming actually puts forward a refreshing and interesting take on production models, everything should be based on cooperation, not competition. Keep costs low, even if it digs into the profit of one department, to keep quality and enjoyment high, and that will keep business. How everything in management should set up as a win-win relationship, how ranking should be rid of due making a loser in the competitive action. All and all Not bad. I would read again and recommend this to people in management positions who aren’t left-leaning or Marxist in order to dissuade competition in between departments in a company.
October 22, 2017
Last book of a knowledgeable senior citizen. Much wisdom. More of an introduction (admittedly) to whet your appetite. It did. Jump in. Read what you can. Join the Deming Institute when they discuss the book. (Very helpful to fill in the gaps and get over obstacles!) https://deming.org/events/21-the-new-...
March 23, 2023
2021 update.... Never ceases to amaze me. No matter how many times I listen to this book I gain a little knowledge.
The source for Dr. Deming’s System of Profound Knowledge; The New Economics, has become one of my favorite books and I regret not reading it sooner in my career. It combines a deep understanding of what a system is and how to manage within the system. The first time I read the book was in 2017 and now, in 2019, I can listen to the audiobook on a frequent basis.
The New Economics is more than a book about quality and statistical control, it’s a book about leadership. Dr. Deming goes into depth about what a system entails and who is responsible for quality within a system- Spoiler alert it’s Management. Several revolutionary ideas are openly written about such as eliminating merit pay and performance appraisals. Deming is adamant that 90-95% of quality is a result of the system and not the operator and he uses his famous Red Bead Experiment to demonstrate that.
From my experience, the lessons from the Red Bead have not permeated the work force other than in a few small pockets. Specific numeric targets still define success. Employee blame is still the norm. Managing with sticks and carrots still surround the landscape. Process control is seldom, if ever, discussed. I entered the professional job market in 1993 and I’ve not seen any noticeable improvements that Dr. Deming has advocated.
There is only one thing I need to mention about the audiobook, the narrator is slow. I was able to speed the narration up by 30%.
The source for Dr. Deming’s System of Profound Knowledge; The New Economics, has become one of my favorite books and I regret not reading it sooner in my career. It combines a deep understanding of what a system is and how to manage within the system. The first time I read the book was in 2017 and now, in 2019, I can listen to the audiobook on a frequent basis.
The New Economics is more than a book about quality and statistical control, it’s a book about leadership. Dr. Deming goes into depth about what a system entails and who is responsible for quality within a system- Spoiler alert it’s Management. Several revolutionary ideas are openly written about such as eliminating merit pay and performance appraisals. Deming is adamant that 90-95% of quality is a result of the system and not the operator and he uses his famous Red Bead Experiment to demonstrate that.
From my experience, the lessons from the Red Bead have not permeated the work force other than in a few small pockets. Specific numeric targets still define success. Employee blame is still the norm. Managing with sticks and carrots still surround the landscape. Process control is seldom, if ever, discussed. I entered the professional job market in 1993 and I’ve not seen any noticeable improvements that Dr. Deming has advocated.
There is only one thing I need to mention about the audiobook, the narrator is slow. I was able to speed the narration up by 30%.
September 10, 2013
Deming’s body of work represents the path not taken by economic policy makers in the United States. If policy makers had listened to the advice of Edwards Deming, it is quite possible that America’s economic standing would have been much different. The message still make sense but the target audience has changed. There was a time when management teams needed to hear it now. Now, it’s the owner/operators.
April 5, 2021
I don't really know how this book got into my Audible listening queue, I didn't purchase it, and I can't remember having anyone recommend it to me. But I started listening to give it a try, and found that it is quite interesting. Deming's philosphies on business management have been around for a while. This book claims that it was implementation of Deming's theories that put Japan into it's place as the first-rate electronics and auto manufacturing company in the world. I don't know enough to be able to confirm or refute that claim.
From my own experience in industry, I can see the truth of many of Deming's assertions about our society's desire to always make everything a competition, and the damage that causes.
The section about performance ratings at work was interesting. I agree with Deming that performance ratings are not meaningful, and likely cause more overall harm than good. I have gone through the rigmarole of being judged at the end of the year on how well I have achieved my objectives, and what I have found is that the rating I get bears no real relation to overall how much of a contribution I made to the company, nor does it have any relation to how valued I am by the people I work with. Also, the extra money I can get in my end-of-year bonus by getting a higher rating has absolutely no motivational power in causing me to want to change the way I do things.
Before reading this book I understood without having put it into words for myself, that I could work many more hours each week and wouldn't have any more chance at getting a higher performance rating. This is because in the past I have seen no relationship between how hard I have worked and the rating I got.
The book spends a fairly large proportion of the pages talking about special versus common causes of variability in a process. I don't know if Deming invented this concept, but it has been commonly implemented in all of the three major companies I have worked for in my career. All of the examples used to illustrate the point are too simple to add anything to my current understanding of controlling a process.
From my own experience in industry, I can see the truth of many of Deming's assertions about our society's desire to always make everything a competition, and the damage that causes.
The section about performance ratings at work was interesting. I agree with Deming that performance ratings are not meaningful, and likely cause more overall harm than good. I have gone through the rigmarole of being judged at the end of the year on how well I have achieved my objectives, and what I have found is that the rating I get bears no real relation to overall how much of a contribution I made to the company, nor does it have any relation to how valued I am by the people I work with. Also, the extra money I can get in my end-of-year bonus by getting a higher rating has absolutely no motivational power in causing me to want to change the way I do things.
Before reading this book I understood without having put it into words for myself, that I could work many more hours each week and wouldn't have any more chance at getting a higher performance rating. This is because in the past I have seen no relationship between how hard I have worked and the rating I got.
The book spends a fairly large proportion of the pages talking about special versus common causes of variability in a process. I don't know if Deming invented this concept, but it has been commonly implemented in all of the three major companies I have worked for in my career. All of the examples used to illustrate the point are too simple to add anything to my current understanding of controlling a process.
April 4, 2024
Published a year after Deming’s death, The New Economics explains the four elements of his total quality credo or “System of Profound Knowledge”:
1. That organisations are systems.
2. That outcomes vary naturally.
3. The psychology of people
4. How organisations learn
Deming shows how these four factors interact and the implications for managers. Once you have grasped these four points, it is easy to see how damaging many management practices are to organisations. Be that our competitive divide-and-conquer approach or the need to react to every change in outcomes. The book is worth reading just for the story of the small boy and the science prize, which perfectly demonstrates how woeful most human resource policies are when it comes to rewarding and motivating staff.
Unfortunately, Deming’s style is somewhat staccato, which makes for challenging reading and the examples he gives are (understandably) of their time, so this is an easy book to dismiss. However, Deming’s approach is just as valuable in today’s economy as it was in his heyday. Nothing has changed. Deming doesn’t talk about technology or management fads, just human nature and the laws of science, so the book’s principles haven’t dated. If anything, his teachings are more worthwhile now as the ideas have faded with time.
There are easier ways to understand Deming’s thinking (try The Leader's Handbook: Making Things Happen, Getting Things Done), but if you want to discover what all the fuss was about — and if you run an organisation, you should — there is no substitute for hearing about “total quality” from the horse’s mouth.
1. That organisations are systems.
2. That outcomes vary naturally.
3. The psychology of people
4. How organisations learn
Deming shows how these four factors interact and the implications for managers. Once you have grasped these four points, it is easy to see how damaging many management practices are to organisations. Be that our competitive divide-and-conquer approach or the need to react to every change in outcomes. The book is worth reading just for the story of the small boy and the science prize, which perfectly demonstrates how woeful most human resource policies are when it comes to rewarding and motivating staff.
Unfortunately, Deming’s style is somewhat staccato, which makes for challenging reading and the examples he gives are (understandably) of their time, so this is an easy book to dismiss. However, Deming’s approach is just as valuable in today’s economy as it was in his heyday. Nothing has changed. Deming doesn’t talk about technology or management fads, just human nature and the laws of science, so the book’s principles haven’t dated. If anything, his teachings are more worthwhile now as the ideas have faded with time.
There are easier ways to understand Deming’s thinking (try The Leader's Handbook: Making Things Happen, Getting Things Done), but if you want to discover what all the fuss was about — and if you run an organisation, you should — there is no substitute for hearing about “total quality” from the horse’s mouth.
October 26, 2021
Score: 2/5 (Portions worth listening once)
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Themes: economics, quality systems, management
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Summary:
I'm a quality professional familiar with Mr Deming's work and its influence. This is, however the first book I have read by him (with contributions from other authors) and it is now harder for me to value the good portions of his teaching because I disliked this book so much. I wished to give it one star, but my metric reserves that for books with no valuable ideas at all and this one does repeat some worthwhile ones.
This text is an admixture of bad ideas, contentious (but arguable) ideas, and good ideas. Bad ideas include but are not limited to: The balance of trade fallacy, the virtues of monopolies and monopsonies, and the need to abolish academic rankings of any kind. Contentious ideas include but are not limited to: forbidding the ranking of employees, the way in which variation is approached, and the ultimate responsibility of managers. Good ideas include the concept that "you get the behavior you incentivise" (borrowed from psychology) and the Taguchi loss function (borrowed, rather obviously, from Dr Taguchi).
When the authors bother to include counter examples or arguments, they are invariably dismissed with the ad-hoc hypothesis fallacy (in which some outside factor makes the counter example invalid-- favored excuses are "the government got involved" or "they weren't *really* implementing Deming's philosophy"). The book also includes "real life examples" but this section is so packed with sycophantic boosterism as to be entirely useless to any fair-minded reader.
Not recommended as a source for ideas on economics, quality systems, or management.
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Themes: economics, quality systems, management
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Summary:
I'm a quality professional familiar with Mr Deming's work and its influence. This is, however the first book I have read by him (with contributions from other authors) and it is now harder for me to value the good portions of his teaching because I disliked this book so much. I wished to give it one star, but my metric reserves that for books with no valuable ideas at all and this one does repeat some worthwhile ones.
This text is an admixture of bad ideas, contentious (but arguable) ideas, and good ideas. Bad ideas include but are not limited to: The balance of trade fallacy, the virtues of monopolies and monopsonies, and the need to abolish academic rankings of any kind. Contentious ideas include but are not limited to: forbidding the ranking of employees, the way in which variation is approached, and the ultimate responsibility of managers. Good ideas include the concept that "you get the behavior you incentivise" (borrowed from psychology) and the Taguchi loss function (borrowed, rather obviously, from Dr Taguchi).
When the authors bother to include counter examples or arguments, they are invariably dismissed with the ad-hoc hypothesis fallacy (in which some outside factor makes the counter example invalid-- favored excuses are "the government got involved" or "they weren't *really* implementing Deming's philosophy"). The book also includes "real life examples" but this section is so packed with sycophantic boosterism as to be entirely useless to any fair-minded reader.
Not recommended as a source for ideas on economics, quality systems, or management.
February 12, 2020
What strucks me every time I read Deming is how valuable his ideas are still today, and how few of the transformations in government, industry and education he longed for only have happened until now. Deming was a (systems) thinker way ahead of his times, and one can only imagine what the working world would look like if his thoughts and insights had been taken into account on a broad basis from earlier on. (While he was already an influence to the Japanese economy and especially the Toyota Production System in the 1950s, he gained perception in the US as late as in the 1980s).
"The New Economics" is a book with a style that is a bit hard to get used to, but it is full of gems, and large parts could have been written only years ago. Naturally, Deming often focusses on the repetitive nature of manufacturing, which might be less interesting in environments where variation is not necessarily a bad thing per se, but he touches so many different topics here that this might indeed be one of the best introductions to his work, albeit many prefer "Out of the Crisis" in that regard.
Anyways, W. Edwards Deming should be a mandatory read for everyone involved in management.
"The New Economics" is a book with a style that is a bit hard to get used to, but it is full of gems, and large parts could have been written only years ago. Naturally, Deming often focusses on the repetitive nature of manufacturing, which might be less interesting in environments where variation is not necessarily a bad thing per se, but he touches so many different topics here that this might indeed be one of the best introductions to his work, albeit many prefer "Out of the Crisis" in that regard.
Anyways, W. Edwards Deming should be a mandatory read for everyone involved in management.
February 24, 2021
You have no idea who Dr. Deming is but he has had a huge impact on your life. He's basically the main reason that Japan went from nearly wiped off the face of the Earth 80 years ago to a an economic, technological, and cultural powerhouse which has forced American companies to change the way they do business which in turn has improved your life. The principles he's developed for better workplaces are extremely powerful and I am a transformed worker thanks to these ideas. The Deming Way should be taught in all schools. It provides such incredible mental models. I am so fortunate to have stumbled into his work through a COVID relief program at SUU taught by the one and only Bill Bellows. I know I'm gushing here but I really can't say enough good things about it all.
April 26, 2021
Deming is the architect of the Toyota Production System and his work has directly influenced thinking such as 6 sigma. However I feel that the book that should be read is his earlier work "Out of the crisis", which is heavily referenced in this text. If you are looking to understand how Japan went from a low industrial base to the world leader in both quality and quantity for electronic goods and vehicles by the late 60s then this is the place to start
July 20, 2022
This was recommended to my by a few people,
It written in an incredibly thorough and analytical manner which can be dry at times. However it comes from a place of great wisdom and knowledge. I did not enjoy reading the book as much as I hoped however plan to keep it on hand more as a reference. It did feel like reading a textbook at times.
Great for: those just starting out their learning or careers in business, management or manufacturing
It written in an incredibly thorough and analytical manner which can be dry at times. However it comes from a place of great wisdom and knowledge. I did not enjoy reading the book as much as I hoped however plan to keep it on hand more as a reference. It did feel like reading a textbook at times.
Great for: those just starting out their learning or careers in business, management or manufacturing
October 28, 2024
This is the last (sadly incomplete) work from Dr W. Edwards Deming and is his smallest but also his most far-sighted book (in my view). "Out of the Crisis" has more clout and content to it. whereas this book is very terse.
After reading several books by Deming and about him is that you need to read the books about Deming to understand his approach and philosophy. Then read Deming's books to get the authentic words from the man himself.
After reading several books by Deming and about him is that you need to read the books about Deming to understand his approach and philosophy. Then read Deming's books to get the authentic words from the man himself.
December 6, 2020
Конкуренция вредит, отсутствие дефектов не гарантирует прибыли, современный менеджмент больше вредит организациям, ранжирование (в любом виде) вредит организации, цикл PDSA появился до стартапов и lean startup model, не бывает ничего одногородного и одинакового. Идеи Деминга вначале кажутся безумными, а затем ты понимаешь все.
July 3, 2021
After a mentor recommended this book to me, I started the audiobook as I was driving to do errands on Saturday morning. I found time the rest of the day to listen to the rest. I especially loved the discussion of how industries can come together to come up with better opportunities for everyone rather than just the individual and the individual organization.
November 11, 2019
There are so many references to "Out of Crisis" that I feel I should have just read that book instead. Despite this, New economics is still and enlightening book, but perhaps it should be the second of Deming's books that one should read.
August 4, 2020
Another book reflecting the period some 30 and more years ago. It reminds me a movie The Irishman. Very good critiques, high rating.. but I just wondered why does it exist? What was the point? I don't feel the nostalgia.. Someone might enjoy this book, and I am happy to donate it.
April 25, 2021
Systems
Clearly a stalwart of quality. For me, this book opened my eyes to his deep understanding of systems. The integration and cross connections that bring desperate components into a cohesive functional system. Ranks in the must read category.
Clearly a stalwart of quality. For me, this book opened my eyes to his deep understanding of systems. The integration and cross connections that bring desperate components into a cohesive functional system. Ranks in the must read category.
December 31, 2021
The first ten chapters were great -- lots of original, contrary ideas about management that resonated with me. The last chapter was a giant ad for working with the Deming Institute, which was super annoying. You can skip that; I did.
March 4, 2022
I really liked it and recommend it to everyone at all levels.
Prior to reading many books and due to my many other personal responsibilities,
I couldn't get enough time to really write a personalized review,
but this is really a good book you have to read.
Prior to reading many books and due to my many other personal responsibilities,
I couldn't get enough time to really write a personalized review,
but this is really a good book you have to read.
December 29, 2022
Deming is an important forefather to modern data science, and the ideas in this book contain the seeds of works and domains like "Fooled by Randomness", lean, "Systemology", and more. I look forward to revisiting certain sections and learning more about Deming's life and legacy.
January 12, 2025
Read for class and while I could see and understand his points about systems the writing was so absurd it got in the way. The book reads like a series of random one paragraph thoughts that sometimes are connected and other times are not. It’s a no for me dog.
January 6, 2018
A surprisingly insightful book, if a little light on the technical details. Will have to read another book or two to get the real depth, but I suspect there is some applicability to SRE in here.
February 17, 2019
This wisdom stands the test of time. Sadly few are following it yet.
April 1, 2019
Very subtle points. Worth a reread and comparison with both Peter Drucker and more modern thought.
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