There is an old story about Dr. W. Edwards Deming from back in the mid 1980s when he was working with the big three auto companies.

Dr. DemingI don’t know if it is true, but the story goes that someone asked him: “Dr. Deming – fifty years from now, which companies will still be practicing your 14 points?”

He was reported to have growled: “The ones that are left!”

At the time that observation must have sounded somewhat egotistical. Now it seems prescient.

And speaking of prescient, maybe it is time to dust off his book “Out of the Crisis.” When was the last time you reviewed those 14 points?

One Comment

  1. The Data Heads » Blog Archive » Is Business Intelligence an Oxymoron?… January 21, 2009 at 3:08 pm

    […] Lets hope they can. In this tough economy ready access to actionable real-time data may make all the difference in the world. […]

Comments are closed.