William Edwards Deming biography, quotes and books
William Edwards Deming (1900–1993) was an American statistician. Dr. William Edwards Deming is best known as a guru in the field of quality management and the continuous improvement of organizations.
The origins of his work lie in Japanese manufacturing and industry. There, he learned the management principles of Statistical Process Control (SPC), a precursor to modern quality management methods such as Total Quality Management, Lean, and Six Sigma. Ultimately, all of this was combined into the Deming System of Profound Knowledge® (SoPK) framework.
Partly because of this, Deming was considered the most influential person of non-Japanese descent in the field of Japanese manufacturing and industry.
Who is William Edwards Deming? His biography
Dr. William Edwards Deming earned a Bachelor’s degree (BSc.) in electrical engineering from the University of Wyoming. In 1925, he earned his Master’s degree (MSc.) in statistics from the University of Colorado.
William Edwards Deming eventually earned his Ph.D. in statistics and statistical physics from Yale University in 1928.
He studied for several years with Walter Shewhart at Bell Telephone Laboratories. Walter Shewhart’s theories on statistical control formed the basis for Deming’s work.
In 1940, William Edwards Deming developed various sampling techniques. He taught statistical process control techniques to workers involved in war production. These techniques were widely applied during World War II.
After World War II, William Edwards Deming became involved in issues concerning the Japanese economy. His expertise, combined with his engagement in Japanese society, led to an invitation from the Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers (JUSE) to participate.
The members of JUSE had studied Walter Shewhart’s techniques. As part of Japan’s post-war reconstruction, they sought an expert to teach statistical process control techniques. He is also a co-founder of the well-known Plan-Do-Check-Act model, also known as the Deming cycle or PDCA cycle.
In 1950, William Edwards Deming gave his first series of ten lectures on Statistical Quality Control (SQC). Unlike his previous lectures, this time he addressed Japanese top management.
The goal was to convey the message “improving quality will lead to a reduction in expenses and an increase in productivity and market share”. Several (major) Japanese manufacturers applied Deming’s techniques, thereby creating new international demand for Japanese products.
In 1960, William Edwards Deming became the first American to receive the Second Order of the Sacred Treasures (a Japanese award) from then-Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi.
This was because the Japanese people owed the revival and success of their industry to his work. William Edwards Deming subsequently continued his work internationally and received various nominations and awards.
William Edwards Deming passed away at the age of 93 in his sleep (of natural causes) in his then-home of Washington, D.C.
What can organizations learn from William Edwards Deming?
William Edwards Deming developed principles that help organizations improve their operational systems step by step. His work makes it clear that problems in the workplace often do not arise from a single mistake by a single employee, but from the way the system is designed.
According to Deming, organizations should therefore not focus solely on isolated errors or incidents. Instead, they should primarily examine their work processes, measurement data, collaboration, and management style. This leads to greater control over quality and makes improvements less dependent on isolated actions, emergency measures, or chance.
This idea is also reflected in Deming’s 14 points. In them, Deming describes how organizations can improve quality by taking a different approach to leadership, processes, collaboration, and responsibility. The 14 points make it clear that sustainable improvement does not result from isolated corrections, but from attention to the entire system in which people work.
More background on his life, work, and legacy can be found at The W. Edwards Deming Institute.
Video: Interview with William Edwards Deming
In this 1984 interview, William Edwards Deming further elaborates on his vision of management, quality, and organizational improvement. The video provides additional context for his ideas about systems, processes, and the role of leaders in sustainable improvement.
The video is particularly interesting for readers who want to get to know Deming not only through his books and models, but also by hearing him speak directly about his way of thinking.
Famous quotes by William Edwards Deming
- “Profit in business comes from repeat customers, customers who boast about your product or service, and who bring friends with them.”
- “It is not enough to do your best; you must know what to do, and then do your best.”
- “It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.”
- “If you can’t describe what you are doing as a process, you don’t know what you’re doing.”
- “Quality is everyone’s responsibility.”
- “Innovation comes from the producer—not from the customer.”
- “If you don’t know how to ask the right question, you won’t discover anything.”
- “You should not ask questions without knowledge.”
- “Learning is not compulsory… neither is survival.”
- “The result of long-term relationships is better and better quality, and lower and lower costs.”
- “Rational behavior requires theory. Reactive behavior requires only reflex action.”
- “We are here to create a different world.”
- “Lack of knowledge… that is the problem.”
- “All anyone asks for is a chance to work with pride.”
- “Whenever there is fear, you will get wrong figures.”
Books and publications by William Edwards Deming
- 2012. Essential Deming. McGraw-Hill.
- 2000, 1993. The New Economics. The MIT Press.
- 2000, 1986. Out of the Crisis. MIT Press Ltd.
- 1992. Profound Knowledge. British Deming Association.
- 1990. Sample Designs in Business Research. John Wiley and Sons Inc.
- 1985, 1964, 1943. Statistical Adjustment of Data. John Wiley and Sons.
- 1985, 1966. Some Theory of Sampling. Dover Publications Inc.
- 1982. Quality, productivity, and competitive position (Vol. 183). Cambridge, MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Center for Advanced Engineering Study.
- 1981. On the management of statistical techniques for quality and productivity. W. Edwards Deming.
- 1969. A further account of the idiots savants, experts with the calendar. American Journal of Psychiatry, 126(3), 412-415.
- 1967. What happened in Japan?. Society of Quality Control Engineers.
- 1963. Facsimiles of two papers by Bayes. Hafner Publishing Company.
- 1960. Sample Design in Business Research. John Wiley and Sons.
- 1950 / 1966. Some Theory of Sampling. Dover Publications.
- 1950 / 1952. Elementary Principles of the Statistical Control of Quality. Nippon Kagaku Gijutsu Renmei, Tokyo.
- 1948. A brief statement on the uses of sampling in censuses of population, agriculture, public health, and commerce. United Nations.
- 1943. Statistical adjustment of data.
- 1943. On the efficiency of deep stratification in block sampling. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 38(221), 93-100.
- 1939. Statistical method from the viewpoint of quality control. Courier Corporation.
- 1938. Least Squares. The Graduate School, Department of Agriculture, Washington.
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Original publication date: November 11, 2009 | Last update: June 2, 2026
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Vincent van Vliet
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