Book Review, "Deming's Journey to Profound Knowledge" (2023, ITRev)

I always picture myself as a big-thought person, working strategic implications to deliver on the tactical.? This means keeping up with the current technical solutions and the foundational philosophy behind those changes.? John Willis , in “Deming’s Journey to Profound Knowledge” ( ITRevolution , 2023) explores a management thought leader, W. Edwards Deming, and expands those ideas into modern technology.? Four sections guide this journey, the foundations of profound knowledge, applications, international implications, and the next generation.? The book is fascinating, reads easily, and should be a must-read for anyone considering themselves a management professional.

The basic thesis explains Deming’s core ideas and how those principles should still be foundational, whether one is doing application development, launching a new business, or expanding existing solutions into an enterprise.? Deming’s theories focus on four elements, knowledge, variation, psychology, and systems thinking.? Knowledge looks for how one knows what one knows, while variation seeks tools to analyze those initial thoughts.? Psychology then looks at human behavior influences, while systems thinking strives to understand the bigger picture.? If nothing else, one can see the impacts of this mindset on the DevOps Three Ways and CALMS.? Deming’s theories expand into a fourteen principle step to enact these concepts within an organization.??

The journey begins with some excellent biographical looks at the prime movers in scientific management.? One of the attractive initial stories is between Walter Shewhart and Deming when working at a Western Electric factory in 1927.? Shewhart introduced the Statistical Process Control method to find and fix problems and develop the data to predict where problems might occur.? Deming and Shewhart frequently credited each other in later works, but Deming expanded the ideas beyond manufacturing to a more strategic view.

The second section continues the historical approach with Deming’s work as a teacher and later with the Census Bureau in 1939.? Deming encouraged the statistical sampling process for the key-punch operators, eliminating those who routinely made errors.? During WWII, Deming taught 27 classes to over 2,000 men and women from 700 companies, with some becoming instructors in their own right, teaching more than 31,000 individuals.? Management success leading to increased production was likely a key factor in the Allied WWII victory.??

Unfortunately, from the post-war period until 1980, Deming’s work was largely ignored in the U.S.? The story highlights how the Japanese, in rebuilding their country with limited resources, saw immense value in the process.? Deming paired with Japanese academics to deliver similar training to his U.S. classes to Japanese businesses.? Deming’s return to U.S. success was sparked by a primetime NBC 1980 clip titled, “If Japan can…why can’t we?”? This clip, matched against U.S. declines in auto-manufacturing, returned Deming to U.S.reknown. In May 1980, Deming taught a class for 30 Ford executives, highlighting the importance of statistical process and quality in manufacturing.

Despite Deming’s passing in 1993, his work continues to impact much of professional management.? The final section expands Deming’s ideas into with Agile and DevOps, ? An extensive analysis occurs for how Deming’s four theories underpin most modern successes.? Conversely, Willis explores how the same ideas contribute to cybersecurity, emphasizing finding and fixing small issues before they become problems.? Chapter 19 is probably the book's most valuable, fully explaining Deming’s 14 points and their potential applications.

This section usually is where I find a problem or challenge with the book. I read the book multiple times and reviewed my notes, and the only gap I can find is that a timeline inclusion would have been valuable. It would have been nice to see where Deming and his academic compatriots published compared to manufacturing outcomes from a high-level perspective. While I miss having a timeline, it doesn’t detract from the text’s overall value.

Some books languish on my shelf for a while, and some I read right away, admittedly way too many of the read-now books are fictional. This is one I wish I had read sooner. Deming’s Journey to Profound Knowledge should be on the must-read list for anyone who considers themselves a manager or executive.? The biographical stories excellently place the mindset and experience of individuals, the technical explanations and case–studies are always on-point, and the overall book excels at every level.? There aren’t too many books I consider as a must-read in the management spectrum but if you lack time to read or listen to a book this year, you should make it this one.