The East is learning scientific thinking faster than the West is learning systems thinking.
Russell Ackoff
The task of the United States in the 21st Century will be to manage the decline of the empire.
Paul Kennedy, Yale University
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Systems Thinking teaches us to manage the things we can’t control.
Dr. Deming’s systems ideas allow us to manage what we do not and cannot control. Our aim is to create wider awareness of the benefits and sense of urgency for its practice.
Systems thinking enable continual improvement of businesses, hospitals, schools, nations, families– even ourselves–in our rapidly changing, increasingly complex and dangerous world.
Amazingly, systems thinking helps us manage complexity and at the same time increase the quality of life for more and more people.
That the Deming philosophy solves so many urgent problems is the first obstacle to accepting and learning systems thinking. It is difficult to believe that there is one answer for so many apparently different problems. There is.
W. Edwards Deming developed ways to manage systems as part of his plan to help Japan rebuild its economy after World War II, and it worked. Only later did he discover that, because of its universal application - everything is a system - the same plan worked in other areas as well. But to make it work, you have to change the way you think, and what you have been conditioned to do all your life, is not easy to change. Do you have to? Well, Dr. Deming answered that one: “No one has to change. Survival is optional.”
Therefore, our purpose is to share the most powerful tools for development and success of organizations worldwide. Primary among these are the teachings of W. Edwards Deming, called by management trainer Matthew Cross “the Einstein” of quality and business success. Deming’s principles are the foundation of the success of world-renowned organizations such as Toyota, Proctor & Gamble, Harley-Davidson, Hillerich & Bradsby, Ritz Carlton, and other leading corporations.
Deming’s 14 Points, his system of Profound Knowledge, and practice of continual improvement comprise a revolutionary management philosophy—essential in the 21st century. Without this knowledge no organization will compete successfully over the long term—regardless of its investment in Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing or other quality improvement tools. By “organization” we mean schools, hospitals, public agencies, businesses or any other kind of enterprise
ManagementWisdom.com is the exclusive archive of the 32-volume Deming Library, available in videocassettes and DVD formats with comprehensive teaching guides. Dr. Deming said, “The Deming Library is the best representation of my thoughts.” The Deming Library is the authoritative source of Dr. Deming’s teachings on video.
Peabody Award-winning producer Clare Crawford-Mason, NBC News writer/narrator Lloyd Dobyns, and Dr. Deming collaborated to create the Library. It distills Dr. Deming’s teaching into easy-to-understand principles and practices for success in your organization. They brought Dr. Deming to the attention of Western managers with the 1980 NBC White Paper, If Japan Can…Why Can’t We?
Organizations in the 21st century need to be seen and understood as complex social systems in a rapidly changing world. Traditional top-down, command-and-control, carrot and stick practices don’t work in complex social systems—in modern organizations. Systems thinking is the key to managing and creating an environment where satisfied employees can continually improve products, services, and themselves.
Systems thinking teaches us to manage the things we can’t control as life becomes more and more complex and change happens more and more rapidly. In business, medical and educational circles today more people are beginning to understand its benefits.
Familiarity with systems thinking and practices that enable it are essential for managers and employees at all levels. ManagementWisdom.com exists to help managers and individuals gain an introduction to these vital success principles—and put them into powerful practice.
Dr. Deming and Dr. Russell Ackoff (represented here in the Better Management for a Changing World series of conversations about systems and Volume 21 of The Deming Library) led the development of systems thinking. The systems worldview supports the principles and practices needed for never-ending improvement.