“If Japan Can… Why Can’t We?” was an American television episode that aired on June 24, 1980, broadcast by NBC as part of its show, NBC White Paper. That episode is often credited with beginning the quality revolution and introducing the methods of W. Edwards Deming to American managers.

In the mid-1970s, bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering in hand, I remember my initial eye-opening experience of being exposed to applied statistical methods. I realized that, as an engineer, how could I not use them? It inspired me to get a master’s degree in statistics and become a member of one of the ubiquitous internal statistical consulting groups for major corporations that existed at that time—groups that have, sadly, long since disappeared. As a relatively new and very excited industrial master of science statistician, I was consistently mystified by the fierce resistance I encountered to the obvious need to use applied statistics to improve the quality of manufacturing products and the research in their development.

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