After WWII, W. Edwards Deming provided the spark that ignited Japan into making quality products. I like to refer to it as the greatest upset in economic history. How did such a small country with few economic and natural resources build a manufacturing juggernaut that could overcome the great resource advantages of the United States?

Some say the devastation that the Japanese suffered made them open to Deming’s ideas; others say that Asian culture allowed for the adoption of his ideas. Regardless, Deming came back to the United States and worked with American companies, where in 1985 he listed his original 14 points for the transformation of management at a Deming Users’ group meeting in San Diego (detailed in Nancy Mann’s 1989 book, The Keys to Excellence). Later, these 14 points were seen to flow from his System of Profound Knowledge (SoPK), which included appreciation for a system, knowledge of variation, theory of knowledge, and psychology.

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