Why Things Go Wrong

In this summary, you will learn

• What Dr. W. Edwards Deming’s managerial philosophy teaches
• How to apply its lessons in your company

getAbstract rating

Why you should read Why Things Go Wrong

Dr. W. Edwards Deming was a business professor and consultant who’s probably best known for his role advising post-World War II Japanese companies on manufacturing and quality; many experts give him much of the credit for Japan’s transition to technological preeminence. Beginning in the 1980s and continuing even now, his famous writings, “14 Points for Managers” (a chapter in his book Out of the Crisis) and “7 Deadly Diseases of Management,” and his subsequent books make major corporations like Ford take notice. He spent the latter part of his life writing and consulting on management, quality and productivity. Consultant Gary Fellers’s tidy little manual moves Deming into today with a readable summary of his management philosophy in 10 handy chapters. While Fellers’s summations are no substitute for Deming’s primary texts, the author provides a practical précis of Deming’s salient philosophical points. getAbstract recommends Fellers’s guide to any manager, experienced or new. You’ll read it again and again, and it handily fits in your pocket.

About the Author

Dr. Gary Fellers, who is a management trainer and Deming expert, also wrote Creativity for Leaders.