3 ms·

Any advice on books to start with?

• calinet6 13y ago
  That's the problem, his books are dry and boring, but they are fascinating once you get into them. Start with Out of the Crisis -- a book basically about the concepts he used to bring Japan out of its post-WWII depression and into a world market power. He basically did that single-handedly, so that should give some weight to what he says. The concepts are aimed at manufacturing, but they're more generally about management and how to create quality as a culture, not simply as a product. It's brilliant, but it clashes against most American business thinking in the last few generations (all about punishment, motivation, raises; basically about tuning the individual), so it largely goes ignored. It's also why you should listen to it, given that most American businesses in the last few generations basically suck. Ignore his hokey names and lack of bedside manner. Pay special attention to his 14 points, and 7 deadly diseases. Think about everything in terms of statistics and process. Apply everything to your own business experiences, and you'll start to see how he's entirely right, and all your assumptions and everything you thought was true about business, manufacturing, quality, and especially people (your workers, your employees) are basically false. Turn it upside-down and start fresh with real science.