A man with a knack for systems thinking and with a shrewd sense of humor, W. Edwards Deming (1900-1993) is considered one of the leading thinkers on organizations of all time. A national hero in Japan from the 1950s on, he became widely recognized in his native America and the West only when he was already in his 80s. Today, Deming is credited with having been instrumental to unleashing the Japanese productivity miracle after WWII. He was instrumental to the creation of the Toyota Production System, to the Total Quality movement of the 1980s and 1990s, to Lean Management and to contemporary organizational thinking, in general.

About the editor: Niels Pflaeging is a researcher and advisor on organizational leadership and change. He is a creator of social technologies and founder of the BetaCodex Network. He published 11 books, including the best-seller Organize for Complexity.