Mentor to Dr. Deming

["Kenneth Hopper" <khop@joimail.com>]

Please forgive me, I have had several years of illness or I would have =
replied to you before.=20

You asked on the Deming website:

"Was their a mentor/mentee relationship between Mr. Sarasohn and Mr. =
Protzman and Mr. Deming? The government my have moved Mr. Sarasohn and =
Mr. Protzman out before moving Mr. Deming in. Which manager was =
responsible for the smooth transition of leadership?"

Neither Protzman nor Sarasohn met Deming in Japan. Neither had a direct =
mentoring relationship.=20

The major figures in the Japanese transition from CCS to Deming were =
Bunzaemon Inoue and Takeo Kato.=20

Over years, I spent many days interviewing Sarasohn, Protzman and =
Polkinghorn and, as noted in the "Sensei" attachment, Inoue and I had a =
correspondence of hundreds of pages at the end of the 1970s.=20

The question is often asked "why did so many top Japanese executives =
attend Deming's lectures?" There were several reasons with the most =
influential being that they were following the habit established by CCS. =
As Protzman told me "our slightest wish was their command."=20

Soon after Protzman, Polkinghorn and Sarasohn left in 1950, Inoue was =
concerned that the teaching of CCS could be lost and set out on to =
lecture to Japanese top executives on behalf of the Japan Management =
Institute advocating that they continue to take study CCS teaching. =
Inoue wrote me that he thought perhaps his lecturing could be credited =
with helping draw top executive attention to Deming's first lectures.=20

I am convinced that Inoue's series of letters to me is most important in =
so far as it goes a long way to explaining why Japanese industry was =
able to respond so strongly to American Quality teaching. The letters =
give a key insider's view on how Japanese industry evolved from the =
Scientific Management and Statistical QC of the CCS Manual to =
Participation (QC Circles). Inoue, as Technical Director of Sumitomo =
Electric played a major role in preparing that company for its very =
important 1962 Deming Prize.=20

I would like to publish an article on this transition.=20

In 1965, Inoue was honored by the JUSE as one of the five most =
influential Japanese executives in improving Japan's postwar Quality =
along with K. Matsushita, K. Kobayashi (of NEC), Takeo Kato and the =
famous E. Nishibori. Inoue was made a Member of the Order of the Rising =
Sun, Japan's highest order.=20

In 1968, Peter Drucker introduced me to Takeo Kato and Frank =
Polkinghorn. In 1979, My wife, Claire and I had the pleasure of meeting =
Inoue five times in Japan. I thought Claire, a former Senior Vice =
President of United Jersey Bank, put it rather well in describing Inoue, =
Polkinghorn, Protzman and Sarasohn, They were all very different, but =
she said "they are all the kind of people I would like to work for". All =
were very hard workers, inspired to work with the Japanese to make Japan =
a better place. Clearly, none were motivated by greed: if they had been =
they would not have gone to Japan. Frank Polkinghorn's daughter, who was =
in Japan with her father and Priscilla, her mother, remembered Protzman, =
saying, "everybody loved Uncle Charlie".=20

I hope this gives you a useful answer.

Kenneth Hopper
Hackettstown, NJ