Re: Shewhart's ability to communicate

["Dr. W. J. Latzko" <Latzko@att.net>]

I greatly enjoyed reading Dr. Wilcox's observations. I would add a 
snippet to his quote of Ed's "Tribute to Walter Shewhart" (p. 113 of 
the Dr. Wilcox's ASQC August 1967
Vol 24 No 2 reference):

"Although the writing of papers and books was difficult for 
[Shewhart], and his efforts often went wide of the mark, nevertheless 
one of his great powers lay in his perseverance in communication by 
letter. He used this power to work through committees. He knew the 
importance of getting a strong man at the head of a committee, and he 
was adept at pushing him in the right direction, without himself 
being visible. He made his points not so much by giving his own point 
of view but by asking questions--embarrassing questions."

Some of us still remember the embarrassing questions put to us by Dr. 
Deming, a technique he seems to have adopted from Shewhart.

While some truth may be difficult to express in writing so that they 
are not only correct today but last the the test of time, I submit 
that it also makes them difficult to understand and, therefore, may 
quickly disappear. Those who fail to understand them will say the 
most remarkable, and often wrong, things in their name. That may 
account for the misconception of Shewhart's and Deming's work found 
in a number of popular texts (used in schools). Those who have not 
known or heard the originator of the ideas get them by hearsay. Rule 
four at work.

Shewhart explained his work to a limited audience. Deming tried to 
explain his contribution to a broader audience of executives. He 
succeeded in Japan and only partially in the US. I suspect that the 
number of influential executives in Japan were far fewer and a very 
large and influential majority of these heard him. In the United 
States, fewer executives and teachers of management heard him and 
adopted his methods. I suspect that we did not reach a critical mass 
in the US. Would Shewhart have reached a critical mass if his work 
had been easier to grasp from his writings?

Bill Latzko
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Dr. W. J. Latzko
Tel: +1 201 868 5338
Latzko@att.net
www.latzko-associates.com
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