Edsel Ford & Deming

If Edsel Ford were running the show at Ford in the 1950's (which would have been quite possible because he died at 49 in 1943) the outcome of today's Ford would have been completely different.

First of all Edsel wanted cars that were modern in design, and accepted nothing second. He made sure of this with E.T. Gregorie. Second Edsel only wanted the finest materials in his cars. Third he was a planner with big ideas, and would only use the best ones.

There is something else though. When W. Edwards Deming came to Detroit to bring his dynamic quality issue and idea, he would not have been turned down or tuned out by Edsel. Edsel only wanted the best for his automobiles and Deming had a big solution. Look at what it has done for the Japanese and South Korean automobile industry.

Constant change and improvement weren't only the idea of Deming; Edsel Ford had the idea years earlier. Deming had the answer.