Work on causes, not on results.
Certainly we need good results. But management by results is not the way to get good results, it is the way to get worse results. It’s action on outcome. Not on the causes of results. Costs are not causes. Costs come from causes. Work on causes, not on results. This kind of management is tampering. In place of Management By Results, it is better to understand and improve the system.
Prof. Dr. William Edwards Deming – founder of “Total Quality”-movement (1900-1993), from “A Four Day Seminar on The Leadership Philosophy of Dr. W. Edwards Deming” (1992)