Juran and Capone

Al Capone's infamous criminal headquarters was just half a block from Juran's Hawthorne plant. As Capone's base of operations throughout Chicago and beyond, the brick building housed his core operations. During any given time, armed sentries guarded the doors as Capone and his lieutenants planned bootlegging, extortion, and other illicit activities inside. During this time, rival gangs brazenly attacked each other in the streets, spraying the Hawthorne buildings with gunfire as they competed for Capone's lucrative criminal territory. For Juran and his coworkers, seeing the nefarious activities so close to their workplace constantly reminded them of the gangster's control over the city.

The "Shop" was one of many illegal gambling operations run by Capone's criminal network in Chicago. Juran noticed that one roulette dealer was highly incompetent and repetitive in how he operated the wheel when he visited. As a result, Juran realized he could take advantage of the dealer's predictable behavior. To collect data, he observed multiple spins of the wheel, identifying patterns that were not random. Juran probably used an early implementation of Shewhart's control chart to observe common and special cause variation. The wheel had been rigged to cheat customers, but Juran used his keen perception to turn the odds in his favor. Juran won $100 at the time, enough to cover multiple weeks' wages for him. He avoided winning too much or too often to minimize attention from Capone's men. Methodically collecting data, analyzing patterns, and implementing optimal strategies are the same skills that made Juran a renowned quality management expert. Juran's experience in beating Capone's crooked gambling operation proved his exceptional capacity for operational analysis.