Every so often, a single location becomes the epicenter of groundbreaking innovation, gathering some of the brightest minds and completely altering the course of history. And on rarer occasions, a place can be so influential that it can change history repeatedly. Silicon Valley is a familiar example to most of us with its computing, internet, and AI breakthroughs. Yet another site remains unknown mainly—arguably even more critical to our technological progress. Unlike the sprawling tech campuses of the Valley, this hub was contained within the walls of a single building on the east side of Manhattan: 463 West Street.

Located in the heart of a small town in Alabama, the Opelika Songwriters Festival is quickly becoming a must-visit event for music enthusiasts and songwriters. This unique festival offers more than just a stage for songwriters to display their talents; it creates an intimate setting where young and old can connect, collaborate, and draw inspiration from one another.

Throughout the past year, "Profound" has interviewed thought leaders, experts, and practitioners to explore the intersection between Deming's wisdom and the possibilities within digital transformation. These guests shared their experiences and helped align Deming's ideas with the ever-evolving landscape of technology, exemplifying the convergence of theory and real-world application to illuminate the path toward organizational success. Join us for this past year's recap as we revisit the highlights, profound moments, and transformative insights unfolding throughout the episodes.

The landscape of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been profoundly influenced by the concept of attention, a cornerstone of human cognitive processes. This fascinating interplay between cognitive science and AI development provides a unique lens to view the evolution of AI technologies, revealing how they have come to mimic some of the most sophisticated functions of the human brain.

About a third of that memo was devoted to a simple hand-drawn diagram we now recognize as a control chart. That one-page memo altered the course of industry on May 16, 1924. Shewhart's superiors at Bell Laboratories, namely George D. Edwards, received this memo. In this memorandum, Shewhart introduces the first control chart to track process performance over time and identify parameter changes that may indicate quality deterioration.

Few regions on earth match the formidable peaks of the Himalayas. Now imagine flying overloaded cargo planes through those mountains in unpredictable weather, your only path a narrow air corridor plagued by extreme turbulence, ice, and winding valleys. Along a narrow skyway about 50 miles wide that could extend 1,000 miles in length, Hump planes flew over scenes that would have been familiar to Ghengis Khan.

Bridgeman also made significant contributions to the philosophy of science through his methodological and philosophical writings, emphasizing the operational aspects of scientific concepts. Bridgmman is considered the father of Operationalism.

A tutorial on Control Charts by Dennis Sergent

The following is an excerpt from my new book, "Deming's Journey to Profound Knowledge." Chapter 13 - The Birth of Quality Control and Standardization contains this section.

In 1785, the United States had been a country for only nine years. Jefferson wouldn’t become president for another sixteen years. In the meantime, he was ambassador to France, where he met a gunsmith named Honoré Blanc. Blanc had unknowingly copied the Qin of China: weapons that used interchangeable parts.

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 group discussed how control charts and statistical process control concepts developed by pioneers like Walter Shewhart and Deming can be applied to understanding variation in processes and systems, including software development. We discussed common cause vs. special cause variation, control limits, and patterns within control limits.

In the 1960s, Nelson founded the Journal of Quality Technology at the American Society for Quality (ASQ). Deming learned about Nelson at this time. Nelson was born in Connecticut in 1922. In 1943, he graduated from the University of North Carolina. Upon graduation, Nelson served in the U.S. military from 1944 to 1946. In 1950, he received a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry from the University of Connecticut. Nelson became fascinated with quality control and statistics after teaching for several years. In the following years, he dedicated his professional life to General Electric.

Justin Smith, a passionate mathematical statistician at the US Census Bureau, was pet-sitting for a friend. While looking for a book to read, he glanced at their bookshelf, and to his surprise, he was staring at the spine of a first-edition copy of Walter Shewhart's Economic Control of Quality Of Manufactured Product. He was surprised because his friends were not statisticians and had no other books on statistics. This book is uncommon even for a mathematical statistician; however, it is even more remarkable for his friends since he did not know them to have any interest in statistics. 

A simple timeline of the history of quality control;

While researching my Deming book, I bought a lot of books. Since they weren't electronic, I needed to find the exact reference for many of these books. I'm now reading the complete books. My current book is "From American System to Mass Production 1800-1932."

Importance of getting feedback from friends/networks rather than publishers when writing a book. Publishers have schedules and agendas; friends will give honest feedback to improve the book.

The collaborative process between author John Willis and writer Derek Lewis was highlighted, involving multiple iterations, edits, feedback, and partnership. Willis wrote initial drafts; Lewis helped refine and polish the writing in Deming's "voice.”

My office hall of fame.

Off to a great start…

The words and gestures of Dr. Deming were always profound. In all cases, he always emphasized a profound learning point with his carefully chosen words and dry sense of humor. Deming would ask in some seminars, "Why are we here?" before anyone could answer, he would say, "To have fun." As he grew older, he would say the blinding lights made it impossible to see anything. As everyone laughed, he said, "There must be people here.".