During the oil embargo, as drivers lined up at gas stations, the market for small cars took off. Mark Lindsay worked at Ford at the time, and he recalled that a small group went to visit W. Edwards Deming to find out what the company needed to do to become competitive. Deming told them, “Focus on the process, use statistics to understand the process and reduce the variation around the target.”
Lindsay says that a vice president addressed employees after the meeting, saying, “I have no idea what that means, but that’s what we’re going to do.”