Flashback: It is February 10, 1982, and I am sitting in the auditorium at Ford World Headquarters listening to this guy I’ve never heard of before. My boss told me to attend this four-day seminar since I am interested in statistics, so I am here. The auditorium is packed – I assume everyone here was told to attend just like I was. The CEO of Ford Motor Company, Don Peterson, just introduced this guy and told all of us to listen to him even though what he says may not make sense to us right away. Don said that all of us had been promoted into our positions for the wrong reasons, including himself. As the seminar continued, I kept thinking to myself, I understand variation and statistics, so I get this. But my boss should be here instead of me – my boss needs to hear this stuff.
It has been over 40 years since then, the start of my quality journey.