Quoting Deming on measuring and managing

I asked Gemini to write a blog article for me. I think it failed to emulate my long-winded style, but I liked the article.

So here is a view of management and the use of numbers. I do believe in evidence and using measures to make decisions and align people … and more. But I do agree it is more nuanced.

You have probably heard versions of this before:

“You can’t manage what you don’t measure,” or

“What gets measured, gets managed.”

For decades, this mantra has served as the unwritten gospel for managers, consultants, and executives. It justifies the creation of countless KPIs, metrics, and dashboards. The belief is simple: to control performance, you must quantify it.

But what if the man who arguably defined the modern quality movement, the legendary W. Edwards Deming, actually warned us against this very mindset?

The Misquoted Prophet

The late, great quality guru, Dr. W. Edwards Deming, spent his life teaching organizations that quality, productivity, and profit were inseparable. His philosophy, though often distilled into simple maxims, was deeply nuanced—a nuance we’ve lost in our obsession with metrics.

Deming was deeply skeptical of management practices that prioritized visible numbers over systemic understanding. The true Deming caution, often overlooked and contradicted by the modern interpretation of his work, was this:

“It is wrong to believe that everything that one desires to manage must be measurable.”

This statement fundamentally changes the conversation. It’s not a subtle difference; it’s an outright rejection of the widely accepted dogma. Deming wasn’t saying measurement is bad; he was saying measurement is insufficient and can be dangerously misleading.

The Tyranny of the Easily Counted

Deming recognized that a leader’s focus naturally drifts to the “System of Profound Knowledge.” This system includes elements that are inherently difficult to quantify. Some are even impossible to assign a reliable number to. Think about the pillars of true, lasting organizational success:

Team Morale: You can track sick days or turnover. However, the true measure of morale is qualitative. It is the collective will to innovate and excel.
Trust: The bedrock of effective collaboration. How do you assign a KPI to trust between a team and its leadership?
Passion & Dedication: The drive that pushes people to go beyond the minimum requirement. This isn’t found on a spreadsheet.
Innovation Potential: The willingness to take risks and challenge the status quo. Counting patents or R&D spend only tells a tiny part of the story.

If we strictly adhere to the “manage what you measure” principle, we riskc creating an environment where measurable short-term gains are prioritized over unmeasurable long-term systemic health.

Leaders will instinctively cut the budget for employee training, for example, because the cost is an immediate, measurable number on the P&L. The negative impact on future skill, loyalty, and quality is unmeasurable—and thus, tragically, ignored.

The Kings Insight: Manage What’s Important

The lesson from Deming is a profound call for a shift in leadership focus. A wise leader uses metrics as diagnostic tools, not as steering wheels.

The real insight for modern business leaders is to invert the mantra: Manage what’s important, and only then find the best available indicators for it.

Prioritize Purpose: Identify the true, qualitative drivers of your success: culture, quality, customer experience, and innovation.
Lead by Observation: Spend time in the system (Gemba) to observe the unmeasurable—the subtle non-verbal cues, the level of trust, the fear of speaking up—that a dashboard will never capture.
Resist Proxy Metrics: Don’t confuse an easily measured proxy (like lines of code written) for the actual goal (delivering customer value). The vital few are often the immeasurable few.

The best organizations don’t succeed because they have the most complex set of KPIs. They succeed because they have leaders brave enough to manage the fuzzy, difficult, human elements that truly define quality and market leadership. Stop letting a spreadsheet dictate your strategy. Start managing for quality and conviction, not just counts and conversions.

The most important numbers in business are often the ones you can’t quite put your finger on. True leadership is required to manage the things that matter most.

James King