Masaaki Imai is a consultant, author, and founder of the Kaizen Institute. The second edition of his book, Gemba Kaizen (McGraw-Hill Professional, 2012), was published in May. He agreed to an interview with The W. Edwards Deming Institute Blog.

The W. Edwards Deming Institute Blog (TDI): Did you work with W. Edwards Deming?

Masaaki Imai: I never had the privilege of meeting Dr. Deming. I can say that Deming’s teachings were great revelations to Japanese management, which built many kaizen practices in Japan based on his principles.

TDI: Deming saw mobility of top management as a disease of Western management. The turnover creates a focus on short-term results while deemphasizing long-term thinking and often results in executives that have little experience with the organization they are suppose to help lead.

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