Dr. W. Edwards Deming, arguably, some say, the world’s authority on modern management practices, is often incorrectly quoted as saying: “You can’t manage what you can’t measure.”

In fact, he stated one of the seven deadly diseases of management was “running a company on visible figures alone.”

Deming also recognized many important things that must be managed, cannot be measured. Both those points are important.

• You can’t measure everything of importance to management
• You must still manage those important things

Interestingly enough, Dr. Deming is also often quoted as saying: “In God we trust, all others bring data.”

Besides being a memorable quote, it does imply a requirement of data, and is meant to encourage people to find a way to get measurable data — when possible.

This adds to an understanding of Deming’s thought on the purpose of an organization, which is: “Organizations are a means to improve the lives we live.”