The Book of Life

pages of wisdom life’s bitterness, but rises above it to reflect. Hardships and difficulties should serve as experiences to learn from—not as forces that shape his entire outlook. LEARNING FROM THE ENEMY I n 1949, the Japanese held an industrial seminar. For this event, they sent a special invitation to Dr. Edward Deming from America. In his lecture, Dr. Deming presented a new approach to boosting industrial production. This was the idea of quality control (Hindustan Times, 28 December 1986). For the Japanese, Americans were considered an enemy nation. In the Second World War, America had inflicted on Japan a crushing defeat and humiliation. One might expect that the Japanese would burn with hatred toward America. But instead, they rose above such negative emotions. This is why they were able to invite an American professor to their seminar, listen calmly to his ideas, and accept them wholeheartedly. The Japanese took his advice to heart. They reorganized their entire industrial system around quality control. They set before their industrialists the goal of zero defects— that is, to produce goods completely free of flaws. Japanese seriousness and dedication ensured this goal was met. Soon their factories began producing flawless products. It