It could be argued that famed Wyoming quality control genius W. Edwards Deming had never heard the word “lanyap” or more precisely “lagniappe,” when he developed his theories about improving business and manufacturing productivity.
I studied Deming a lot and he is one of my Wyoming heroes.
Two of my favorites of the Powell native’s many excellent ideas include: “what gets measured gets done” and “always give your customer more than expected.” It is this second one that has always driven me in business. Another way to say it is to “under-promise and over-deliver.”
That funky word lagniappe, pronounced “lanyap,” is French and Creole and means “giving a little something extra.” That sounds like it is right up Deming’s alley. I learned that word while studying some Cajun-Creole sayings for the upcoming Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras).
Deming American Hero
In my research over the years, Wyoming has produced its share of remarkable people. There have been ranchers, politicians, soldiers, entrepreneurs, and storytellers. One of the most influential figures ever connected to our state was this soft-spoken statistician who rarely sought attention. This Wyoming-raised thinker helped reshape the modern world.
Ed Deming was not flashy. What he did was far more subtle, and in many ways, far more powerful. He changed how the world thinks about work, quality, leadership, and improvement.
And it all started right here in Wyoming.
Born in Iowa, Deming spent his boyhood in Powell, where his family struggled to make ends meet farming marginal land. Life on the Wyoming frontier was not easy. Money was scarce, winters were long, and survival depended on discipline and careful use of resources. Waste was dangerous. Hard work was expected. These early lessons stayed with Deming his entire life.
He later attended the University of Wyoming in Laramie, graduating in 1921. That education gave him technical knowledge, but Wyoming gave him something deeper: toughness, persistence, and a lifelong belief in steady, thoughtful improvement. He never forgot his Wyoming roots.
Deming’s career eventually led him into statistics and the science of variation. He wanted to learn why things go right, why they go wrong, and how systems can be improved. He realized that most failures were not caused by workers, but by flawed systems.
A Hero In Japan
Deming’s true destiny was across the world from Wyoming. After World War II, Deming found his destiny in a devastated Japan.
After the war, Japan’s industry lay in ruins. Its products were considered cheap and unreliable. Japanese leaders were searching for a way forward, and in 1950 they invited Deming to teach statistical quality control. What he gave them was not just mathematics. It was a philosophy.
Quality could be built into the manufacturing process, not inspected at the end, Deming insisted. He taught that management, not workers, carries responsibility for most problems. He preached continuous improvement and constant refinement. He encouraged respect for workers, careful measurement, and long-term thinking instead of short-term profits. Japan listened.
The transformation was astonishing. Within a generation, Japan became a world leader in manufacturing excellence. Japanese cars, electronics, and machinery earned a reputation for reliability and precision. The phrase “Made in Japan” went from a joke to a global badge of quality.
Deming became a hero there. Japan established the prestigious Deming Prize in his honor, awarded to companies achieving outstanding quality improvement. Back in the United States, he remained largely unknown.
Back To America
By the late 1970s and early 1980s, American industry was losing ground to foreign competition, especially Japan. U.S. executives began asking what went wrong. The answer, in many cases, led straight back to W. Edwards Deming. When American companies finally embraced his ideas, dramatic improvements followed. Ford Motor Company, among others, credited Deming with helping restore competitiveness through quality and systems thinking.
Deming warned against short-term thinking and obsession with quarterly profits. He believed quality and success come from constancy of purpose. Those who followed his advice saw remarkable results: better products, higher productivity, less waste, and stronger organizations.
Through it all, he remained a man shaped by Wyoming. The discipline of frontier life, the understanding that systems matter, the belief that steady effort produces lasting results. These were lessons learned long before Deming ever wrote a formula or delivered a lecture. Wyoming helped shape a mind that would later shape the world.
W. Edwards Deming lived to age 93, passing away in 1993. By then, he had become one of the most influential management thinkers in history.
Not bad for a kid who once hauled water and worked hard on the dry benches of Powell. He gave the world quality while Wyoming gave him grit.
(Note: Powell leaders like Dick Nelson and Dave Reetz worked hard over the years to bring Deming back to Wyoming and to avail the great man’s ideas to folks here in the Cowboy State. I plan to do a follow-up detailing their good work in a later column.)
Bill Sniffin can be reached at bill@cowboystatedaily.com
