Simplicity requires insight into the complexities of reality, rendered to the essentials, while avoiding lots of assumptions. What does it take to be truly simple, as in a mathematical formula's elegance, a classic fountain pen, a smooth robotic algorithm, or an Amati violin?

Many things that appear simple are not at all simple — for example, zero, pi, credit card rules, the fine print on most contracts, ERP and its so-called simple modules, and new software that assures us that this will only take a few minutes to implement.

Simplistic and simple are not synonymous, however. A simplistic solution may leave out the simple and concentrate on the trite. That which is simplistic might best be described as stupid.

The Japanese take a Zen approach to life. It comes out in their games, such as the intriguing Go and ever-challenging Sudoku. It shows up in their packaging and logo designs, electronic products, and, of course, the formidable Toyota Production System.

There is a wonderful Zen story that gets at the heart of simple: A student in a Zen class asked, "What is the nature of reality, Master?" The Zen master replied, "Go wash your bowl."

There was a time when we, in this country, prided ourselves on Yankee ingenuity. This often took the form of the simple and elegant: the Franklin stove, the clipper ship, Shaker furniture, the public library, and the Model T. Yankee ingenuity still appears from time to time, as with the iPod.

W. Edwards Deming's 14 points of management are the epitome of elegant simplicity. And though these management guidelines have become common knowledge, they are, sadly, not common practice. American industry needs to apply them consistently and enduringly. They can't be practiced and dropped, toyed with, and then put in the closet as Ford, GM, and Chrysler have done.

Here, then, as a refresher, are the 14 management points from Deming's , published in 1982: