There is a true story of a woodsman's heroics during a terrible forest fire in the American Northwest. The fire was spreading out of control, leaping from tree to tree in response to the prevailing wind. One solitary woodsman looked about, tested the air with a wet finger, and proceeded to cut down a swath of trees with his ax. To the other firefighters, his work seemed inappropriate and ineffective, but the woodsman persisted and, in time, the wind-driven fire reached his cut-down swath and burned itself out.
In extreme situations, persistent and unique actions like those of the woodsman may be appropriate. Financier Warren Buffet is like the woodsman with his suggestion that the plummeting economy is a good time to invest in stocks wisely. Read the wind, not the panic.
The late W. Edwards Deming might say that, particularly in turbulent times, we must take the broad perspective and not be overwhelmed by present horrific circumstances. This means viewing manufacturing as a cyclical process of improvement and approaching it with persistence and unwavering judgments.
What else would Deming advise? His 14 points, what else? These points were articulated in his book Out of Crisis, published after his death. We might note that the 14 points have become common knowledge, but sadly not common practice.