Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Michael D. Watkins


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was keep. (non-admin closure) gidonb (talk) 02:21, 12 December 2020 (UTC)

Michael D. Watkins

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Semi-advertorialized WP:BLP of a business writer and consultant, not properly referenced as having any strong claim to passing our notability standards for either of those occupations. The notability claim here is essentially that he and his work exist, rather than that he's received any noteworthy awards or distinctions for any of it -- and right across the board, the references are entirely to the self-published websites of directly affiliated organizations, rather than any evidence that he has received any third party reliable source coverage about him or his work in real media. As always, people are not automatically entitled to have Wikipedia articles just because they exist -- the notability test is not having a job, it's the extent to which media have or haven't paid attention to his work in the job. Bearcat (talk) 14:32, 28 November 2020 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Authors-related deletion discussions. Bearcat (talk) 14:32, 28 November 2020 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Businesspeople-related deletion discussions. Bearcat (talk) 14:32, 28 November 2020 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Canada-related deletion discussions. Bearcat (talk) 14:32, 28 November 2020 (UTC)


 * Comment: It's not immediately obvious from perusing Google Scholar that the subject passes, for example, criterion 1 of WP:NACADEMIC. On the other hand, he does have a respectable number of citations and is clearly not an anonymous professor without any significant impact. Comparing Watkins to the other scholars categorized in Category:Negotiation scholars, his citation counts are comparable to those of Gerard Nierenberg, and better than Herb Cohen, Stuart Diamond, Leonard J. Marcus, and Ronald M. Shapiro. (This is just a first impression, not a definitive assessment, but if Watkins is deleted then those last three subjects may be candidates for deletion as well.) Perhaps an argument could be made that he passes WP:NACADEMIC, but someone would have to make that argument because it doesn't seem to be a prima facie case of academic notability. If someone wants to try to make that case, one good source of evidence, beyond the citation counts, would be reviews of his books in peer-reviewed journals (not in HBR). Biogeographist (talk) 15:53, 28 November 2020 (UTC) and 16:30, 28 November 2020 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Academics and educators-related deletion discussions. Biogeographist (talk) 16:38, 28 November 2020 (UTC)

 Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.
 * Keep. I think he does pass WP:PROF and also (although I haven't taken the time to demonstrate it by finding published reviews) likely passes WP:AUTHOR through his many high-profile business-leadership books. —David Eppstein (talk) 21:45, 29 November 2020 (UTC)
 * Update: I stubbed down the promotional part of the article and added reviews of several of his books. He definitely passes WP:AUTHOR. —David Eppstein (talk) 20:11, 30 November 2020 (UTC)
 * Keep: Clearly passes now thanks to David Eppstein's research. Biogeographist (talk) 21:04, 30 November 2020 (UTC)

Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks,  Sandstein   16:41, 5 December 2020 (UTC)
 * Keep. Plenty of reviews for WP:NAUTHOR.  Russ Woodroofe (talk) 11:36, 7 December 2020 (UTC)
 * Keep, meets WP:NAUTHOR as a few of Watkins' books have numerous reviews and are entitled to own wikiarticles. Coolabahapple (talk) 01:03, 8 December 2020 (UTC)
 * Keep, his citation count would seem to meet WP:NSCHOLAR, and appears to meet WP:NAUTHOR. Onel 5969  TT me 13:15, 11 December 2020 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.