I emphasize the importance of producing quality work in Welcome to the Big Leagues and also mention my Uncle Sal, an entrepreneur bakery owner, who was the first to teach and instill in me the belief that quality is everything. Since then, I adopted a few new values that I will share here, but first let's cover a couple of the business basics.
In the business world, there are two very important concepts to learn that help to promote better performance or 'quality' output: Total Quality Management (TQM) and The House of Quality (HOQ). We'll discuss the practices behind both approaches to quality improvement before I introduce the third, and most important, concept that has less to do with the corporate world but much to do with life; Total Quality Living (TQL).
"Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives." - William A. Foster
Total Quality Management: TQM consists of the many tools, concepts and practices an organization uses to embed a permanent climate of continuous improvement in the company's ability to deliver superior-quality products and services to customers. Concepts like Six Sigma, Zero Defects and Lean Manufacturing all fall under the realm of TQM.
Exceptional US businesses that do it right may receive the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award; an award for performance excellence that's given by the President of the United States. Awards such as this are nice, but the true benefits of embracing a TQM mindset go far beyond this type of notoriety, as it could be the one practice that makes or breaks a company.
I've been in operations for more than 17 years and when sales and marketing had difficulty in growing the top line (a recurring theme), we were pressured to drive bottom line improvement. As a starting point, I found that the most rational way to accomplish more with less and remove waste throughout processes was through TQM.
I not only supported the TQM mindset, I LIVED by it.
By viewing all internal partners as customers and analyzing the data of every work process related to their needs, I was able to improve quality and develop innovative cost reduction efforts that spanned throughout the company. The efforts didn't end there. Our dealings with vendors, suppliers and external partners were also dissected and restructured to be more beneficial to both parties involved. When it comes to driving improvement, everything should be deemed as fair game. Many of the efforts led to efficiencies and improvements that benefited paying customers as well, just as cutting a day off the lead-time of a supplier should result in a one day reduction in customer order lead-time. Every improvement seemed to have a ripple effect that led to bigger and better projects.
Embracing TQM is a continuous effort that requires constant learning, examination and reexamination of what would typically be considered as the norm. The fact is that every systematic process and product that currently exists within your organization can be improved in either a small or large way. The decision to make such improvements boils down to a common set of obstacles or trade-offs: Cost, Labor, Time/Speed, Risk, Technology, Capacity and Knowledge. Support from top management is also vital, as they'll need to think outside of a vacuum, put aside short-term profits for long-term innovation and support efforts in converting criticism into constructive criticism. All of these actions are easier said than done.
Since the needs and wants of customers are always changing, the adoption of the TQM approach is the best way to ensure that your organization will continue to perform at a quality standard that exceeds customer expectations. Just remember that no improvement effort is too small and what may start off to be internal may explode to be something much greater. Also know that there are no shortcuts to TQM. Due diligence, employee commitment and resources are required.
"It is easier to do a job right than to explain why you didn't." -Martin Van Buren
House of Quality: HOQ is a matrix that companies use to improve existing products by incorporating the voice of the customer into a new product design. It uses a basic table-like structure to translate the customer's needs and wants discovered from market research into engineering targets for a new product. The tool also allows users to incorporate the holistic picture by ranking and assessing the company's level of difficulty to deliver upon the new requirements.
The concept behind the HOQ is simple, however, following the model is not intuitive. As a resource and to prevent redundant effort on my part, I am embedding an excellent, easy-to-read article that will provide more than enough information to help get you started on the topic. I strongly recommend reading and keeping this document for future reference...
Link to The House of Quality Article
Total Quality Living: TQL is my self-created motto to pursuing life each day. When I think of TQL, I'm reminded by how quickly each day passes and how we can never relive yesterday. I question whether or not each day was filled with value and look for ways to ensure that tomorrow will be more enriching. I do not always get it right and make my fair share of mistakes, however, I gain from each mishap through a passion for learning and improving upon all aspects of my life. Each day, fulfillment is achieved through my relentless pursuit of excellence.
There are times when I could be extremely hard on myself. Like when I make the wrong investment, mess up on a meal of the finest ingredients or do something that I know I will later regret. But in the long run, it is such failures that make the wins so incredible. We may never have the opportunity to erase the past, but in most cases we get another opportunity to do it right in the future.
We are all works in progress. The good news is that there are countless ways and opportunities everyday for us to improve upon the quality of our being.
Start by assessing the quality of everything that surrounds you. The quality of your ... Time, Relationships, Work, Decisions, Communication (including Facebook posts and Tweets), Health, Character, Actions, Sleep and anything else that has your stamp on it. We are very complex and process more than we could ever master, so keep it simple and focus on small, incremental improvements.
Possessing the willingness and commitment to bettering yourself each day guarantees the brightest future and version of you. So, set personal quality standards and hold yourself accountable for hitting the target. This process ensures excellence in the business world and it will for you too. You may not receive any prestigious awards from notable politicians, but your high standards will have a positive ripple effect on those closest to you. Remember that each second, minute, hour, day, week , month and year becomes what you make of it.
I hope that you enjoyed my quality advice.
"It is not length of life, but depth of life." -Ralph Waldo Emerson
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