April 1997, Volume 14, No. 4
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April 1997, Volume 14, No. 4
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Just as life is filled with many temptations to sin, so is
embarking upon a quality improvement journey. Some manufacturing
businesses resist the temptations; most succumb. Let's explore the
seven deadly sins as they relate to Total Quality Management and draw
some conclusions to make the journey more successful for your
business.
Gluttony: Everything is a #1 Priority
If done correctly, Quality Management represents a major change
initiative for an organization. As in any change initiative, the
leadership team's time and actions are integral to its successful
implementation. They provide the focus and catalyst required for
success. If Quality Management is not assessed by the employees as a
leadership team priority, nothing of significance will happen. Other
priorities like increasing yields, reducing cycle time, reducing
costs, reducing inventory, etc., will compete for their time. People
might attend the quality education classes. They may begrudgingly
attend improvement meetings. But no measurable business results will
occur since their focus at all other times of their day will be on
other issues.
Many leadership teams have never spent sufficient time to consciously rank their priorities; to achieve consensus at a gut level. Therefore, each leader will send different messages and different levels of intensity regarding priorities to the rest of the organization. This leaves the rest of the organization to decide where to spend their time based upon their perceptions of what's important. How do they decide what's most important to the leadership team? They watch where the leaders spend their visible time and where reporting is required. In other words, under what conditions do your people see you most frequently? What do they have to report activity on regularly? In most organizations, the answer to these two questions is not "quality improvement." So the leadership team lusts after results in quality improvement without preparing the ground from which it must spring, and without their personal nurturing and care.
Instead, the quality management initiative should be seen as the
umbrella under which all improvement activities are conducted. There
should be no doubt in anyone's mind that quality improvement is the
number one priority. All other activities are measurable goals, or
milestones, toward improving quality. Reducing inventory by 25% is a
goal. Reducing costs by 10% is a goal.
Lust: Motorola Results
Most company leaders are anxious for immediate results. They see the
potential of a quality initiative but few see the journey ahead for
the long, arduous task it will be. They see where other organizations
like Motorola are producing outstanding quality results. They visit
companies like Motorola to learn their secrets. They search for the
"silver bullet" or a series of "tips and techniques" to make their
process easier. Their biggest mistake is wanting Motorola's current
results without traveling the ten-year journey that Motorola had to
travel.
To achieve the business results possible from a quality improvement effort takes seven elements:
Without these elements in place, the results from the quality
initiative don't materialize. And, if management hasn't learned a
fundamental concept of quality management, when the results don't
materialize, the people are blamed.
Anger: People, Not Processes
Too many managers, who have not internalized a basic concept of
quality management that "the work processes are to blame for
problems, not people," operate with the mindset that people are the
reason quality is lacking in products and services. Therefore, a lack
of progress toward improvement is viewed as a direct result of
failure on the part of people to do what must be done. This
assumption leads to punishing people. Then, because of the resultant
punishments, people tend to hide problems from management or blame
other people or departments for the problems.
A business improvement effort, like Total Quality Management,
requires the conscious designing and molding of a company culture
where people freely share problems and where leaders have a
commitment to resolving them. This can only happen when people are
convinced that problems will be attacked, not the messengers. The
attitudes and actions of employees are a direct result of direct
management action or a lack of action at appropriate times. When a
manager fails to see their direct impact upon the employees of the
business, everyone else's employees look more highly motivated and
better educated.
Envy and Excuses: But, We're Different
The leadership team always believes they are committed to the quality
improvement process. On the other hand, they also believe they are
unique. Based upon this assumption, they envy the results of other
organizations that they perceive to be "easier to run." They lament
the time it will take them to accomplish results since their business
is so much more complex than others who have traveled the quality
improvement journey. They envy others but are incapable of seeing the
efforts taken by others to achieve results. Bottom line, not all
leadership teams have the commitment they think they have when faced
with the challenges of quality improvement. They start to make
excuses for the lack of results. These excuses lead to a downward
death spiral for the quality management process.
Quality improvements are the direct result of the level of
perceived management commitment to the initiative. Dramatic
improvements are a direct result of articulated bold goals and the
active participation by the company's leaders. Leadership teams which
excel at leading improvements don't make excuses -- they make plans.
They monitor progress and results. They are actively involved in
achieving results. They celebrate success. They see quality as an
investment, not an expense.
Greed: First Cost vs. Return
Many manufacturing companies make million-dollar decisions regarding
the acquisition of new equipment, but wouldn't consider spending the
equivalent money on their only renewable asset: the people. They look
at the initial expenditure for quality training as an expense where
little return is expected. The "first cost" attitude leads them to
make decisions which handicap the ability to make improvements. They
turn over the development of training materials to internal people
who have very little practical experience in creating change or
improvements within an organization. Or, they might steal materials
from consulting firms who have an established methodology for
success. They might even train with a consultant and "save" money by
not using support during the implementation phase of quality
improvement. What is needed for success is a "return on investment"
attitude.
Return can be quantified for a quality improvement process. Take a
look at the organization today. How much money is being spent in
returns, rework, scrap, customer complaints, credit memos, customer
incentives, duplicate work, problem solving, fire-fighting, on-site
service, repairs, lost business, union disputes, absenteeism,
overtime, etc.? These all represent the potential return on the
quality investment. With this figure in mind, better decisions can be
made regarding launching and sustaining a quality improvement process
as an investment in the future health of the organization. However,
many organizations invest heavily in quality improvement activities
or consultants and receive little result in return. Those
organizations have leaders who "talk a good game" of quality
improvement, but take little personal action to realize the
return-on-investment.
Sloth: All Talk, No Action
Many quality initiatives begin with a big bang! The leader of the
company announces a commitment to quality improvement. They unveil a
quality policy and plaster it on every company wall, business card
and paycheck stub. They announce a Quality Director or similar
position. They fund a quality education effort. Then, it's business
as usual.
Employees have seen this leadership dance before. They eat the free donuts and listen half-heartedly to the speeches of commitment. Then, they return to their jobs. What happens almost immediately? Because the plant has just spent an hour or two in the quality kick-off meeting, production is behind schedule. Speed soon becomes the single most important variable of the employee's job, quality be damned.
The top three reasons for failure of a quality initiative are:
Bottom line, if it's perceived to be important in an organization, it gets done. If quality is only a line in an executive speech and not the watchword for the leader's every action and deed, it won't happen. More money wasted. More people jaded to new ideas. And, a harder time next time to convince people of the leadership's commitment to anything.
What's needed is expressed best by Don Godshall, regional sales
manager for THARCO (San Lorenzo, Calif.;
http://www.tharco.com), a
packaging solutions company, when he says, "Without leadership we
would have gone nowhere. Without people saying 'you will attend the
meetings,' 'it is a priority,' 'you will take the time,' 'why isn't
this being done?' 'where is the action request?' -- if that hadn't
happened on an ongoing basis from the president, vice president and
quality coordinator, this thing [quality improvement process] would
have died. I don't doubt that for a second."
Pride: Do It Alone
Who knows better how to run our business than us? We're a successful
company. If we decide to initiate a quality improvement process, we
should be able to read a few books, attend a seminar, and design a
quality process which fits us exactly. Wrong!
The most successful quality initiatives change the very culture of the company. The organization must move from internal measurements of success to customer-focused measurements; from departmental fiefdoms to cross-functional teams dedicated to improvements; from product-driven to solutions- driven; from fire-fighting to lasting problem solving. If the organization knew how to do that, wouldn't it have happened by now?
Every organization has a unique culture forged by years of
leadership actions, recognition and rewards. To be a part of that
culture is to be blind to that culture and the new possibilities for
its transformation. The most successful quality initiatives, like
those of Motorola, Xerox and Federal Express, all began with outside
expertise. Their processes have evolved to uniquely designed and
crafted initiatives, but they didn't start that way.
The Road to Redemption Begins with Self-Awareness
The single most critical factor to avoid the seven deadly sins of
quality in your business is to be aware of them. If you have a firmly
entrenched quality improvement process, it's time to critically
analyze it for improvements. If you have a stalled quality
initiative, it's time to bring in a new catalyst to present new
opportunities for success. If you have just embarked upon a quality
improvement process, test your design and action plan against the
seven deadly sins. If you haven't yet embarked upon a quality process
which encompasses the entire organization, it's time to wake up and
smell the coffee.