Reflect back on the last three purchases you made. What role did quality play in those purchases? Chances are really good that you wanted not only quality, but also value, and a timely delivery of the product or service, as well. We are living and operating today in an "I want it now society." As consumers who work hard to earn our wages, we have established some pretty high standards in regards to quality and value. The most intelligent thing a business or organization can do is look at things from the perspective of the consumer. There is a formula in business today that goes like this: price / value = cost. We should look at this formula from the point of view or the perceived value of the consumer, and when we do, we will excel and operate at a much higher level then looking at things just from one (mainly our own) perspective. To illustrate just how important quality really is, let me share something that happened to me a few weeks ago. I was traveling down the highway in my pickup, at 65 mph, when all of the sudden, I felt a jerk, heard a thud, and saw the right tire and wheel go flying off into the ditch. As you can well imagine, I was a bit shaken, as I somehow managed to safely pulled my pickup over on to the shoulder and call for help. What had happened, was that a couple of weeks prior, when having the tires rotated, an employee at the tire store over-tightened the lug nuts on the wheel, which eventually led to all five of the lug nuts simultaneously shearing off. You see, there is an exact poundage of pressure to be applied to the lug nuts and for whatever reason, this was not done correctly, resulting in my near death! (Thankfully, I am fine and my pick up is almost as good as new!) Obviously in this situation, it is easy to see how quality can suffer when an employee doesn't meet his obligation and responsibility to do a quality job. Management needs to understand that a quality mindset trickles down from the top. It is vital that our employees see leadership leading by example in always doing a quality job. Remember, in the long run, it takes much less time and effort to do a quality job, than it does to have to re-do or fix the results of shoddy work. That makes quality work smart work! Side Note: For those of you who know me well know that I had a little "Quality" seminar at the tire store in Rapid City responsible for it all in the first place. The employees all promised me they would pay greater attention to detail. I appreciate that they also believe now that Quality Work is Smart Work! Additional Side Note: I guess I am a cat with 9 lives and I believe that was either number 6 or 7. 2005 Professional Development Systems All Rights Reserved |
