WHY CROSBY WAS CROWNED KING
No one can doubt what Deming did to help restore Japan’s industry. If his theories had the same quality as his practice, there would be no competition. Sadly, they lack some of the appeal that Crosby’s maturity grid has. Crosby’s simple, but profound, insight that quality is free gives him the edge.
The common thread that runs through most quality theories is the need for all stakeholders in the organisation to do everything possible to improve the quality of products, services and procedures in the organisation. This can be summed up by a desire to ‘do things right first time every time’. To achieve this you must remember that quality improvement is an organisation-wide issue. It’s not something that can survive long as a pocket of excellence in an otherwise hostile environment. So, before you embark on a quality programme, get all the senior managers on board first. Sell the programme by showing that the cost of doing things right first time is always less than the expense of trying to correct errors later.
Explore all of the causes of existing problems before you even start to think about a solution. As you begin, remember to go for small incremental improvements rather than massive abrupt changes. It’s a lot easier to improve ten processes by 1% each than one process by 10%. Always celebrate your successes. This will motivate staff and help win over doubters. But don’t just focus on short-term gains, think long term and with the help of frontline staff identify what your customers expect. Then work out how to exceed their expectations.
Use both internal and external comparisons of products/services and functions/processes as benchmarks and don’t be shy about pinching (I should say adapting and adopting) good ideas wherever you find them.
Never fool yourself into believing that you are better than you really are. To avoid painting too rosy a picture, never base your calculations upon untested assumptions. Either independently verify the data or ditch it.
If you embark on a quality improvement programme you have to realise you are in it for the long haul. One managing director of a Black Country Engineering company told me how he spent over two years pushing TQM before he saw any real change in the staff attitude. ‘But’, he said, ‘I knew I had them when one morning they came in and switched on the machines before they put the kettle on’. On such signs is success built.