ASQ Post: Creating a Quality Culture

ASQ’s blog topic for August by Paul Borawski is all about culture. Paul asks the Influential Voices to express their views specifically around a quality focused culture.

When you’re in a culture of quality, how does it feel? What attitudes support the success of a culture of quality?

Culture is a topic with plenty written but unfortunately poorly followed. This highlights the lack of understanding for what it takes to create a quality focused culture.

Building a quality culture is not an easy task. A quality culture starts with managers who understand and believe the implications of the systems view and know the necessity of serving customers in order to succeed. The result of that understanding is a culture where a positive internal environment and the creation of delighted customers go together. It is a culture that naturally emphasizes continuous improvement of processes, one that results in a healthy workplace, satisfied customers, and a growing, profitable company.

Here are a few vital points necessary for creating a climate focused on quality:

Commitment to Quality
Commitment from management is a “MUST”. In fact, it is the driving force. Procedures, tools, and database are all useless if the management do not want to see a Quality culture in the organization. The employees of the organization will not care, if the management themselves do not show the attitude to follow the right path.

Capability of Skill
Capability refers to having the skills to undertake work successfully. As is true with any successful implementation, you need the right team blend and capable people in the team, to execute these things. There will be a need to raise the basic knowledge, understanding, and maturity for each and every member of the organization.

Honest Communication
People function best in a culture where open, honest communication is understood. You may be surprised how many innovative solutions can be developed when the truth is consistently shared throughout the organization. An important way to encourage truth-telling is by creating a culture where people listen to one another.

Focus on Processes
Focus on processes helps everyone understand even further the importance of teamwork and cooperation and the interdependence of their work. It places a premium on implementing the tools that make management and improvement of processes more efficient and effective. The emphasis is on continuous improvement through the use of quality tools to measure process performance and teamwork

Understand Your Customer’s Needs and Expectation
For any business the customer is the lifeblood. Every process and every action internal or external should ultimately result in the value addition to the customer and the customer’s delight. Therefore it is essential that the customer needs, wants and expectations are identified before you embark on a quality building program

It is said that the quality of an organization can never exceed the quality of the minds that make it up. The key to success lies in how well each employee is motivated and inspired to deliver quality work.

To create a culture of quality, an organization must align its organizational processes with these vital points. Quality leadership starts with the leaders who plant the seeds, create the environment for success, empower others and deploy quality throughout the organization.


I’m part of the ASQ Influential Voices program. While I receive an honorarium from ASQ for my commitment, the thoughts and opinions expressed on my blog are my own.

Lean Quote: Value Listening and Reading More Than Talking for Self Improvement

On Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on this journey because without learning we can not improve.

"Value your listening and reading time at roughly ten times your talking time. This will assure you that you are on a course of continuous learning and self-improvement." — Gerald McGinnis, President and CEO of Respironics, Inc.

Learning needs to become part of your daily routine. You are most likely to succeed if you consistently pursue a learning activity each day. Even five minutes a day can make a tremendous difference.

So how do you make learning continuously part of job? Here are six ways to get started today:

1. Pursue ways to develop and apply specific skills. The most effective way to develop your skills it to make it part of your daily routine. Each day, identify where you can practice new skills and behaviors. Compile a list of people who can support your development. Observe people who are skilled in the areas you are trying to improve.

2. Get the most out of readings and seminars. When you are reading or are attending a seminar, take notes. Search for one insight or application in everything you read. Decide what you will do differently.

3. Involve others in your development efforts. Effective development rarely happens in isolation. Instead, successful learning occurs through a continuous process of feedback and support. Learn from people outside of work and realize that no single person will fill all your needs. Use resources available through professional associations, Web sites, blogs, and so forth.

4. View mistakes as learning opportunities. Mistakes are a problem if you repeat them or don't learn from them. When you make a mistake, ask yourself what you can learn from it.

5. Stay informed about industry practices. Industry practices and standards change so you need to keep up-to-date on developments. Visit other companies and talk with their employees. Attend industry or professional meetings, conferences, seminars, webinars, and other educational events. Join a group of professionals who get together to discuss issues of common interest.

6. Seek out and learn from others who are different from you. Getting input and advice from a wide range of people will provide you with new ideas. Develop a habit of identifying what you can learn from each person you meet. Realize that to keep learning, you need to put yourself into unfamiliar situations. Network with others to learn needed information.

Everything can contribute to our experience of learning. But as you may realize, learning is incomplete if we don't listen to the voices of those whose background and experiences are different from our own. Part of our learning continuously is opening our minds and hearts to those who propose a different way.

Lean Gone Lego Red Trolley Factory Worker Interviews

My friends at The Gordon, an online training company, have created another series of Lean Lego videos. The Gordon is Victoria's largest regional stand-alone TAFE and one of Australia's original and leading education and training providers -- established in the heart of Geelong in 1887. This project aims to empower workers to continuously come up with ideas to improve workplace productivity. Their first video Lean Gone Lego delivers an insight into a better way of working in manufacturing.

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Following on from LEAN gone LEGO is this interview with Robbie the Red Trolley Manager who implemented the LEAN changes. Robbie talks about the benefits of implementing Lean.


Following on from the original Lean Gone Lego clip Sheila, a Red Trolley worker, tells how the new LEAN systems have helped better her workplace. Sheila talks about the positive work environment and teamwork she experienced in this new Lean company.


These are great additions to the original video and they highlight the respect for people aspects of implementing Lean in your workplace. I think those that have seen "Real" Lean can relate to the comments in these interviews. Hope you enjoy a little fun lesson today.

Meet-up: The Operations Blog Marci Reynolds

Today's guest on the Meet-up is Marci Reynolds, who authors The Operations Blog.  Blog posts focus on Service Operations and Tech Support, with an emphasis on how to align and leverage “people, processes, technology and data.” I have been following Marci for a couple of years and always enjoy her creative posts on leadership.


Who are you and what do you do?
My name is Marci Reynolds and I am Vice President of HELP24 Technical/Customer Support for ACI Worldwide, the leading global payments software provider for banks and retailers. I lead an international team of just under 200 employees with offices in the Americas, EMEA and APAC regions. Our vision is to provide the best customer support in the payments industry.

How and when did you learn Process Improvement?
My first introduction to process improvement was in the early 90’s, when I worked at The Boston Globe newspaper where they used the APIMC approach to address business problems. APIMC stands for: analyze, plan, implement measure and control. In the late 90’s, I participated in a Six Sigma wave with another company, was formally trained in the DMAIC process and received my Greenbelt certification. Last year, I got involved with another twist on Six Sigma, which we labeled the “Higher Velocity” approach.

How and why did you start blogging or writing about Process Improvement?
I have been blogging for about 6 years. I started writing about process improvement within sales (i.e. sale enablement) and then switched to process improvement within service operations about 2 years ago (refer to The Operations Blog). I enjoy writing, sharing what I have learned and getting feedback and ideas from the blog readers. It also forces me to keep current with industry trends.

What does Process Improvement mean to you?
It means identifying and taking action to remove the roadblocks and causes that prevent us from fully achieving our business objectives. Process improvement allows us to implement sustainable improvements in results, not band-aid fixes. It is about looking upstream, and thinking about end to end activities, instead of focusing on the end result only.

What is the biggest myth or misconception of Process Improvement?
The biggest myth I have heard is that process improvement (Six Sigma, Lean etc) is only for manufacturing environments. Second, that process improvement can not be used in creative professions, like logo design. In reality, process improvement techniques can be used in any work environment, for any profession and in any industry.

What is your current Process Improvement passion, project, or initiative?
My entire job is about process improvement. Here are some examples of the types of business questions/problems that my team and I are current addressing using systematic, process review techniques: How can we resolve customer cases faster? How can we improve the capacity of our engineering team to implement code fixes? How can we improve collaboration across departments?

Lean and 5S at Home with Paul Akers

Followers on this site know I have a fondness for Paul Akers as you can see from all these posts. He has found brilliant ways to simplify and share the message of continuous improvement. With Paul's 2 Second Lean book he is helping people grow and build a fun Lean Culture.

In a recent video by Paul, he again takes us home to share lessons on Lean. He focuses on using 5S elements to organize his home office and bathroom.  These improvements center around making tasks easier therefore saving him time.



Hopefully, you are applying continuous improvement thinking in your life and this will give you some ideas for your home and office.

Guest Post: Defining a Lean Organization is a Matter of Character

Today and tomorrow I will be doing a two part guest post on Christian Paulsen's Lean Leadership Blog. I attempted to define a Lean enterprise by the characteristics that embody a Lean organization. A Lean enterprise simplistically is a company that spreads Lean thinking across its entire organization. Those who find success embody a set of distinct characteristics that can help us understand what it means to be on this Lean journey. The first seven characteristics focus on elements of strategy, alignment, and continuous learning. The next of set characteristics focus on execution and continuous improvement.

Here is an excerpt from this post:

Lean is all about respecting people while eliminating Muri (overburdening), Mura (unevenness), and Muda (non value added activity) in all business processes. It is a philosophy which embodies a manufacturing culture of continuous improvement based on setting standards aimed at eliminating waste through participation of all employees.

While Lean can be beneficially applied to any process within an organization, its greatest benefit comes when it is applied across the enterprise. In The Machine That Changed the World in 1990, Jim Womack, et al., emphasized “that Lean thinking can be applied by any company anywhere in the world but that the full power of the system is only realized when it is applied to all elements of the enterprise.”

Lean focuses on creating and implementing processes throughout the entire organization that are highly responsive and flexible to customer demand. Lean paves the way for delivery high quality products and services, at the right location, at the right time, all in a cost effective and profitable manner.

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A Lean Enterprise is not created quickly. To be successful, Lean manufacturing requires building a culture of operational excellence. It’s easy to say (or define), but harder to instill throughout an organization, which is why a lean implementation takes time. But the benefits of lean are undeniable, and those companies who make the journey stand to gain significantly. When a business applies lean thinking, culture, and methods throughout the entire organization and beyond its four walls to customers and suppliers a Lean Enterprise is formed.

To read the full article continue here.

Lean Quote: Dreams Can Come True With Courage

On Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on this journey because without learning we can not improve.

"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." — Walt Disney

When things are difficult, unknown, and perhaps unattainable we may turn the other direction. We must find the inner strength to overcome these perceived barriers. History has proven time after time that the power of a thought is the beginning for actions that will alter the future positively. Understanding this, and having the courage to keep going even in the face of all obstacles, allows us to accomplish anything we want.

Recognizing these truths about courage will assist you in overcoming any challenge that you face:

1. Courage Begins with an Inward Battle - Courage isn't an absense of fear. It's doing what you are afraid to do. It's having the power to let go of the familiar and forge ahead into new terrritory.

2. Courage Is Making Things Right, Not Just Smoothing Them Over - Courage deals with principle, not perception. It's knowing when to stand up and having the conviction to do so.

3. Courage in a Leader Inspires Commitment from Followers - A show of courage by any person encourages others. But a show of courage by a leader ispires. It makes people want to follow them.

4. Your Life Expands in Proportion to Your Courage - Fear limits a leader. But courage has the opposite effect. Courage not only gives you a good beginnig, but it also provides a better future.

Courage means trusting yourself to overcome your fears and doing what you are afraid to do. Courage increases conviction and inspires others to confront their fears.

Walt Disney embodied his quote by dreaming big and being courageous despite the challenges and skeptics. Without his courage to dream and execute we would not have the institution that has become Disney. 

It takes courage to begin the journey towards our dreams and courage to see them through.