Problems are covered up, rather than solved

Perfection was born with the birth on man himself. Yet, humanity has been bred on the paradigm of fallibility….to err is human. To strive for perfection is considered unreal. It is considered Utopian.

The price we pay for accommodating errors in any organization is alarming. Review of several manufacturing and service organizations by Qimpro over the past 26 years, has established that the cost of poor quality (or errors) is at least 25 per cent of sales. Consequently, pursuing perfection makes good business sense. Any resultant cost of poor quality goes straight to the bottom-line. We therefore need to seriously question our paradigm of fallibility.

Pursuing perfection demands a different attitude. Instead of accepting the idea that nobody is perfect, we need to rally round and start helping each other to perform better. While no individual may be perfect, a team can attain perfection.

To enable perfect teamwork, management has to create the right climate. Creating this climate demands a giant mental step, from control of products and people, to control of process. Most managers believe that chronic quality problems are caused by unmotivated and careless people. These managers tend to resort to reward and punishment programs to encourage the people to be more careful. A likely result is that problems are covered up rather than solved.

On the other hand, a forward looking manager objectively traces backwards the cause and effect relationships of a quality problem, along the process. This requires teamwork.

In my view, for teams to attain perfection, as a first step, management must eliminate an environment of blame. Don’t shoot the messenger.