10 things, I have learnt, about Quality

EMC Process Innovation Event

26 February, 2014

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1. QUALITY IS IN INDIVIDUAL ACTIONS

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Implications for Process Innovation

• Individual actions depend on capability and intent

• Both capability and intent, shape each other. But only through actions.

• Therefore act!

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2. QUALITY IS SHAPED BY ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

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2. Quality is shaped by organizational context

What is actually achieved - depends on

• processes,

• measures,

• reviews,

• rewards and

• organizational memory

Implications for Process Innovation – Therefore Enable!

3. CUSTOMER’S NEEDS ARE THE COMPASS. ALAS! THEY VARY

3. Customer’s needs are the compass. Alas! They vary

• Future Products (Brahma's department – Creation)– Anticipated future needs (skate to where puck will be)– Mitigate risks– Assimilate the available

• Current Products & Processes (Vishnu’s department – Sustenance)

– Value for money– First/ best– Relationship

• Outdated Products & Processes (Shiva’s department – Reengineering)

– Reduce cycle time/ costs– Incremental innovation– New markets & niches

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4. A CHAIN IS ONLY AS STRONG AS ITS WEAKEST LINK

4. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link

Individual Gaps• Inability

• Unclear

• Demotivated

Customer GapsOrganization Gaps• Broken process

• Irrelevant or too many measures

• Skipped reviews

• Only penalties

• Fear

• Not seeing future

• Misreading own relevance

• Staying complacent

Implications for Process Innovation – What needs fixing?

5. WHAT GETS MEASURED, MATTERS

5. What gets measured, matters• Early & visible success - always matters

• A leading indicator will give you time to fix things

• Too much measurement, is a pain. Pain without gain, is a drain.

• If same indicator is used for both evaluation and quality, then evaluation trumps quality

Implications for Process Innovation – Design Measures too

6. LEADING INDICATORS ARE INVALUABLE. USE WITH CAUTION!

6. Leading indicators are invaluable. Use with caution though

• Examples of Leading indicators

– The buzz in the backroom

– Smiling faces when coming out of office

– Under promised and over delivered

• It is futile to tweak the speedometer needle of a car to make it go faster

Implications– Use intangibles to diagnose. Not to deliver.

7. QUALITY IS COMMON SENSE

8. WE DON’T KNOW, WHAT WE DON’T KNOW

Implications – Stay open. Stay humble.

9. TO DO THE SAME THINGS AND EXPECT DIFFERENT RESULTS, IS MADNESS

Implications – Do different things, but not insane ones.

10. QUALITY IS EASIER IF YOU CAN FORESEE THE FUTURE

10. Quality is easier if you can foresee the future

• No quality is possible without comparison

• To build to an unprecedented quality, an unprecedented comparison is required

• Such a comparison can only come from the future

• The peek into future also allows us to see consequences of our actions

– When aggregated over numbers

– When compounded over time

Implications – learn crystal ball gazing ..

All the best, for your process innovation journey!

A Dream of a Just, Equitable, Humane and Sustainable Society

31Thank You