The Power of Purpose by Rebecca A. Morgan:
Constancy of purpose means that quality decisions are not situational. End of month quality is the same as beginning of month. It means that the long term benefit of the organization is not sacrificed to hit quarterly targets. It means having your eye on the competition, whether it is in your industry or coming from elsewhere, with plans to stay ahead. Constancy of purpose doesn’t require the threat of a customer leaving to implement corrective actions based on root cause. It means that while your team may argue about how best to accomplish it, no one is confused about the commitment to deliver reliable quality.
Deming’s Fourteen Points, point 1: Create constancy of purpose for the improvement of product and service. With the aim to become competitive, stay in business, and provided jobs.” source, Deming Institute
March 4th, 2006 at 4:32 pm
Thank you for the clarification/correct on my blog. I will re-read Out of the Crisis as punishment for my fuzzy memory about Deming’s view on inspection.
March 4th, 2006 at 5:30 pm
Getting to read Out of the Crisis should be a reward not a punishment
Ok, actually Out of the Crisis is not the easiest book to read - but it is full of great thoughts. I recommend it for those that already believe there are serious problems with current management practices and are seriously looking to improve. Then the reader is willing to put the effort into reading it. Those that have not been attempting to improve management often get frustrated with the style of the writing.