On Sunday, I’ll be California bound… headed out to Anaheim for ASQ’s World Conference on Quality & Improvement.  Woo hoo!

In addition to all of of the networking and soaking up of quality knowledge that will be taking place, I’m also going to participate in the Walk the Walk Toward Results event sponsored by ASQ’s social responsibility initiative, the SRO.  In the spirit of things, I’m going to track my steps for the whole trip.  TheSRO is asking for 3000 steps for each day of the conference, so I’m curious to see how this turns out. I actually don’t have a clue how many steps I might take on an average day!

The latest View from the Q post brings up the 800lb gorilla in the room.  Paul Borawski wants to know why citizens expect and demand so little accountability for the poor use of resources in government? I do too.

Let’s face it, everyone has an opinion regarding government these days.  But, the difference is that we go to sleep at night with a sense of complacency.  Whether it’s a mass case of learned helpless or that we’re just too lazy to really do anything about it, overall accountability and general quality is indeed a laughing (crying) matter.  If public were private, we would be asking for a bailout about right now, which is optimistic in the face of insolvency.

The issue itself is overwhelming, but I have to believe there are small things each of us can do to affect the future of policy.  Little things…

1) Learn – As citizens, we need to spend time knowing and understanding what’s going on around us.  The government needs someone to be accountable to and “we” are it.

2) Vote – Many of us drag ourselves to the polls every four years, but we fail to get involved in the more local and smaller elections.  We should consider it our civic responsibility to make sure the right people land in public positions.  We’re counting on these people to be the champions of quality and the leaders of our nation, even on the smallest scale.

3) Talk – We shouldn’t shy away from talking about relevant issues.  The more we talk, the more awareness there is.  The more awareness there is, the more action.  The more action, the more results.  Results = Quality =

It’s because of the reasons Paul points out about government’s influence on our lives, economic security and our children’s future that we should demand government set an example. It’s not too late for us… Imagine this news headline:

“Government agency conducts root cause analysis and discovers inefficiencies.  Corrective action efforts have proven successful, with key indicators now meeting expectations.”

In his post, Paul reaches out for stories of success in the public sector.  Unfortunately, I’m at a loss trying to come up with one.  I’m sure there are isolated examples throughout the system, but it’s sad they are the exception and not the rule.  Who can I call in the government to talk about benchmarking and best practices?

“Where does an 800-pound gorilla sleep?

Anywhere it wants to.”

This month’s View From the Q post references the Forbes’ happiest jobs in America article that also turned into an interesting class discussion earlier this week.  Paul’s question about happiness on the job resolves the inconsistencies I felt were found in the study Forbes references.  Considering the inconsistencies in the study and my personal happiness, is it plausible to correlate happiness on the job to the following characteristics regardless of title, education, etc.:

Dynamic

Most of us hate being bored and thrive on being able to do different things.  It’s a win-win.  This is the small business advantage.

 Autonomy 

Most of us have opinions and appreciate the ability to express them, even if it doesn’t work out our way all of the time.   (Hint: RSA’s-Pink’s-Drive) 

Meaning

If what we’re doing doesn’t mean anything to us, why do it at all?  Happiness is easy when you end your day knowing you’ve somehow made a difference and contributed to something larger than yourself.  (Hint: Maslow)

 Respect

Enter any conversation and one of the first things to be asked is what you do.  What we do largely defines it, as it should.  Most of us spend quite a bit of time doing it. Happiness comes from feeling what we do is respected… when that question can be answered with pride and passion.

This month, Paul specifically asks us if we’re happy on the job… Truly, I couldn’t be happier.  While there are certainly frustrating components, the benefits always outweigh the costs at the end of the day.  (Hint: Equity Theory)  

The fabulous niche of marketing quality and general instruction (education) are components of myself  that I’m most proud of.  Two things drive my job happiness in a nutshell:

1. Knowing that someone or something will be better because of something I’ve communicated or done

2. Knowing that there are not many other things I would rather be doing with my time

 ”Happiness is not simply something that happens to us. It’s something that we make happen, and it results from us doing our best.”  ~Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Selling quality isn’t as easy as I thought it would be, but I’ve gotten pretty good at it.  Aside from having the advantage of working with an incredibly knowledgable team of QC professionals, I’ve discovered the most successful strategies are often also the simplest to employ.

Paul Borawski talks about selling quality in his most recent View from the Q post.  He asks if there’s an “essential answer” in pitching top decision makers.  This is an excellent discussion opportunity, and I’m looking forward to hearing from the other Influential Voices here.

My tried and true suggestions are as follows:

- Walk the walk -

Consider for a moment how quick we are to notice inconsistencies in people’s words vs their actions. “Walking the walk” establishes trustworthiness, which is a key contributor to our decision making process.  We can’t expect people to buy into something we don’t back up with personal action.  Consistency is also a key component here.  We need to live and breathe quality.  We need to be passionate about it

- It’s all about the benefits -

This is really the basis of any good marketing campaign.  Rather than scaring people with the realities of poor quality, focus on the positive effects that come with doing it right.  Talk about the improvements and back up the claim that “quality costs less, not more.” Increased profits, a happier and more productive workforce, brand loyal consumers and a positive public perception are just a few of the great things that happen when you support quality initiatives.  Also, as key decision makers, it doesn’t hurt to point out the positive effects of being a steward of such fabulous benefits.

- Know your stuff - 

The key decision makers I’ve talked quality with in the past have responded positively to my ability to back up claims of benefits or disputes to common misconceptions with facts, figures and/or case studies.  Many times, resistance to quality is a faulty foundation of knowledge that has lead the individual(s) to believe ensuring quality is too complicated and not worth the effort.  Of course we know that nothing could be further from the truth, but you’ll need more than your opinion to change someone’s mind.

- All the world’s a stage - 

Paul also asks about cultural considerations when selling quality, and I’m not sure that’s how I would frame it.  I think you have to consider your audience from a broader perspective and then adjust your strategy as necessary.  I talk about quality differently depending on my audience.  Personalizing the approach in this way establishes a relationship and keeps your key decision makers engaged in the discussion.

Raising the voice of quality can certainly be considered a way of “selling” quality.  By contributing value adding content to the industry, we educate and inform key decision makers.

So, I just read through the ASQ release regarding youth and their perceptions of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) fields as career choices.  When it says that our youth sees the value of these fields but is afraid they won’t measure up, I’m left to wonder if it’s because we’re failing as parents?  Or, is it that our education system is failing somehow?

My son is in second grade now.  He does very well in school, but getting him to do homework is a real chore.  He has this perception that somehow learning outside of the classroom is infringing on some other entitled play time.  Of course, he ultimately doesn’t have a choice but I’m left wondering what’s up?  He’ll play scientist, surgeon and frontline infantry with his buddies, but worksheets elicit the same reaction as immunizations.

I recall having homework and thinking it sucked as well.  Math was my downfall. I can remember the math teachers standing there talking about numbers in a monotone voice for such long periods of time.  It was so hard to stay awake, much less engaged at some beneficial level.  And, it wasn’t that I thought it was too hard.  It just wasn’t interesting.  I hate to say the same goes for other STEM subjects as well.  The courses in college renewed my interest simply by offering better instructors, although I was and remain a liberal arts kind of girl!  I’ve been interested ever since, but from afar.  Math and I still have issues and are not the best of friends… we tolerate each other at best.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that we need to hit the battle on both sides.  We know that these jobs are going to be in high demand, and we must figure out a way to prepare the workforce of the future.  But, how do we do it?

Education 

With the public/private education debate off the table here, we need to start making sure our teachers are using engaging methods throughout the K-12 experience.  From what I’ve seen, elementary students are open books and they suck up knowledge at an amazing rate.  Their teachers sing silly songs and they do arts and crafts… Can we logically conclude that this type of engagement should continue throughout middle school and high school (obviously in a way that evolves with maturity)? For my community college students,  I absolutely make sure that there are engaging discussions and activities.  There’s no doubt that people respond to learning in this way. As an instructor, it keeps things interesting for me as well.

For teachers, I would eliminate tenure and make employment based on performance.  It works in business… it would work in education.  If we must keep unions, they should make a better effort to work towards the greater goal.

I’m not against the use of aptitude tests for career placement.  I really do think we should foster natural talents.  It just might make students pursue fields they otherwise would have shied away from.   And, the incentive of a good career would likely foster higher success throughout childhood.  I believe both Poland and Taiwan use this method for making sure demand is met with supply where human resources are concerned.

What would happen if we provided post secondary education for people who meet certain performance criteria?  Would it cost more or less than the current funding for re-training through unemployment or other related programs? If such post secondary education was made available , there would be an associated incentive to perform well.  Right?  It also helps insure we meet growing industry demands.

Parents

We seem to let our kids off the hook when they get to middle school.  As parents, we need to be committed to their education.  The responsibility is ultimately on us and not the education system.  Paul Borawski, in the latest View from the Q post, talks about making math fun with his family.  Our household is the same in this way, and I can see how the kids love doing science experiments and solving problems.  The minute it becomes homework, they’re done.  It’s our responsibility to keep them on track. I learn new things in STEM fields all the time whenever we follow their natural curiosity. Our jobs much later in life should reflect this as well!

Sidenote: I just wanted to send out a special welcome to all of the new ASQ Influential Voices that have joined this year! I look forward to reading the posts and “raising the voice” with you!