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.”

I like it when the universe throws me a pattern… you know, like when the same thing or general topic suddenly seems to appear more frequently and yet randomly than ever before.  Lately, I’ve been reminded of Pirsig’s Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, which just happens to be a personal favorite.  It’s come up a lot lately…

For this particular situation, it’s Pirsig’s perspective on quality that interests me and I’m reminded of it primarily because of a recent LinkedIn ASQ discussion asking how we define quality.   In the past, I’ve noted the inability to define quality as a primary misconception in the industry and I’ve reached out to others on the Pro QC team to inquiring how they perceive it as well.  No one puts it quite as eloquently and romantic as Pirsig though…

“Quality,” or “value,” as described by Pirsig, cannot be defined because it empirically precedes any intellectual construction of it, namely due to the fact that quality (as Pirsig explicitly defines it) exists always as a perceptual experience before it is ever thought of descriptively or academically. Quality is the “knife-edge” of experience, found only in the present, known or at least potentially accessible to us all. (Plato’s Phaedrus, 258d). Equating it with the Tao, Pirsig postulates that Quality is the fundamental force in the universe stimulating everything from atoms to animals to evolve and incorporate ever greater levels of Quality. According to the MOQ, everything (including ideas, and matter) is a product and a result of Quality.”

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

I saw this posted on Quality Inspection Tips and had to share it… I actually laughed out loud thinking about all of the stories I’ve heard over the years relating to these very issues .  Imagine how different this would look if quality and the simple concept of continuous improvement was built in to each process.

Source: OnQuality