Crosby's 14 Steps To Improvement

60 I DECEMBER 2005 I www.asq.org he most difficult lesson for the quality crusader to learn is that real improvement just plain takes a while to accomplish. The urgency of the need, the obviousness of the cause and the clarity of the solution have little to do with getting things straightened out. That is why government programs often fail and are scrapped when a new administration takes over. The disappointment and disillusionment of the previous administrator are all too obvious. The administrator blames a lack of funds, cooperation, timing or whatever for the failure. Yet no matter what the program was, or however well it was directed, its potential for success hinged on events entirely separate from the executive’s efforts. Quality improvement programs have similar problems. Because quality improvement sounds like such a great idea, and because it is usually so necessary, managers often think merely announcing its conception is the signal for arranging a victory dinner. I have yet to attend a quality meeting where someone didn’t comment to me that they had been unable to really reach their management or get the people motivated to put quality improvement over the top. They claim they have taken the actions any well-oriented professional would expect, and yet they are disappointed. Those colleagues who have faithfully implemented the 14step quality improvement program worry about an inevitable falloff in enthusiasm and search for new means of keeping the program on a high intensity level. Each time I hear these things I am shocked. I am always surprised that they are surprised. Why should quality be different from the real world? Basically, people are slow to change because they reject newness. The world is a complicated and unsettled place. Each individual treasures the few things he or she can depend upon. A company quality improvement effort must be well thought T