Past and Future of Quality, ASQ

On the blog A View from the Q, Paul Borawski invited us to think about the past and the future of Quality.

The only way to connect the past with the future is through the present. The past does not exist, the present is all we have, and the future is going to be written. If you live in the past, you live in memories ... if you live in the future ... you live in the clouds ... in the present you should build and work for your vision....

My thoughts will be focused on the actions we must do today to build the desired scenario of a better world through the philosophy and methodology of Quality. That will mean that we should not postpone things we can do today and give our actions a sense of urgency.

Quality is a journey, and we must be lightweight luggage, but having two main components: a clear philosophy and a set of tools that we know how to use.

When we look to the past, we should learn from good and bad, to repeat and improve the good and to analyze the causes and take action to avoid recurrence of bad things.

Paul told us that looking back with nostalgia, seems we are currently ignoring the parents of Quality: Deming, Juran, Crosby, and Ishikawa between others.

All in the Quality community have the responsibility to ensure that the basis of Quality and its creators are not lost in history.

Any process of quality should starts from a clear understanding of the philosophy and methodology of basic Quality, without it we cannot build strong companies and countries. For this purpose, the ASQ body of knowledge is a key tool.

I use to start all my seminars with the E. Deming phrase:

It takes courage to admit that one has done something wrong, admit that have something to learn and there are many ways of doing things better.

The earlier we start teaching Quality is better, a program that I always liked and I would like to develop in my country is the Koality Kids, where the basics of quality are taught since the school.

When you look at ISO 9001, models of excellence, they are all based on principles and these should be taught and practiced at all levels.

In relation to the future, the concept of prospective makes sense, which is to dream a scenario and take action from the present to build it. Currently the influence of technology, the internet, the death of distance, speed of change, the need to build quality with many generations working together is already a reality.

From my work experience in post graduate programs with young people under 35 years, they look Quality like something larger where sustainability is essential and therefore the quality has three axes, produce results taking care to the planet and its people . Quality as an extended eco system to all current and potential stakeholders, meeting the current and potential needs of these parts, a great challenge.

I feel ASQ is evolving to a more global organization, but must generate a body of knowledge that suits the speed of change, never neglecting the philosophical basis and a basic methodology on which develop new knowledge. To do this ASQ must always be in search of best practices to adapt and improve.

Finally, remember that an organization becomes immortal when it transfers its values and principles to the next generation...

César Díaz