Better Cheaper Faster

BETTER, CHEAPER, FASTER

Daniel Kwok, Managing Director Asia Pacific, Philip Crosby Associates II

The last two decades have seen organisations around the world riding on formal programs to improve what they offer to their markets. Globalised competition and technology have ensured that hands are not made for sitting on. Many iconic organisations had to remake themselves in order to extend their life. Unless an organisation, however glorious its track record is, improves continuously and dramatically, it does not deserve to go on. Complacency kills, and with it the misery of job loss and other attendant effects.

Many organisations, in their effort to bring about improvement, often get into a muddle. Cross-departmental teams, program launches, procedures, posters, workshops, and admonishment from leaders who do not necessarily practice what they preach. The whole affair becomes monsterised, and in the end, much resource is consumed with little results to show.

There needs to be a clear focus on what to improve. With this end clearly defined, and the targets for improvement carefully selected, then can the actions needed be put in place. Hence, a strong result orientation – not another wearying exercise where hype is highlight.

What to improve? The Philip Crosby philosophy defines quality (or working successfully) as “conformance to requirements”. Requirements are what we agree to do or make. Conformance to what we agree the first time means success for the doers or makers as well as for the receivers of their outputs. The requirements, to be useful, must be the right ones. No use wearing a tuxedo to a barbecue – it is the wrong requirement.

Based on the language spawned by “conformance to requirements” as the foundation concept, Philip Crosby introduces

· “prevention” as the way to get conformance to requirements

· “zero defects” as the performance standard for conformance

· “price of non-conformance” (money) as the measure for failure

This language can be used to give a clear perspective to deal with the question: What to improve?

We can improve by:

· Eliminating / reducing non-conformance

· Making existing output requirements more attractive to the customer (Three hours response time vs next day)

· Making the process of conforming faster and cheaper (email vs facsimile)

Continuous improvement means that we continuously, deliberately and seriously prospect for things to improve. There are two main groups of improvement opportunities:

· Those that have become necessary

· Those that have become possible

Customer demand and competitive pressure make it necessary to improve some things. In a more self-driven scenario, self-monitoring and customer feedback will yield targets for improvement.

Improvements are made possible by technology and innovation. We need to put our welcome mat out for whatever technology has to offer. But at the same time, we have to be careful not to succumb to overload or getting lost in a technology maze. In a proactive manner, we need to innovate to create new ways of doing and making things.

Empowerment of our people would unleash creative energy. This can add dramatically to the golden pot of possibilities with contribution from people previously barred (invisible though these bars may be) from doing so. Shifts in mind-sets or paradigm are like giving sight to the blind. Sailing beyond the horizon is “possible” only after man smashed the paradigm of a flat earth.

The right focus and an appropriate language to engage in improvement will yield more results with the limited resources available to most organisations