21st century challenges include interconnected, fragile ...



In the 21st century the world faces unprecedented challenges, including interconnected, unstable global and localized economies; healthcare, education, environmental, and political crises; and accelerated business, institutional, and cultural transformation. For the global quality community, the opportunities and responsibility to positively effect change and to make a difference in the world are urgent and critical to our shared future on this fragile planet.

In this ASQ World Conference Special Session, an international panel offered their insights on this key issue. The panel consisted of:

▪ James Faubion, chair, Department of Anthropology, Rice University, Houston, TX

▪ Dr. Marius J.S. Buiting, president of the European Society for Quality in Healthcare

▪ Sarita Nagpal, principal counselor/head of manufacturing services, Confederation of Industry Services, Gurgaon, Harna, India.

▪ Shoji Shiba, visiting professor at MIT in Cambridge, MA, and professor emeritus, University of Tsukuba, Japan

▪ Margaret Wheatley, president emerita of The Berkana Institute

▪ Blanton Godfrey, panel moderator

Following are the highlights of this panel presentation and discussion. They are presented in both textual and graphic formats. The graphic “mural” was created by ASQ graphic recorder, Suzanne Keely. We suggest you refer to the graphic for the big picture, system view of the panel discussion and to the text for additional explanation of what is depicted on the graphic.

The goal of this panel discussion (Blanton Godfrey): What we are doing today is not what we will be doing tomorrow – what should we be doing tomorrow?

James Faubion:

▪ Recent political movements have been aimed at achieving peace through political means and economic integration. For example, Western Europe has not had a major war in over 60 years after a long history of conflict prior to World War II.

▪ “Life” has become a political object, but this has turned against the governments that created the movement by the increasing demand for human rights and sovereignty of the people over those who govern them.

o This can be considered a “biopolitical constitution.”

o Michael Foucault, History of Sexuality: “The right to life…the right to rediscover what one is, was the political response to all the new procedures of power.”

▪ This has given birth to new social movements focused on securing and improving “quality of life”, especially health

▪ It is considered a “dividend of democracy” as most of the world evolves towards democratic political systems.

▪ Corporate social responsibility and the notion of sustainable enterprise is another product of this movement

o Elise McCarthy: “Sustainable enterprise is first and foremost a mindset”

o It is a closed loop system that connects enterprise to life as we know it.

Margaret Wheatley:

Rather than looking outside yourselves for answers, contemplate a few questions, based on your own experience:

▪ What’s the state of quality on this planet?

o Within your organizations and communities

o How would you rate the quality of customer service, healthcare, education, and other institutions you encounter in your personal lives?

o How are you defining quality?

▪ How do you feel about the quality of work life?

o Feelings of leaders of quality efforts in organizations:

▪ Time compression leads to feeling overwhelmed, yet it’s viewed as a means to greater productivity

▪ Very lonely

▪ Quality requires time

▪ Quality requires good relationships

▪ It’s very difficult to champion quality

o Feelings of workers:

▪ Why can’t they just treat us as human beings?

▪ Has led to increasing levels of worker disengagement – just show up for work without passion, creativity, or meaning

• For example, 70% of workers disengaged in U.S.; 90% in Singapore and Australia

o Current organizational culture

▪ Command and control leadership

▪ Quality is just another program in a culture of continuously rolling out new programs

▪ Creates robotic behavior

▪ Quality is an intrinsic desire of the human species. Most people on this planet want to learn, to do things well, to contribute to others, to make life better.

o But people have lost sight of what quality really is amidst the crazed pace of life and resultant lack of real meaning in their lives. This is a global issue!

▪ 21st century won’t be about tools and techniques. It has to be about how do we re-engage people – from their intrinsic motivations.

▪ What have we learned from our experience? What makes quality work?

o How often are you given the opportunity to explore this in depth with your peers?

o Organizations punish mistakes, stifling real learning

o Best learning organization = U.S. Army – example, AAR’s (After Action Reviews) following each action - “It’s better to learn than to be dead!”

▪ Everything on this planet operates as networks of interdependent relationships

o How do we lead in a network (vs. manage a hierarchy)?

o It’s all about relationships – strong, trusting relationships!

o How do we create and sustain strong, trusting relationships?

Sarita Nagpal:

Looked at the evolution of quality in India, using an innovative program for small and medium (SME) manufacturers as a case study

▪ Age of Control and Incremental Improvement – 1986-2004

o Implement standards and control

o Incremental improvement

o But still led to a crisis in manufacturing

▪ Age of Breakthroughs - 2004 and on

o Introduced unique approach to support quality in SME’s – VLFM (Visionary Leaders for Manufacturing)

o Breakthough example: Nano car - costs only $2500 U.S.

o Partnership between India and Japan; government, industry, and academics

o Holistic approach looks at entire manufacturing environment as a whole system including supply chain

o From “small M” to “big M”

o Includes conceptual learning, developing human potential, application of learning in context, cultivation of creativity through such things as exposure to Indian cultural arts and other cultures

o Mid-term results are impressive with most participants exhibiting changes in their behavior back in their workplace such as more fact-based management, application of quality tools and techniques, better leadership behaviors, and a better big M perspective. 65% of executive sponsors said they would send more managers to the next program.

Shoji Shiba:

Guided the introduction of this unique VLFM program in India. Started out to transform Indian industry but after one year, they decided what they needed was a new approach consisting of:

1. New model of transformation

o Expand depth of perception

o See unknown/unseen problems

o Unlearn past mindset

2. New model of collaboration

o Give/give model (vs. give/take or take/take)

o Asian model not the competitive model

▪ For example, the way Buddhism was introduced across Asia

3. New human development methodologies

o New way of releasing human potential – from a skill incentive to a dream/joy incentive

Proposed [new] quality system:

o Move from cross-functional work to a common pilgrimage toward a shared dream

o Co-realization between industry, government, and academics of this shared dream

Marius Buiting:

Presented a journey to a new, (as yet) undiscovered future.

▪ Reflect on and learn from the past because we have the possibility and the responsibility to create a better life for our children

▪ Our present economic, political and managerial constructs, including the mainstream of Quality strategies, brought us a lot of benefit but at the same time a lot of tragedy.

o For example, doctors in European clinics paying more attention to their quality system than to their relationship with their patients

▪ Need to break current patterns:

o From control and fear to trust, discipline and patience

o From standardization to uniqueness

o From more, faster and money-driven to a deepening of experiences

o From human resource to ownership and full commitment

o From linearity to the acceptance of unpredictability

o From depth and aging ‘prevention’ to the art of living and accepting that at the end we all have to learn to let it go

o From get to share

o From science to wisdom

o From service to love and compassion

▪ We need to bring the mystery back to Quality

o We don’t have to know the answer to every question

o “We live in times of picked flowers…look to the flowers in the fields”

▪ Appreciate and harness uniqueness

▪ Appreciate imperfection - “there’s a crack in everything; that’s where the light comes in”

▪ To be fit for the future means to create a community

▪ Mind setting…trust instead of control, abundance instead of scarcity, joy instead of duty, hope instead of reality

Panel Discussion (based on questions posed to panel by Blan, the moderator):

“What have we learned from lessons around the world?”

▪ Meg: No species survives if it doesn’t learn

▪ Shoji: how to forget, recognize our arrogance, need to respect everyone

▪ James: Insistence on maintaining boundaries is dangerous, the cultivation of crossings is much more valuable

▪ Sarita: Whatever we learn we must practice

▪ Marius: Time is needed.

What have we learned from other cultures to apply to our own?

▪ James: Value of the cultivation of memory & imagination

▪ Shoji: Imitation…openly imitate, give credit, then pay back for your imitation

▪ Meg: Whatever the problem, community is the answer

▪ Sarita: Humility – Every moment is an opportunity to learn – from anyone, anywhere

▪ Marius: Never do what the coaches tell you to do.

Comments extracted from informal dialogue after formal session ended (70-80 people stayed for this informal dialogue):

▪ Sarita: Need critical mass of people to bring about large scale systems change

▪ Marius: Don’t react to the current system…create a new system.

▪ Meg: How are we fostering the very behaviors that will or will not lead to a promising future? We need to take responsibility for them and then begin to create the new in the midst of this – be ok with paradox and “being in the question.” We are hospicing the breakdown of the old while we are midwives to the new.

▪ Sarita: 3 new leadership behaviors encouraged in VLFM program:

1. walk through the factory every day

2. carry a camera and take 100 pictures per day of problems

o Meg suggested that, to better motivate people, every other day take pictures of what people are doing right

3. All resultant actions need to take place within one week

▪ Blanton: Joy in work drives skills, not skills driving work

▪ Shoji: 3 steps to transformation:

1. Leader must be crazy enough to want to change – to follow a crazy path

2. If he’s crazy, then need symbolic destruction – crush old paradigms, mindsets, behaviors and show new direction

3. Build the new direction

▪ Shoji: UDC – uniqueness, dream, crazy

▪ Marius:

o Need to establish a strong value system and allow each newcomer to be a contributor to it

o Need a new economic model to get out of this management trap we’re in that leads to destructive behaviors

o Try to link like-minded individuals in your organization or community to think and learn together

▪ Blanton: Quoted someone as saying this about why they are optimistic about the future: “You can always count on Americans to do the right thing after they’ve tried everything else.”

▪ Member of audience: Learned new approach to quality by listening to workers long enough to find out what will motivate the group to excel. Perfection is inspiring, mediocrity is not.

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