The ‘Science’ of QUALITY in business! TOYOTA

At work last week, one of our VP’s sent out a weekly ‘internal operations’ update. In this update he mentioned the latest ‘quality issue’ that has arisen within Toyota. (the gas pedals that stick) He mentioned the issues and pulled a few comparisons out that might apply to our company as well as other companies. I had been following Toyota since the late 1990’s and writing articles about the Japanese automakers for several publications. So needless to say, his mention of the most recent Toyota episodes aroused my interest.

His email started quite a bit of debate among the folks at our business. Many people replied with various opinions and feedback. I read an article just this morning that mentioned the fact that Toyota has recently engaged in cost cutting initiatives and that these initiatives have caused easily noticed deficiencies within their automotive lines. The article mentioned the differences in the RAV4 line which at first appears to be ‘more value for the money’ but after closer observation it becomes obvious that the materials have become cheaper and that the fit & finish has been sacrificed. (the opinion of the article and not necessarily my own)

As I listen to the folks at my company, read the articles and speak with friends of mine that work within some of the Japanese automaker companies I realize how easy it is for us to ‘jump on the bandwagon’ and pontificate about these companies such as Toyota when they suffer a ‘hit’ like this. (and make no mistake, this will hurt Toyota…..even if only in the short term)

The real truth of the matter is that 85% of the companies in America (and probably in the world) are doing the same things that will lead us to the same results. Have you tried finding a company in this economy that is not attempting to trim internal costs? We have collectively cut our experienced labor force and we trim every single process that we can trim. The areas in which we trim and still can not make it work for a ‘predetermined $$$ amount’, we simply find a vendor (or Country) in which the part can be made cheaper. We have become a society that must make it cheaper and sell it for more.

Did you notice the last time you bought a bag of snack chips how many were in the bag? Did the price change when the company started placing fewer chips in the bag?

Quality is a real ‘Science’ and many good men & women have argued and fought over the real definition of quality. Oftentimes an engineer will define quality in a different way than the salesman selling the product. Sadly, most of our companies define ‘quality’ from within………I submit that our customer should define the vast majority of our ‘quality equation’……….and we must remember that quality comes with a price.

We can browse back through world history and see that within any manufacturing process or product line quality always comes at a premium. Toyota in the early years was built upon quality and with the assistance of a lean (not to be confused with attempts to strip a company from within and do the job with less people working more hours) manufacturing attitude. I suspect we will find, as has been the case nearly 95% of the time in the history of the automobile industry , that somewhere along the way Toyota became more concerned with cutting cost and increasing profit margins than they did with making a quality product.

This is a tough lesson and I find that often times the people who ‘laugh the loudest’ when these things happen to a company are guilty of the same exact way of thinking!

I challenge you to search deep within your organizations and see if every single internal operation adds quality & value to your product. If it does not, you are setting yourself up for future failure. Quality is not a ‘meeting’ or a ‘group of people’ or even a ‘program’ within an organization………but rather, much like safety…….quality must be a lifestyle. We must live it…..we must not be guilty of cloaking ourselves in ‘quality’ as we enter our places of business and leaving it at the door on our way out……we must walk the talk for if we do not it will be glaringly obvious to those who look at us…..and most importantly the end user suffers in the long run…….and the end user is where our paychecks ultimately come from!

Your thoughts?

kml

2010

Adapting to 'Change' in Business

A couple of months ago I was speaking with some executives in a business regarding change. One of the gentlemen is a great guy but he was so convinced that change would come to everyone except him. He was determined to ‘make’ me understand that he had a specific vision and that his vision alone was how ‘it must be’.  A couple of months before our conversation, I was made aware that change was coming for these folks and in what form it was coming but I was not at liberty to discuss it at the time.

An important lesson to learn here is that change can come to anyone. It matters not at what level you operate within your organization. This recent economy has proven that many thousands of people who were sure they were ‘at the top of their game’ were in fact just hours away from total collapse.

So, where does this leave us? How can one adapt to change? It seems ‘CHANGE’ has been a buzz word during the last 2 years. An American President was elected into the White House based on a campaign devoted to ‘change’.

I fear for folks who continually ‘burn bridges’ and then are one day faced with ‘change’ within their organizations. In this global economy we must embrace change. We must also remember that not all change is ‘good change’……..however, not all change is ‘bad change’.

Successful people will quickly determine which change is negotiable and which is not and once the decision is made they will embrace the future. They will not live in fear of the change but rather will devote as much time as required to understanding and successful integration!

Your thoughts?

kml

2010

I also ‘Have a Dream’

..........I have a dream of a world in which all people take initiative……..a world in which every single person works and studies according to the absolute limit of his or her God-given abilities and talents.……..A world in which every single person treats his or her neighbors better than his own family…………….A world in which race matters not……….A world in which hard work and perseverance are rewarded every time……….A world in which the wealthy help the poor, out of the goodness of their hearts because they understand that it is the Lord which giveth and also the Lord which taketh away, giving from their hearts and not at the point of any tyrant’s sword………..A world in which no evil exists…….A world in which stereotypes are damned to hell and every man and woman stands upon his or her own merit outside of any government mandated quotas but simply upon their God-given abilities…….A world in which the old are not reduced to centers of living not fit for an animal but rather where they are brought into the home and loved like a human being during their final years………A world in which ‘men are men’, not because of their genitals but rather because they loved their wives and supported their children………A world in which women are mothers, defending their families no matter the cost………..A world in which employees once again can believe in their companies……..A world in which politicians return to the principles of George Washington in that they refuse ‘Kingship’ and simply become a servant of the people, no more or less human than others…………..

Yes, I have dreams too……..I suspect it would take many books to contain the dreams that I have………I may not live to see all of my dreams come true…………I also know that I can’t see my dreams all fulfilled at one time but I can embrace them as I do each moment of the day……..one at the time…….the only thing preventing a dream from becoming a reality is a ‘lack of action’………Yes, I have dreams too.......

kml

2010

‘Being Different’ & ‘Standing Out’ In Business!

I had a young entrepreneur ask me a question recently that I really had to think about before I gave a quick answer. The question was, “Mr. Langdon, what do you think the single best way to ‘stand out and be different’ in the global business environment is?” I must admit when I pondered all of the many things a person or start-up business could do to be different, I was torn regarding the best way to prioritize this so that the young man could take something tangible away from our conversation. I gave him my answer and it even shocked me momentarily.

I said, “Do you really want to stand out and be different?” The young man replied, “Yes, of course I do or I would not have asked the question!” I said, “It is simple, BE YOURSELF………nothing more or nothing less, just be yourself!”

I have been thinking about my answer for several days now and I am convinced it was the right answer in the context of my conversation. I have watched person after person in business attempt to follow the crowd……….or follow another start-up………or follow a great business leader…….and the one thing I have found in common with each of these situations is that the people in them were ‘followers’.

In my opinion, the greatest people and businesses in the history of the world had one thing in common, they were’ leaders’! Please don’t misunderstand me, there is certainly a proper place and time to ‘follow’ but there is also a time to ‘be yourself’ and be a ‘leader’.

I believe that every human being was created and given a slightly different DNA makeup. I believe every person on the planet is unique. Steve Jobs is undoubtedly one of the most brilliant business men of our time. Love him or hate him, we must agree that he is highly successful. Steve was never successful because he followed others. He pioneered in the true spirit of an American entrepreneur.

The next time you run out of options and wonder what you can do to stand out in business and be better or different……….try ‘being yourself’. Sometimes (many times) we overcomplicate things that are simple.

kml

2010

Political & Business Experts?!?

Have you ever stopped and thought about what it means to be called an ‘expert’? Let’s break this thing down a bit.

What exactly is an expert?

Can a person claim themselves an expert?

Can someone else claim a person an expert?

Does the claiming of one’s self as an ‘expert’ …………or the claiming by someone else actually make the person an ‘expert’?

I have enjoyed reading Intellectuals and Society by Thomas Sowell.  It has been in this book that I was reminded that even so called ‘experts’ in a given field usually know only 10% or less of the knowledge to be known on their subject of expertise. What is even more frightening is the fact that an ‘expert’ in one field………. can only ‘know’ 1% or less of the knowledge to be ‘known’, in general, about most other subjects.

When I think about this and I watch our government make so many decisions about so many different subjects……………and then I think about the best case scenario is that they operate individually on 10% or less of the known knowledge even in their given fields……………and the worst case scenario  is that they operate on 1% or less of the known knowledge about a subject…………WOW

We have folks who somehow think they can ‘outsmart history’………..and be an expert in every possible field and on all subjects……….I am understanding more and more why the power was given to the people when this Country was founded and not to an elite few who supposedly had a ‘corner on the market’ regarding knowledge……….

The more I read and learn the more I realize just how little I know!

kml

2010

2010 Opportunities Abound

I remember going into the ‘end of the year’ holiday season of 2008. I vividly remember the economic bloodbath that unfolded during January of 2009.

I was on Christmas vacation (late 2008) in Nashville TN with my family and was mentally gathering my thoughts about my next safety article that had to be at the publishers during the first quarter of 2009.

How the heck to you inspire safety professionals as companies are slaughtering quality control, R&D and safety positions by the thousands? It occurred to me that regardless of the economic situation, there are sound principles that must remain in place.

I believe 2010 can be one of the most productive years in American history. I will be taking several calculated risks this year as a small business owner. I will be paying very close attention to the quality of my work. It pains me to watch companies cut their best employees or opt to send their labor to another Country when we have the means to be profitable in America. There are cases when sending work to an area (Country) closer to the end user makes sense but too often companies are faced with trimming cost internally or just shipping production somewhere else and they choose the easier option…………….they send it out. I contend that we can reduce our ‘life-style’ and be innovative to get ahead. It takes hard work. We seem to have forgotten what hard work is in America. We want fast food, fast service, fast cars and overnight success. This is a fatal view of life.

We are in a new year and opportunities abound. Feel free to add your ideas of what it takes to be successful in 2010.

kml

2010