Here's a post about proposed changes to the name of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. For years, business in America has lost interest in the Quality Improvement movement. The ideas of TQM pioneer W. Edwards Deming, centenarian Joe Juran, and others, have lost none of their intrinsic value. But the "quick fix" mentality, coupled with the fundamentally flawed linear/mechanistic paradigm of organizational dynamics, have greatly diminished the appeal of "the Q word" (Quality). So now there is consideration of changing the name of America's premier award for business and organizational excellence.
My thanks as always to my friend and colleague Dale Weeks, for passing this along. For many years I have felt like a "voice in the wilderness" as I have advocated a marketing move away from "the Q word." While I am more sure than ever of the value of Deming's teachings, I am also sure that most businesses are simply not interested in "that quality stuff" as a method of improvement. I think we'd agree that the value of Deming and Baldrige is great, but that the attraction of these methods has faded significantly in recent years. Changing the name of the Baldrige award is just one aspect of responding to changes in the marketplace. If Baldrige was a for-profit business, they would have had to reinvent the brand a long time ago. It is the classic "innovator's dilemma" situation. Do you want to be the last great buggy whip and quality improvement maker, or do you want to adapt to the new landscape of business that has emerged around you?
The situation parallels recent developments in New Jersey's own quality award system. The Governor's Award (formerly the New Jersey Quality Achievement Award), was never actually awarded by the Governor. The award process was managed by Quality New Jersey (www.qnj.org). Sadly, interest in QNJ and in the award have waned. The current QNJ Director, Tom Ligas, tried to drum up business and volunteer support last year. It did not work, and QNJ is about to close up shop. Section and regional leaders from the American Society for Quality graciously offered to help, and to assist in sustaining the award process.
But I spoke to Tom Ligas the other day, and his story suggested that it is time to let QNJ die peacefully. Tom told me about award winners, one after the other, who bailed out on their support for QNJ the minute they got their awards. According to Tom, NJ applicants saw the QNJ award as another stepping stone to Baldrige. Once they got the recognition they were seeking, Tom said they just walked away to tout their victory.
This is not the story of a true endless journey of continuous improvement. But it IS the story of a brand and idea that has failed to adapt to changing times. I thought briefly about trying to salvage the wreckage of QNJ, but I ultimately agreed with an ASQ section leader, who believes QNJ should cease, and perhaps in time a new entity can emerge.
My studies and work with complexity science suggest this is so. It is the natural order of things, despite the belief of those who would deny evolution. Systems are born, they live, and they either adapt to changes in their environment, or they become extinct. It is painful to watch an old friend go. The good work of many good people will fade away into the back pages of history. But it is a necessary part of the process of growth and renewal. Only by releasing the energy and resources of this failing endeavor, can we then re-direct those resources to a new initiative.
Take care all, and best wishes for a safe and enjoyable weekend.
cmplxty
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1 comment:
I received a nice email from the president of a Baldrige-award winning firm. He said that he liked what I had written about the changes in both the Baldrige naming, and the deeper issues of the appeal of "quality" as an organizational improvement approach.
I personally believe we need a re-interpretation of Dr. Deming's work for these more turbulent times. Too much emphasis was placed on statistical process control. Deming was if anything, an incredibly insightful student of organizational psychology. I'm firmly convinced that if Deming were alive today, he'd be talking about complex adaptive systems, and emphasizing the human dynamic aspects of his 14 points.
Ciao,
cmplxty
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