To Drive Quality, Get Aligned Behind Vision

Good Vision, Strategy, Goals, and Objectives help organizations get aligned, drive quality, and improve business performance.  A first step to getting that alignment begins with a clear understanding of what Vision, Strategy, Goals, and Objectives are and how they are related:

Vision: an aspirational description of what you want to achieve

Strategy: a plan of action to fulfill the vision

Goals: the things you will accomplish as you execute the strategy

Objectives: the things you will do to get to a goal​​​

Here are two simple guidelines to help people in  the practical application of Vision, Strategy, Goals, and Objectives.

1. Vision, Strategy, Goals, Objectives guideline - provides simple definitions
2. Goals and Objective guideline - focuses at the team and individual level

In some organizations, goals and objectives management is viewed as difficult but it doesn't have to be.  Apply these guidelines in your organization to simplify and get full value out of the objectives management process.  If you find these helpful, please let me know and share your experience.

Quality Minute: Fitness for Use

"Fitness for Use" is a definition of quality that describes a lot in just three words.  The definition is attributed to Joseph Juran.

Fitness for Use means:

• Suitable for intended purpose
• Performance is satisfactory

Fitness for Use implies:

• The product is reliable
• The product is maintainable
• The processes to design, produce, test, deliver, and support the product are sustainable

Fitness for Use does not mean:

• Defect free
• Suitable for any condition or scenario

Fitness for Use is not the same as Specification or Conformance quality.  Specification quality (meets specifications) can be met and the product still not Fit for Use.  Similarly, Conformance quality (passes all tests and inspections, meets regulatory requirements) can be met and the product still not Fit for Use.

Chart the Course to Quality with MAPS

My whiteboard is a big summary of discussions I have with colleagues.  Most of those discussions center on matters of quality and how we build on our progress.  One of the keys to our progress is in the center of the whiteboard.  It's been there a long time and it's the key to team member engagement.  It looks like this:

M - mastery
A - autonomy
P - purpose
S - support

The people and teams in an organization are the key to quality.  Developing mastery of skills in a profession, autonomy to make decisions and create, and having a purpose super-charge individuals.  This in turn leads to high quality and performance that benefit the business and its customers.

The "S" in MAPS was added recently.  In a conversation with Rajiv Amar, he identified one more part that was playing a role in our success; Support.  You can have mastery, autonomy, and purpose, but if you don't have the support of your organization - peers, colleagues, executives, board, cross-functional partners - your quality will still be at risk.  That support has to be there not just when the results are good; the support has to be there when things get tough.

MAPS is fuel for discovery, collaboration, execution, and a culture of quality.  Practice MAPS in your organization and watch your teams take the business to new levels of quality and performance.