It struck me recently that Quality and Dieting have a lot in common. So much in fact, that I think that the dieting analogy is a powerful way to explain quality in a way that is non-threatening and understandable. Now it seems that just about every time I check in at the Cove I find another thread where this analogy fits.

They are both about improvement and health and eliminating bad habits.

Here's a draft of a paper expanding on this idea. Comments are welcome...

Tim F

Here's a draft of a paper expanding on this idea. Comments are welcome...Good but somewhat depressing analogy: I don't know which fails more often: Quality or Dieting?

/Claes

Does this mean that if you employ staff in the quality area they must be of the correct figure.
If so I am out:eek: :eek:

It struck me recently that Quality and Dieting have a lot in common. So much in fact, that I think that the dieting analogy is a powerful way to explain quality in a way that is non-threatening and understandable. Now it seems that just about every time I check in at the Cove I find another thread where this analogy fits.

They are both about improvement and health and eliminating bad habits.

Here's a draft of a paper expanding on this idea. Comments are welcome...

Tim F

Nicely done, Tim. It's a little ironic that the further up the food chain you go, the more likely you are to encounter "fat" people, and the more likely you are to hear them asking everyone else to lose weight.

Nicely done, Tim. It's a little ironic that the further up the food chain you go, the more likely you are to encounter "fat" people, and the more likely you are to hear them asking everyone else to lose weight.Clever continuation of the metaphor, Jim!

Yep, Tim, I thought you were very insightful in this paper.

If you want either dieting or quality to succeed, you have to be ready, in the right mindset and committed to the actions being taken.

So- I think the analogy is spot on:agree1:

Good job Tim - I enjoyed reading it :agree1:

Nicely done, Tim. It's a little ironic that the further up the food chain you go, the more likely you are to encounter "fat" people, and the more likely you are to hear them asking everyone else to lose weight.
I have a feeling that if we tried, we could expand the metaphor considerably, and I like your contribution. Your analogy is like the brain blaming the mouth for eating too much and blaming the legs for not running enough! After all, the brain never got fat - just the rest of the body! :lol:


Yep, Tim, I thought you were very insightful in this paper.
Now I just need to find someone who wants to pay me for being so insightful. :D


As I think about it, there might be a book worth writing based on this idea. I bet each section could be turned into a chapter. Perhaps add a few case studies and examples. Before you know it, maybe I could get paid for being so insightful.:cool:


Tim F

Very good comparison!! I am going to pass this out during my quality meeting, if that is okay?

I have no problem with people making copies or handing out sets of free copies. I don't want people selling copies, but otherwise, the more the merrier.

I did notice that I never put my name within the article anywhere. :bonk:I would appreciate it if you could add "by Timothy Folkerts" to the copies you make. :o

Perhaps I ought to post a revised version. If anyone has noticed any particular typos, awkward sentences, etc, you could PM me or send an email. In a day or two I'll try to post a revised version with correction, additions, AND my name.

Tim F

I'm starting to think about health too. May be because I'm 43 too.

Now it seems that just about every time I check in at the Cove I find another thread where this analogy fits. They are both about improvement and health and eliminating bad habits.

Is this some of links which you have referred above?

http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=16089 (Does the health of the employees reflect the health of the Quality Management System?)
http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=10742 (Smoking and other health considerations on the job)
http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=12360 (Zero Defects - Can anybody Help me to compile the diagram?)
:bigwave: :bigwave:
http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=12477 (A Good Diet and Exercise Plan)

I submitted a slightly modified version of this paper to "Quality Progress". For the time being, I have removed the link to the paper to simplify any copyright issues. If anyone is interested, I can email a copy to you directly. If QP likes it, then you can read it there in the not too distant future; if they don't like it, I'll put it back here.

Tim F

I was amazed by Mr.Timothy Folkerts's imagination and comparison in his "Quality-Diet Analogy" .

I was then thinking what other similar analogy could be made with "Quality"?

The first thing that came to my mind was "Quality-God/Religion Analogy". Some thoughts supporting this analogy:-

1)Both "Quality" and "God" are eluding human mind;thus their true definitions.
2)People belive in God as well in Quality.
3)We know from the history books that men/women seem to have created both "religion" and "work of art" simultiously.(The 'work of art' was the starting point for quality).
4)Many Quality Gurus and Religious Gurus have appeared often and contribute enormously for the improvement of society.
5)Some fortunate(!) Gurus make a lot of money out of people's lack of understanding (of quality or religion).
6)Many Quality concepts and Religious concepts emerge from time to time.Most of the concepts seem to focus on secondary details or peripheral aspects of religion or quality.When some of the concepts do not work (or worked overtime),the Religious/Quality gurus switch over to newer concepts.

The big difference is that unlike religious-fights,there are no quality-fights.

Regards.

Ladies & Gentlemen,
Can anyone show me said paper?
Cheers

Since the thread came up again, let me announce that I heard a couple weeks ago that Quality Progress will be publishing a revised version of the paper - thanks to those who provided feedback for this new, improved version. :agree1:

They haven't decided on a date - there wasn't enough lead time to make this October for the "Career Development—Leadership, Change Management, Certification" theme; so it might not be until June for the "Basic Quality" theme. Or they may just add it in some other month.

I just emailed QP about copyright issues and got a rather rapid response. (ASQ is usually quite good about customer interaction!) They understandably don't want the article available from other sources if they are going to publish it. For now, I will send a synopsis to anyone who is interested. Once it is published, it should be available from QP, or I should have permission to share the article directly (with all the appropriate credits to QP and appropriate copyright statements).



Tim F

I am interested in the synopsis. I used to be an ASQ member but not anymore. I regularly make the cut and dry analogy to dieting and quality related activities. The book Good to Great by Collins backs me up on this and it can be all summed up in to one word...Discipline...any diet or quality program will work fine as long as the company has ingrained discipline to follow those programs without waivering.

Since the synopsis is not a concern for copyright, etc, I'll go ahead and post the synopsis so that more people can see it more easily. I'll ask people to wait for the article to be published in QP (the date still TBA) to see the full version.






THE BASIC ANALOGY: A Quality Professional is like a dietian, helping direct the corporation toward a more healthly corporate lifestyle.

THE POTENTIAL GAINS
The primary purpose of a diet is to improve health, not just to lose weight. Similarly, Quality isn't just about cutting costs, but it is about improved overall corporate health.

CHOOSING AN APPROACH
Just like there are many different approaches to dieting, there are many different apporaches to quality. Quality professionals study the strengths and weaknesses of quality improvement choices for specific business situations, the same way dieticians study and recommend diets for specific patients

IMPLEMENTING THE PLAN
Even after a plan of attack has been chosen, success is still a long way off, and that success cannot be achieved by the dietitian - or the quality professional. POTENTIAL PITFALLS
Lack of Tact
Not Understanding The System
Focusing On The Short-Term
Yo-Yo Quality.


LASTING SUCCESS
As long as the mentality is “we just need to do this until we reach our goals” or “we just need to do this until the boss gets a new pet project” then failure is never far away.

I regularly make the cut and dry analogy to dieting and quality related activities. The book Good to Great by Collins backs me up on this and it can be all summed up in to one word...Discipline.

I haven't read that book. I may have to find a copy to see how his thoughts match (or don't match) with my thoughts. I expect that I am pushing the analogy a bit harder than other sources, but the basic idea is pretty clear - success requires some basic knowledge and a lot of discipline. It's not surprising that others have considered this analogy before.

Tim F

FYI:

The article has now been published in the May 2007 issue of Quality Progress with the title "The Quality Diet: Building a Healthy Business (http://www.asq.org/quality-progress/2007/05/quality-management/the-quality-diet-building-a-healthy-business.pdf)"

If you are an ASQ Member, you can log in and view the article.

Thanks again for the feedback in getting this article ready. :agree1: :applause:

Tim Folkerts

FYI:

The article has now been published in the May 2007 issue of Quality Progress with the title "The Quality Diet: Building a Healthy Business (http://www.asq.org/quality-progress/2007/05/quality-management/the-quality-diet-building-a-healthy-business.pdf)"

If you are an ASQ Member, you can log in and view the article.

Thanks again for the feedback in getting this article ready. :agree1: :applause:

Tim Folkerts

Congratulations, Tim. It's a nice piece of work. :agree1:

Coincidentally - I was describing what I do for a living to my personal trainer a little while ago.
I told him that our jobs are similar... he helps people get lean and I help companies get lean.

Congratulations, Tim. It's a nice piece of work. As long as Jim does not charge royalties, make his my words. It is a nice article.
Now, if I could invent some type of gimmick that would be the Q-equivalent of a gastro-intestinal bypass, I would be a millionaire....:tg:

FYI:
If you are an ASQ Member, you can log in and view the article.
Thanks again for the feedback in getting this article ready. :agree1: :applause:
Tim Folkerts
I'm not an ASQ member, Could you help me to view it? thanks in advance
:bigwave:

Cavanna (and other non-ASQ members),

I turned over copyright to the article when it was published. ASQ members can download and print the article, so if you have a friend who is an ASQ member, perhaps they could share their copy with you. As long as there is no commercial gain involved, sharing a copy shouldn't be a problem.

For mass-distribution, check with ASQ - they have policies (and fees) for reprinting or distributing the article.

Tim Folkerts

P.S. I'm a member of ASQ. And I appreciate all the friends I've made at the Cove. ;-)