Stealth Quality versus No Quality - What are you guys talking about?

T

TownDawg

#1
Ok.. when I first saw the phrase used.. I thought.. hMm.. that's cute.. someone had it in their footer.. but lately.. I've seen OTHER folks with it in THEIR footer.. So I realized I'm missing a brand new movement.. and just HAVE to know the truth.. ;)

Stealth quality versus no quality

What are you guys talking about?

:biglaugh:
 
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T

TownDawg

#3
heehee.. I'm not sure if you meant your comment the first way I took it, or the second way.. but anyway.. hMmmm.

:mad: Showing my attention deficit -- don't you LUV these lil emotes??

I googled up stealth quality, but no luck -- just some microwave.

Like I said, when I saw it once, I didn't pay it much mind, but after spotting in a couple other footers, I was like -- whoa.. wait a minute Chester.. I'm missing something important here!

:eek: * sneaks in the back door to go see what all this new SQ is about *
 
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Mike S.

Happy to be Alive
Trusted Information Resource
#4
My guess is that SQ refers to the practices of Q folks in organizations where the Top Dogs don't take Q too seriously, so the Q folks kinda sneek around and act like reverse-saboteurs.
 
#5
Mike S. said:
My guess is that SQ refers to the practices of Q folks in organizations where the Top Dogs don't take Q too seriously, so the Q folks kinda sneek around and act like reverse-saboteurs.
I think you and Claes are saying about the same thing. If I can't "officially" do something that needs to be done, I find some way to do it unofficially. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it don't. But sometimes it is the only way it will get done.
 

Caster

An Early Cover
Trusted Information Resource
#6
The staff lament

TownDawg said:
Ok.. when I first saw the phrase used.. I thought.. hMm.. that's cute.. someone had it in their footer.. but lately.. I've seen OTHER folks with it in THEIR footer.. So I realized I'm missing a brand new movement.. and just HAVE to know the truth.. Stealth quality versus no quality.....What are you guys talking about?
The staff lament goes "you hired me for my skills and knowledge and now you won't listen to what I say"

Stealth Quality is what persistent people do in this case...they just keep on doing things they know to be right and fly under the radar screen.

Another more common option is to give up, collect the pay, wait for Friday, wait to retire....or get out.

I just did a stealth SPC implementation...only a few of us know about it...otherwise it will get killed.

The only problem with stealth is the pace of change...it's gonna be slow...
 

Steve Prevette

Deming Disciple
Staff member
Super Moderator
#7
I don't tend to use the "SQ" phrase, but perhaps it is applicable here at Fluor Hanford.

If you came to interview our CEO and Vice Presidents, and asked them are they a "Deming" company, they would likely say "Deming who?". But in many ways they don't realize, we are. I have been influencing senior leadership with the use of control charts, and our CEO now routinely takes SPC charts to the customer (the US Department of Energy). So does my VP. Our SPC analyses have been very favorably commented on in Washington DC. We have many OSHA Voluntary Protection Program STAR sites, and many of those principles are in common with Deming and good quality principles.

So without standing up and having said "we will be a Deming company", it just sort of has happened without many senior managers realizing it. They have just found that "this stuff works!"
 
J
#8
Another viewpoint

Stealth gets you around the "We've always done it this way" :confused:
Stealth lets you be accomodating while quietly (and slowly) changing the culture. :eek:
Stealth is quality from the ground up instead of from the "mount" down. :nopity:
Stealth works because, often incremental change is the only change you can get. You have to prove the worth of changing.

Stealth is why so many unique people work in quality.
When all else fails you neak up on 'em. :rolleyes:

Sorry bout that.

I guess when all is said and done Stealth Quality is like raising kids, you try to teach them to act responsibly without them knowing it.

James
 

Jen Kirley

Quality and Auditing Expert
Staff member
Admin
#9
All are correct.

I am the one who, as I know it, started the saying in my footer.

I started out my civilian quality career (a big shock from learning my craft in Navy repair quality programs, ahem) in a place where the boss wanted only an inspector. He did not want me to complicate, in his term "bureauocratize" the place, even though he lost a lot of money from simple problems like material not being identified and they drilled the wrong hole pattern in some very expensive stock--ouch! All he wanted from me was to know if the holes were round, shiny and smooth--and oh yes, the right size. I applied Stealth Quality in this place and made a few small but somewhat influential changes that improved our operations somewhat. (I learned not to ask, or the boss, the president would say "no.")

I did a Phase I SBIR research project for the USDA a little while ago. The question regarded a network of advisors with reliably consistent approaches and an umbrella brand for recognition, who could help small businesses with their high cost issues and performance improvements.

The results weren't surprising given my exposure up to that point. Most people who start businesses don't get much training in business, and that which is available is spotty and takes a lot of effort. The term Quality means an attribute to them: a hot hamburger, a bus on time and a knowledgeable, courteous customer service representative.

I decided that given this confusion, we should learn to call quality management something without the word "quality" in it, as these people have a lot of trouble with it.

But this is only the beginning of the trouble. These business owners, nearly all earnest and hard working, have little-to-no critical thinking training and know little about systems--even the brightest are having real difficulty in organizing what they do and in analyzing data to solve problems. I observed this close-up while serving as an examiner for the state's version of Baldrige Award.

They could really use help but can't afford it, can't understand what the real problem is (so it's hard to ask for help) are strung out and are worried about losing control. And, I'm sure they think finding a good consultant is not easy.

There's a great book titled The E-Myth that is about making nice, tight systems for success in small businesses. But it isn't always the right thing, I think, to take away the thinking power of people interfacing with customers. Not every business should work like a franchise, as this book claims.

But it got some things very right. I decided, based on my reserach, that these good people need systems, but not right away. Better to plug the leaks first, save them some real money and make them feel better--in a way that they can do themselves, not rely on a highly trained professional in a mysterious specialty. It's kind of like Six Sigma without the S on your chest.

After there is a sense of things running more satisfactorily, one can start to think about developing systems.

And so I write about this subject and seek to get published. I create tools for counting defects and recording + tracking their costs, computing ROI, and as I do it I preach a little: finding and fixing causes of employee absenteeism, turnover and injuries can save the company a lot of money!

My tools are made with spreadsheets, not expensive and buggy software--my spreadsheets are adaptable and can be learned by savvy people; one needn't be an accountant or a business degree holder to understand these concepts... I think. I want to know if that is really true, if people besides me can use and profit with these tools.

But I don't call it Quality because quality is a hot hamburger.
 
J
#10
Jennifer Kirley said:
All are correct.

I am the one who, as I know it, started the saying in my footer.

......And so I write about this subject and seek to get published.

But I don't call it Quality because quality is a hot hamburger.

Jennifer,
Excellant. Let us know when you get published.

James
 
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