I have been conducting research on an article I am working on. I tentatively titled it: Quality Leadership: Always The Way Ahead.
Past studies on American culture related to quality identifies a few paradoxes: Becoming the best at something motivates Americans; producing the best products or services does not; doing is more important than planning.
How many people would contract to build a house without a plan? Doing so would result in a home that takes longer to build, would be more expensive, would likely not meet expectations and runs a high risk of failure. Good news (tongue in cheek) is it might generate an individual crisis (no money, no house) which would frustrate and motivate us to improve the process without a focus on the outcome. … or as Dr. Phil would say, “How’s that working for you?”
ARTICLE: Quality American Style ; What Makes American Teams Tick
Abstract:Quality American Style. American beliefs about quality and improvement are described by French psychologist G. Clotaire Rapaille. Being aware of these archetypes should help implementers customize quality initiatives in the United States. Words like “quality,” “control,” and “total” have negative connotations for Americans.
Change is acceptable to Americans if they can control it. Imperfection is also acceptable. Incremental improvements are not as interesting as are breakthroughs and crises.
Americans like nurturing, caring, the opportunity to be best at something, chasing an impossible dream, and trying to improve their potential selves.
They are motivated by frustration, anxiety, and the chance to improve a process by totally redesigning it.
Doing is more important than planning, especially when it is possible to learn from mistakes and failures.
These archetypes have been independently validated in surveys performed by the Wirthlin Group. Detailed interviews of 60 individuals and telephone surveys of 1,500 people confirmed Rapaille’s findings.
Archetype Discoveries: Fat Land XXXL… The New Plague
Excerpt: Quality in America … “It Works” …. The process (effort) is more important than the product (outcome). Becoming the best at something motivates Americans; producing the best products or services does not. Thus, quality must be made personal, the focus must be on the individual and on his or her processes.
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