The Difference: When Good Enough isn’t Enough

Citation

Patra, B.K. (2018), "The Difference: When Good Enough isn’t Enough", International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, Vol. 35 No. 1, pp. 312-314. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJQRM-03-2017-0033

Most of us, juggling to make a balance in today’s hectic work-life have surrendered to the fact – that good enough is good enough. This is aided with the epidemic of dissatisfaction with one’s organization or institution as it is growing exponentially and has created a nationwide mindset of indifference. The author of the book Subir Chowdhury, a leading Quality Management Thinker and Consultant to Fortune 500 companies from his decades of experience in working with top leaders in business posits that “we have to do better than good enough” and should incessantly strive for achieving excellence in all our endeavors. Littered with examples the book titled, The Difference… reverberate not only the lives of the working professionals, but for anyone who wish to make a difference to their own life.

Making a genuine difference in the world is a responsibility of each one of us. Mr Chowdhury brought up from an impoverished beginning in Bangladesh and rising later as a thinker on organizational values and workplace culture shows the kind of difference that he brought to his professional life. The first chapter of the book titled, “what a toothpick can teach us about caring” is an introduction to the challenge of creating the difference, while revealing the author’s quest for seeking the answer since the beginning of his career to understand what makes one to become different. Interaction of the author with executives from two different manufacturing industries apprises the reader that why one company has achieved incremental improvements while the other was radically transformed. To one organization, the author has cautioned that, “improving quality is not a slogan or a process unto itself. Without a truly fearless culture, it is impossible to implement quality programs with any success, because employees – whether they are on the assembly line, in sales or accounting, or in the executive suit – lack the needed mindset. From what I have seen so far, fear is part of company’s DNA. It is all about ‘good enough.’ And it is a formula of disaster.” In another context, the author has impressed on the fact that in an indifferent mindset, truth will stand elusive. Employees in such a culture “no longer strive to understand one another’s point of view.” In such situations, it was evident in many companies that concessions stands accepted as they are easier to deal than seeking the best possible result. “Blaming others gets to be the norm, and people are satisfied with a good-enough result rather than exceptional results.” By contrast, where a caring mindset prevails, truth is valued, people will strive to understand one another well and concessions get resisted in favor of seeking the best possible outcome while people will recognize that quality is everybody’s business. Later at the end of the chapter, the author has proposed a four-facet model called STAR (straightforward, thoughtful, accountable and resolve) to raise the caring mindset among employees in organizations.

Personally while going the rest of the portions of the book, I have found the model is apt for raising the difference at work and in personal life as it is seemingly simple, but surprisingly nuanced and profound. The second chapter of the book addresses the first letter of the model – straightforward by raising couple of questions to the readers – “what do you lose when you or the people around you seek the easy way out because you are afraid to be straightforward? and are you being straight forward in speaking up now? and why wait until it is too late”? Referring a set of experiences author contended that, “our ability to straightforwardness suffer when we are afraid.” It is observed that when we are afraid our openness and transparency decreases exponentially leading to hiding the truth or faking our emotions. Similar is the case, if the leaders of the organization create apprehension and fear in their people, they become less straightforward. Being authentic, candid and straight forward brings success and fun hand in hand. When we are afraid to admit to our failings, we live in fear. The counter to living in fear is to boldly and honestly say what you think – the author quotes. Therefore, fear lives at one end of the spectrum of human emotions, and happiness and fun at the opposite end. The choice is ours whether to lead a straightforward life, a life of integrity or a life that is filled with dishonesty and lies.

The third chapter of the book bearing an interesting title, “The power of a glass of water” documented Subir’s experience in working with organizations from both public and private sectors. He has made an important observation in this chapter through impressing on the fact that, “most people do not practice genuine listening in organizational life”. Basically, lack of active listening skill is a major management issue (Lee and Hotesohl, 1993) and especially it is observed at the senior manager’s level where managers and executives mishear one another and those under them and later they use to come for meetings and discussions in a state of confusion. Therefore, today’s executives need to introspect and should question themselves how well they use to listen to their people around them. Listening and empathy goes hand in hand. The author states that empathy carried four important aspects: getting an understanding that one person cannot do everything; we must make sure that everything in our lives is not about me, it must be about someone else; accepting the fact that each of us are a very tiny spec in the universe; and finally, kindness in our deeds which is the doing part of empathy. While concluding the chapter author raises a pertinent question to the reader – “Is there any one in your life today, at home or at work, who needs a “glass of water” right now, or who is desperate enough to “plunge his or her hand in a drain” searching for emotional sustenance? How might you express your own empathy and thoughtfulness in such circumstances”?

The fourth chapter of the book addresses the third letter in the acronym STAR that understands the importance of “accountability” in which one is obligated or answerable. Drawing on the real-world situations author has stated that there are five factors for developing accountability: being aware that something needs to be done; taking personal responsibility for it; making a choice of decision to act; thinking deeply about the potential consequences of that choice; and setting high expectations. One significant takeaway of the chapter is “being accountable doesn’t mean one should not ask for help rather it means one should know enough to ask for help when it is actually needed” (Heskett, 2008). The author enunciates that to resist the urge to fall back on the same solution that one has tried in the past while stretching oneself and engaging in intellectual and creative abilities continuously.

Resolve is the last yet never the least characteristic of a caring mindset. The fifth chapter titled “Never give up” highlighted the proposition of passion, determination and perseverance to explore a solution to a problem or improve an existing situation. Jim Collins in his best-selling book Good to Great has vetted the fact that an executive who blends genuine personal humility with intense professional will rises to the situation as a fierce resolver. A key part of resolve is a willingness to change and adapt. The author has lamented the fact that, too many organizations, especially “the middle managers and senior leaders resist anything new” while advising that “if they are not open to change, they will not be able to solve the inevitable problems that crop up.” In the organizational context, combining the resolve with a willingness to change has adopted the principle of Six Sigma in corporate America. The author being a pioneer in the field of quality management was invited by corporate America to pipe up his vision with leading organizations. His methodology named LEO (listen, enrich and optimize) was some of the significant move in resolving many silent issues while bringing exceptional results.

While ending with the last chapter of the book any reader like me may witness a transformation – I personally found myself in a different way than when I began going through the book. Practicing a caring mindset is first and foremost about selflessness, about making a difference for others. Asking ourselves at the end of each day, “Did I do something today selflessly for another human being, or to better the world I live in”? The author says if it is yes, acknowledge the accomplishment and commit to encourage others to make a difference. If the answer is no, I wish the readers to go through this book, adapt the STAR system prescribed by the author and devise a game plan to make a difference tomorrow.