Mestres da Qualidade: Philip B. Crosby

Philip B. Crosby vislumbrou a prática zero defeito (defeito zero / sem defeito), que significa, em princípio, fazer certo desde o início. Crosby diz que os custos aumentarão quando o planejamento da qualidade não for executado a partir do início, o que indica que será necessário um retrabalho, afetando a produtividade. A prevenção é o segredo da teoria de Crosby. Se você evitar, em primeiro lugar, que o defeito ocorra, obterá custos menores, será mais fácil atender a conformidade com os requisitos e a avaliação dos custos quanto à qualidade se tornará custo da não-conformidade e não de retrabalho.

Obedience or Excellence?

The French moralist and writer Luc de Clapiers de Vauvenargues said, "Men despise great projects when they do not feel themselves capable of great success."

I've been thinking lately about the choices we make everyday between obedience and excellence, and wonder if it is a lack of faith in ourselves or is it a system that has very effectively taught us that obedience is of more value than excellence.

With that in mind, I believe the traditional methods for approaching the project management process contribute to the problem.Traditional management methods unfortunately, favor obedience over excellence. Whether it's a rigid obedience to a particular methodology or the demanded obedience of an intransigent command-and-control management style, excellence suffers.

As project leaders, we can foster a project environment where individual team members can strive for excellence, projects can be successful and results can be exceptional. With that in mind, let me suggest the following five traits that will foster an environment that encourages excellence over obedience:

1. A focus on collaboration: Engaging the team and stakeholders in problem-solving and decision-making is critical for encouraging excellence.
2. Adaptability: Project teams and individual projects are always different. Successful project environments encourage a flexible approach to creatively solve problems with a fluid leadership style.
3. "Figure-it-out" resourcefulness: This implies creativity and occasional out-of-the box thinking to solve problems along with a tenacious, never-give-up approach to overcoming obstacles. This is not an environment where "It's not my job," or "I give up," is acceptable.
4. Highly-developed communication skills: It's paramount that project leaders and individual team members are able to effectively communicate. An atmosphere of excellence requires that everyone on the team is able to customize their communication style to the appropriate audience—otherwise, success will be elusive.
5. Flexibility: Adapted from a line in "To a Mouse" by Robert Burns, "The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry." It doesn't really matter how well something is planned, there is always something or someone trying to throw a monkey-wrench into the works. Flexibility is the genesis of creative thinking—which is critical for facilitating an environment where excellence can thrive.

I sometimes wonder how often we "settle" for being mediocre because of the perceived "roadblocks" to excellence. I think it's interesting that de Clapiers is also quoted as saying, "Great success is commoner than great abilities."

I think this implies that greatness is within our grasp. All we really need to do is create the type of environment where excellence trumps obedience.
Fonte: http://blogs.attask.com/blog/strategic-project-management/obedience-or-excellence, 07 de Março de 2011.

Resenha Livro: John C. Maxwell - Leadership 101: What Every Leader Needs to Know.

Drawing from John Maxwell's bestsellers Developing the Leader Within You, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader, and Becoming a Person of Influence, Leadership 101 explores the timeless principles that have become Dr. Maxwell's trademark style. In a concise, straightforward style, Maxwell focuses on essential and time-tested qualities necessary for true leadership - influence, integrity, attitude, vision, problem-solving, and self-discipline - and guides readers through practical steps to develop true leadership in their lives and the lives of others.

Five Myths About Leadership

There are plenty of misconceptions and myths that people embrace about leaders and leadership. Here are five common ones:


1. The Management Myth
A widespread misunderstanding is that leading and managing are one the same. Up until a few years ago, books that claimed to be on leadership were often really about management. The main difference between the two is that leadership is about influencing people to follow, while management focuses on maintaining systems and processes. The best way to test whether a person can lead rather than just manage is to ask him to create positive change. Managers can maintain direction, but they can't change it. To move people in a new direction, you need influence.


2. The Entrepreneur Myth
Frequently, peoplo assume that all salespeople and entrepreneurs are leaders. But that's not always the case. You may remember the Ronco commercials that appeared on television years ago. They sold items such as the Veg-O-Matic, Pocket Fisherman, and Inside-the-Shell Egg Scrambler. Those products were the brainchildren of an entrepreneur named Ron Popeil. Called the salesman of the century, he has also appeared in numerous infomercials for products such as apray-on relief for baldness and food dehydrating devices.
Popeil is certainly enterprising, innovative, and sucessful, especially if you measure him by the $300 million in sales his products have earned.. But that doesn't make him a leader. People may be buying what he has to sell, but they're not following him. At best, he is able to persuade people for a moment, but he holds no long-term influence with them.


3. The Knowledge Myth
Sir Francis Bacon said, "knowledge is power." Most people, believing power is the essence of leadership, naturally assume that those who possess knowledge and intelligence are leaders. But that isn't automatically true. You can visit any major university and meet brilliant research scientists and philosophers whose ability to think is so high that it's off the charts, but whose ability to lead is so low that it doesn't even register on the charts. IQ doesn't necessarily equate to leadership.

4. The Pioneer Myth
Another misconception is that anyone who is out in front of the crowd is a leader. But being first isn't always the same as leading. For example: Sir Edmund Hillary was the first man to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Since his historic ascent in 1953, many people have "followed" him in achieving that feat. But that doesn't make Hillary traveled to the South Pole in 1958 as part of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition, he was accompanying another leader, Sir Vivian Fuchs. To be a leader, a person has to not only be out front, but also have people intentionally coming behind him, following his lead, and acting on his vision.

5. The Position Myth
The greatest misunderstanding about leadership is that people think it is based on position, but it's not. Stanley Huffty affirmed: "it's not the position that makes the leader; it's the leader that makes the position."
Look at what happened several years ago at Cordiant, the advertising agency formerly known as Saatchi & Saatchi. In 1994, institutional investors at Saatchi & Saatchi forced the board of directors to dismiss Maurice Saatchi, the company's CEO. What was the result? Several executives followed him out. So did many of the company's largest accounts, including British Airways and Mars, the candy maker. Saatchi's influence was so great that his departure caused the company's stock to fall immediately. Saatchi lost his title and position, but he continued to be the leader.

Fonte: MAXWELL, John C. Leadership, 101 - What Every Leader Needs to Know. Pg. 64-67. Thomas Nelson, USA, 2002.