by Craig Cochran

Dear CEO:

I'd like to thank you for the nice pizza party you threw at our ISO 9001 kickoff event.
Everybody enjoyed it and appreciated your inspiring words. The joke you told about
the elephant, the preacher and the procedure notebook was very amusing. Your
sense of humor is exceptional, especially for a member of top management.

The purpose of my letter is to prepare you for the work we have ahead of us. I know
how busy you are, and it's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day issues of running
our organization. However our new quality management system (QMS) is the way
we're going to run our organization, and you'll be a key to its success. Your
engagement in this effort will determine whether we use our QMS to become more
competitive and customer-focused, or if it will be only a piece of paper on the wall.

Chief, we need a little strategic planning

As you know, identifying processes is a key step in implementing our management

system. Let's make sure we identify at least one customer for every process.
Whether it's an internal customer or an external customer doesn't matter. What
matters is that the people working within every process understand that they serve
someone outside of their own little kingdom. Right now, some of our processes

Originally published in Quality Digest, July 2006 Page 1 of 5

© Copyright 2006 Craig Cochran
operate as if they serve only themselves. We need to drive a customer focus from
one end of this organization to the other, and our QMS will help us do it.

One of the key processes is strategic planning. ISO 9001 doesn't require strategic
planning, but it's the logical starting point for a lot of things that the standard does
require. Everything we do demands the high-level guidance that strategic planning
delivers. At least once a year you should assemble your best and most diverse
advisors and scan our competitive environment. What do our customers require and
desire? How are these requirements and desires changing? As an organization, how
well are we positioned to address the changing market and our ever-evolving
customers? We need to match ourselves against the realities of our environment,
identify actions that will drive us forward and implement these actions with a clear
plan. This is the essence of strategic planning. If our ISO 9001 system is
disconnected from strategy, then we have a serious problem.

Ditto for objectives

Objectives flow directly from our strategic plan. They tell everyone what specific
initiatives are important to our success. Please help us choose strategic, hard-hitting
objectives. They should tie directly to our strategic plan, translating that document
into simple metrics that everyone can understand. Because our strategic plan will be
focused on better serving our customers, our objectives will also be tied to
customers. Each process will have objectives that directly relate to the customers it
serves.

Resist the temptation to have two sets of objectives, one for the sake of ISO 9001
and the other for "really" running the business. We only need one set of objectives
that everyone understands. Don't bother to call them "quality objectives" because
that will only cloud the issue. Somebody might hear the term "quality" and try to
narrowly define what the objectives may address. Our objectives should address how
we drive success, period.

As chief executive, you are uniquely qualified to communicate our objectives and
their significance. This message could come from somebody else in the organization,
but it's much more effective coming from you. Explain to everyone how each of our
objectives affects our long-term success, and ensure that all employees know exactly
how they contribute to achieving objectives. Above all, make sure that we all know
how we affect our customers in our everyday actions.

Which brings me to management review

You should strive to make management review your forum for reviewing data and
making decisions. We're not doing it for the sake of ISO 9001; we're doing it to
ensure our success. Management review should occur regularly and rely on timely
information. If we already have top-level meetings for reviewing our organization's
progress, then let's just turn these into our management review. It doesn't matter
how we do it; the only requirements are that the review is your event, and we must
cover the specified inputs and outputs. We can get as creative as we want.
Management review should never be done just to satisfy an ISO 9001 requirement.
The point is to review data, make decisions and become a more successful
organization over the long term.

Originally published in Quality Digest, July 2006 Page 2 of 5

© Copyright 2006 Craig Cochran
Communicate broadly about all aspects of our QMS. We have a wide range of
communication media; it's just a matter of using them. Take every opportunity to
talk honestly to our organization about what we're doing and where we're going. Try
to connect your message to the things we're doing in the QMS and how they affect
our customers. Don't assume that we'll immediately understand. Be very explicit in
your communication, and don't forget to allow room for us to respond.

You rule customer feedback

Customer feedback is another key aspect of our QMS, possibly the most important.
It's certainly the most critical data we receive. It communicates even more than our
financials, which tell us only what has already happened and are poor predictors of
the future. Not only can customer feedback predict our future, it's our gateway to
long-term success.

As our chief executive, you need to obsess about customer feedback. You should
thirst for every bit of feedback we collect--positive or negative. Collect it we must
because we can't sit around and wait for customers to call us. We need simple,
concise tools for capturing feedback proactively. To collect feedback, let's use
existing customer interactions instead of inventing new ones. Our organization
already has multiple contacts with customers day in and day out, and these
interactions can easily be leveraged to gather feedback.

When customers complain, you should take it personally, mobilizing all of our
resources to take corrective action. Not everyone realizes how critical customer
complaints are, so you must remind them. Make it easy for customers to complain,
and make it easy for us to fix their complaints. When customer feedback indicates
something positive, find out what's causing the satisfaction. Share what you learn
with everyone, and make it our new standard. If you're constantly asking about
customer feedback, everyone will understand how important it is.

Can you fix this?

Another thing to keep on your radar is our corrective and preventive action system. I
suspect we're going to have difficulty motivating people to use these processes.
Nobody likes extra work, and very often that's what these appear to be.
Investigating and solving problems aren't extracurricular activities--they're a key job
function for everyone. When problems come up or customers complain, you should
say, "Let's open a corrective action." When a potential problem is revealed, you need
to say, "Let's initiate a preventive action." In both cases, make sure that adequate
resources are applied and that we follow through to completion.

Very few of us have had training on problem-solving techniques. Can you fix that?
Getting everyone up to speed on problem solving will be a huge step in our
development as an organization. It will prepare us to take part in the corrective and
preventive action process. You should participate in the training, too. You're busy,
but you're not too busy to become a better problem solver. Your presence would also
underline the significance of this training. If you're agreeable, I'll have a purchase
order on your desk tomorrow for problem-solving training. Becoming better problem
solvers is one of the best investments we can make. The better we are at problem
solving, the better we will be at addressing the changing needs of customers.

Originally published in Quality Digest, July 2006 Page 3 of 5

© Copyright 2006 Craig Cochran
One word: training

That brings me to training in general. Training is one of our key processes for
preventing problems in the first place. It's not optional. We don't have to spend piles
of money and weeks of time, but we do have to train our people. I've worked for too
many organizations where training was considered good to do if time and
circumstances allowed. Once we got busy, training was abandoned. "Hey, we've got
work to do!" everyone shouted. "Who's got time for training?" Then they wondered
why customer complaints skyrocketed. It's simple cause and effect: Neglect training,
and people will make mistakes.

Here's a deal for you: We'll strive to keep the training lean, concise and relevant. In
return, you'll frequently ask managers and supervisors how their training programs
are going. Maybe you could periodically drop in on training to remind trainers and
trainees alike of how important this process is to our success. You should keep
yourself in a constant state of learning, too. Nobody needs training more than you,
given the huge responsibilities that you face.

Let's work smart on internal auditing

Internal auditing is a process you'll be involved with in the near future. You may
never actually perform an audit (although it would be great if you did), but you'll
certainly be an essential part of the process. A key role you'll play is making sure
that audits are properly resourced. Insist that smart, insightful personnel are
selected as auditors. Don't let auditor selection become an exercise in "who can we
spare?" Invest the process with smart people, and the results will drive
improvements. When audits reveal opportunities, ensure that we take corrective and
preventive action. Our audits should focus on important, strategic issues. Ask how
the audits are helping us become a better organization. Ask why our customers
should care that we're doing audits. Help us keep our eyes on the things that matter,
and audits will produce strong results.

Boss, are you listening?

One of the final topics I'd like to talk about is trust. Please trust me when I
recommend that we do something to improve our organization. It's your prerogative
to disagree with me, of course, but at least trust that I have our organization's best
interests in mind. Just because I'm an employee doesn't mean I can't have good
ideas. Too many business leaders fall into the trap of thinking that great ideas have
to come from outside the company, especially from someone with a briefcase and a
business card with the word "consultant" printed on it. The answers to most
problems lie right here within our organization; we just have to listen to them. The
title CEO should be changed to CLO, for Chief Listening Officer. You'll listen to data,
listen to customers, listen to competitors, listen to suppliers and, of course, listen to
us, the employees. All this listening, combined with wise action, will ensure that we
do the right things.

You hold the key

Finally, be aware that our QMS is a bellwether of our success. A failing management
system is a predictor of much larger failure. If we let our QMS decay, become

Originally published in Quality Digest, July 2006 Page 4 of 5

© Copyright 2006 Craig Cochran
bureaucratic or too inwardly focused, we'll seal our doom. We must use our system
to look outward and see where the market and our customers are moving. Your
interest, involvement and leadership are the only ways that our QMS will remain
viable and improve. If a piece of our system serves no purpose, have it removed. If
we're not following our procedures, find out why. If something we do doesn't make
sense, investigate further. The words "why" and "I'm listening" are your best friends.
You have the power, through these words and your own innate wisdom, to keep us
customer-focused and always improving. You hold the key.

About the Author

Craig Cochran is the North Metro Atlanta Region Manager with Georgia Tech’s
Enterprise Innovation Institute (www.innovate.gatech.edu). Craig’s the author of
Customer Satisfaction: Tools, Techniques and Formulas for Success, The Continual
Improvement Process: From Strategy to the Bottom Line, and Becoming a Customer
Focused Organization, all available from Paton Press (www.patonpress.com). Craig
can be reached at craig.cochran@innovate.gatech.edu or 678-699-1690.

About the Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute

The Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute helps enterprises improve their
competitiveness through the application of science, technology, and innovation. One
of the most comprehensive university-based programs of business and industry
assistance, technology commercialization and economic development in the nation,
the Enterprise Innovation Institute provides programs that:
 Help entrepreneurs launch and build successful companies.
 Improve the competitiveness of established companies.
 Commercialize technology developed in Georgia Tech research labs.
 Help local and state governments adopt innovative practices.
 Assist economic developers with innovative approaches.
 Serve as a bridge to Georgia Tech resources.
For more information, go to www.innovate.gatech.edu.

Originally published in Quality Digest, July 2006 Page 5 of 5

© Copyright 2006 Craig Cochran