Improvement Insights Blog
Who is to Blame for Quality Problems?
Ever noticed that some people want to blame customers, suppliers or coworkers for problems? They’re looking in the wrong place.
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma For Hospitals” and the QI Macros [software].
“I don’t know about you, but have you ever noticed there are certain people and they want to blame their supplier or their customer or their boss or their subordinates or their friends or their family or their co-workers? Right? They’re always pointing at somebody else. Let me share with you that if you’re the only one at the scene of the crime of all of these things, it’s not them… it’s you, all right?
“So think about these other folks and maybe say “Hmm… why are they blaming everyone else? Right? How can I make things better, faster, cheaper, more affordable and safer for the people around me? How can I make it easier for my suppliers to supply, my customers to receive?
“This is not hard, okay? All you have to do is turn your attention away from me – “Oh, this is really injuring me.” No. How do you make it easy for everyone? When you do that, everything speeds up and gets more effortless.
“That’s my Improvement Insight. Let’s go out and improve something this week. Stop blaming those folks. Get on with it. Fix your own stuff.”
