MAKING A COMMITMENT TO QUALITY

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MAKING A COMMITMENT TO QUALITY





















WORLD CLASS TRAININGGETTING YOUR FIRM ON
TRACK PRESENTED BY SAM M. ALLRED, FOUNDER
DIRECTOR OF UPSTREAM ACADEMY
PRESENTED BY SAM ALLRED FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR OF
UPSTREAM ACADEMY
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When I began my career in the mid-80s the driving
management fad was quality. Large organizations,
including many of the bigger CPA firms, worked
diligently to qualify for quality-oriented awards
such as the coveted Malcolm Baldridge Award.
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It concerns me that I hear less and less about
quality as time goes by. Rather than
encountering firms that are filled with quality
processes, I regularly find firms filled with a
great many mediocre processes.
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As you know, the goal of Emerging Leaders Academy
is to help you become the very best leader you
can be. During this first year, the focus of the
Leadership Training Forums has been on you . . .
what you can do personally to become a better
leader.
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This training forum is all about one of the
fundamental building blocks of great leadership
quality.
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PRESENTATION ROADMAP

• We know quality when we see it
• Quality is never an accident
• ELA participants answer key questions
• Question and answer session
• Email questions to sallred_at_azworld.com

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? WE KNOW QUALITY WHEN WE SEE IT
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How would you answer if you were asked to name a
quality person, product, service or
organization? What makes you think of that
person, product, service or organization? How
would you define quality?
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Quality is part of the process, it's in the
doing. Quality isn't a set of rules or a set of
metrics it's in the spirit of the smallest of
our daily activities. It is a verb trapped in a
noun's body. Author Unknown
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Quality in a product or service is not what the
supplier puts in. It is what the customer gets
out and is willing to pay for. Peter
Drucker Quality is not an act, it is a
habit. Aristotle
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We often speak of providing our clients with
quality service. The most progressive view of
quality is that it is defined entirely by the
client and is based upon that persons evaluation
of his or her entire client experience . . . the
aggregate of all the touch points the client has
had with our firms services.
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QUESTION
Do we ever feel we are receiving quality service
if we think the individual serving us is not
giving his/her best effort?
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John Smith is a dentist in Helena and has been
our familys dentist for the past 18 years. We
couldnt be happier with him as our dentist. He
understands quality service and, because of this,
we are raving fans.
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When I think of John Smith and his service to our
family through the years, Im reminded of a quote
by Colby Chandler of Eastman Kodak We must
take quality beyond customer satisfaction to
customer delight.
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? QUALITY IS NEVER AN ACCIDENT
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"Quality is never an accident it is always the
result of high intention, sincere effort,
intelligent direction and skillful execution it
represents the wise choice of many
alternatives. Willa A. Foster
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QUESTION
Where does quality begin? Quality begins on the
inside . . . and then works its way out. Bob
Moawad
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What he told me was something nobody has every
said to me before in any job. He said, The work
we do is a reflection of who we are. If were
sloppy at it, its because were sloppy inside.
If were late at it, its because were late
inside. If were bored by it, its because were
bored inside, with ourselves, not with the work.
How we do our work becomes a mirror of how we are
inside. The E-Myth Revisited
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Lets think of quality as numbers on a spectrum
of 1- 10, with 1 representing lousy quality and
10 representing world-class quality. Too many
firms are willing to accept a mediocre level of
quality. Most processes within the average CPA
firm are done at a level 4.
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We seldom get the positive results we want from
level 4 processes. Yet, these things consume our
time. As leaders, we need to work to develop a
quality attitude across the firm. We should have
the courage to throw out a challenge before doing
another level 4 thing within the firm.
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? ELA PARTICIPANTS ANSWER KEY QUESTIONS
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We have asked a number of ELA participants to
respond to several questions regarding the
importance of quality. Please know that response
to these questions is not limited to those
participants who have been contacted in advance.
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QUESTION
What do you think the quote by Willa Foster
means Quality is never an accident?
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QUESTION
How do we know that we are delivering quality
services?
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QUESTION
What are the biggest barriers to delivering
quality service?
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QUESTION
What are some ways to spread the desire for
quality throughout the firm?
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? QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION
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Thank You! sallred_at_azworld.com