Quantity Versus Quality
Conventional management wisdom:
You can have quality or quantity but you can’t have both.
- Bang ’em out quick
- Sod the quality, feel the width
- Cost, quality, speed ~ pick any 2
Even the Romans knew this was the case.
It is quality rather than quantity that matters ~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca
So if you want more, the quality is always going to slide.
But there is a problem with conventional wisdom. Sometimes it is wrong…
If you want higher quantity start with higher quality
As quality goes up quantity goes up.
Why? — Less rework
As quality goes up employee engagement goes up.
Why? — People take more pride in their jobs.
As employee engagement goes up and rework goes down, costs go down.
Why? — Less absenteeism and wasted time.
As costs go down profits go up.
Why? — Greater margins and more sales.
As profits go up quality goes up.
Why? — More investment.
So if you want more quantity start with higher quality
But if you start pushing quantity first…
Then let’s be honest…
The quality is bound to slide.
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Image by Stuart Rankin
