Are you keeping your foot on the gas to drive continuous improvement?
Several years ago, the supplier quality engineer at one of our largest customers was a pit bull. His extremely high expectations never relented. Initially the relationship soured due to his daily demands on our performance and response. He was seen as an overbearing, nitpicky task-master. Every day we had updates to make and actions to close.
Over time, we expected his demands to lessen as we improved. This was not the case - he continued to ask for more. He would not let go of his desire for additional improvements. Our performance continued to improve and we began to understand why he was so insistent. After a couple years of work, we established a much stronger relationship and jointly drove new actions. We became a better supplier and our customer was very pleased with our performance. We ended up winning new businesses with that company for years to come.
Continuous improvement in a business is not a one-time action. It comes from a series of smaller actions taken over a long period of time. Driving improvement requires steadfast attention and a drive to achieve excellence. It can take months or years to make permanent improvements and change a culture. In your projects and initiatives, are you keeping your ‘foot on the gas’ to change the long-term outcomes?
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