We are often approached with common questions about our trainings, and the personal added value of these trainings on individuals who may not be working in the Quality Field, or are not working in industries that require these certifications.
I have chosen the two most frequently asked questions, and have attempted to explain our vision as a team while answering these questions.
How can I implement what I learn from one of your trainings (example Six Sigma or Quality Management), when the management won’t listen to me?
As soon as I hear this, a specific case usually jumps to my mind. Everyone knows Steve Jobs is a dynamic individual who isn't afraid of embracing new ideas and methodologies, whether it was when he dynamically transformed his company's organizational design into a flat organizational structure, or his choice of innovative and trend-setting products.
Copyright © 2021 Apple Inc.
Nonetheless, Steve Jobs was a highly autocratic individual who had to be in the center of every idea and product, and wasn’t very flexible to new ideas suggested to him, example: the iPhone.
So, what was the employees' (a team of extremely intelligent individuals with multiple years of experience/expertise, and a brilliant idea) strategy when they brought to his attention the "new" idea of a mobile phone (which Steve Jobs didn't envision as a potentially attractive consumer product), that was a smart touch phone as well?
The employees started first by planting small ideas in his head periodically of their hidden admiration for specific new products/systems they’ve actually seen becoming potentially successful in front of them.
Then, for the iPhone creation process: a team of highly skilled professionals worked secretly together first (with approval from their direct managers), finalized the initial design phase, then presented the initial design (a highly detailed visual analysis pitch) to Steve Jobs, whereby hooking him into it and ultimately ending with his full passion and enthusiasm for the production of the product.
It's extremely important as an employee to create an intelligent emotional understanding of your management before attempting to debate, pitch, or negotiate any new situation or idea.
We are all humans, and as much as we would love to believe that our logic controls us, our emotions play a key part of determining our day to day actions.
As such, as an employee, building an emotional understanding of the person in front of you will directly impact any potential outcome from your interaction with that person.
Therefore, try to identify which method of communication your employer prefers. Then, the timing of the communication (and of course the topic you wish to discuss). And finally, how time-sensitive is the topic you wish to communicate (do you require an immediate solution, or can you work on your idea personally first and finalize the pitch, then present it). By doing so, there's a higher chance of less conflict, and greater acceptance of new ideas, or creation of potential solutions to immediate problems at a significantly faster pace.
Of course, it is often the case that two individuals just don't get along, but must work together, and so "conflict" is inevitable. That's okay because diverse thinking and disagreements can be difficult and uncomfortable, yet they often lead to greater, faster progress in innovation and coming up with breakthrough solutions, when the debates are monitored and organized using a logical methodology.
So, when entering a debate think:
Debate is good, fighting and endless/aimless arguing is not
Everyone is on the same team with ultimately the same end goal
Use facts and logic, and stay focused on the topic
Don’t make it personal by using past problems or personal conflict
Be intellectually humble and accept all ideas
For both employees and leaders, applying these strategies should create synchronicity within the organization and harmonize the organizational culture.
What’s the personal value added to me, since I’m not in the quality field?
Our team does not approach these trainings using lecture-based methodology; meaning we don't simply teach you content from a textbook. Rather, all of our trainings are centered around real situations through multiple case studies, benchmarking, and success stories that are derived from different aspects of an individual's life (and not just a specialized career path or industry).
As such, the way we approach these trainings allows our clients to apply the methodologies and tools they'll learn to multiple aspects of their life.
For example, one current market trend is data analysis (regardless of the industry); the tools taught in our certifications for customer data analysis range in graphical, statistical, and qualitative methods (some of which are, but not limited to, probability distribution techniques like nominal and poisson distribution, etc). The other wide array of tools and methodologies taught in our certifications cover from customer-centered to process-centered tools and methodologies (some examples: SWOT and Market Analysis, Pareto charts, Cause & Effect Diagrams, Root Cause Analysis, Hoshin Planning, Process Capability [Cp and Cpk,] and Performance Indices [Pp and Ppk]).
Below I have presented quick factsheets explaining general information on how each certification can add value to individuals, along with marketplace information on where these certifications can be applied.
For additional information on the body of knowledge (modules and topics) of our certifications, visit ASQ Certifications.
In conclusion, if one was to follow the training guidelines, tools, and methodologies in their personal life as well, the value added to the person would potentially lead to them outshining in multiple aspects outside of the corporate/career environment.
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