Reality as I see it: V- On achieving consistent quality

On achieving consistent quality

27th Feb 2007

Prashant wrote on 24th Feb, “How could you be sure that he hasn't applied the same in real life and has not had the same success or most importantly how does one measure success or failure in real life as it's definitely not simple as counting bad products in a box? Or is it based on the assumption that no human being is perfect and hence he must have sinned more number of times than the six-sigma limit in his lifetime…. If he has to worry about his next meal on an empty stomach it's more likely that he might go for a bodily need and hence be termed as a bodily person. But the same person, if he doesn't have to worry about his immediate needs, he might turn into a spiritual person. I also think depending on age, the older one gets the more spiritual he/she might become….Lately, I have been leaning towards another school of thought "Fate". No matter what one does there is still something that can go wrong or right that he/she does not control”.


As an engineer, you would realise how difficult it is to maintain consistent Quality in what we produce. You are aware of the SPC (the statistical process control) charts where we set the Upper limit and Lower limit and constantly check whether the production process is within control or not. We also know that if the process goes out of control, it will result in poor quality products; and the cost of poor quality is extremely high, far higher than the cost of improvisation needed for eliminating poor quality. When Motorola used the statistical concept of ‘six sigma’ to their production process, they were aiming to come of a difficult downturn, having been outwitted by the Japanese quality standards. To limit the number of defects to ‘2 per billion’ requires not just continuous improvement, but a comprehensive redesign of processes.

I said that the same man who used the rigorous six sigma concepts to the production processes, did not think of using similar standards for improving himself, his actions and his own living.

The allusion was deliberate.

I can see the question in your mind. How can you use a concept used in an inanimate circumstance (like production in a factory) to a human being, who is so live and complex? Let me use a live example. Two people in an equestrian academy learn to ride horses. One of them knows not how to ride. He is thrown about, jumping up and down, led by wherever the horse takes him. He ends with a rough ride and if the horse does not throw him down, would certainly end up with a back ache. The other person, who is trained about the techniques of riding, becomes adept and achieves a smooth ride. Where is the difference? Is it in the horse or in the rider? Just as an untrained rider, most of us ride life – as it comes, thinking that it is the right thing. We get battered by experiences and learn slowly. Too late; by then, you spend most of your productive life.

We operate at different levels at different times because we do not train ourselves adequately. Instead of realising that there is a deficiency in training ourselves, we feel that it is completely natural to behave differently in different situations and justify the same by statements that ‘to err is human’. How many times have we made a resolution only to break within no time? Isn’t it a very common occurrence? We make mistakes; and swear to learn from them. Many a time that learning never occurs, since we forget that lesson the moment there is something to smile about, feel good about. Most of us repeat the same mistakes, go down again till we come up all over again. Our moods swing also violently – up and down. We therefore are stuck in constant up and downs in life, since we learn very little from experiences. And certainly very late. What is the use of having a wise Old man who has no productive life left?

When I say that we must use the six sigma in life, I mean that we can achieve freedom from the ups and downs in life. A trial-and-error approach in life would drain our energies. We cry when lose, we jump in joy when we win. Isn’t that normal? We think, ponder about events in life. We cultivate fears, we get hysteric about things not there. We develop jealousies in life; pull competitors down; work hard – even at the cost of health- to make more money; don’t we? We consider all that very natural. We are playing the soccer hard – kicking the ball all around – without knowing where the goal is! In the process, we get dispossessed (of the ball) and lose. As and when we lose, we lament. Isn’t it? If we know where our goal is and train ourselves better, we can play the game better. Good footballers can see from the corner of the eye (or even the back of their head!) the person to whom pass is to be given. They are cool and calm, although they are competing to win. Aren’t they?

So, is there a better way to achieve stable and serene approach to events in life? Can we achieve a smoother ride of this life? Is there a better way to – remain in life – and successfully achieving our life’s goals?

Source of poor quality

Let us define a poor quality action as something, which is an inappropriate response to a given situation. I am not getting into the ‘good’ or ‘bad’ aspect now (what is good and what is not is a simple question that gave birth to a whole new subject called Philosophy). I confine myself to the appropriate reactions to outward stimuli and how these help in achieving consistency in life with better results. If there is a failure, we cry. If we land up a contract, we jump in joy, we party hard; forget about the implementation issues till we get pulled up. Don’t we? We lose interest in a thing the moment we possess it. If the person beside us does better, we feel jealous. Are these right responses?

You said you started believing in ‘fate’. That is nothing but an implicit surrender to the circumstances, rather than trying to analysing, understanding and mastering them. Can we behave in a more ‘professional’ way in real life?

For this, we should try and understand the source of our inconsistencies or poor quality actions. The obvious answer is that the environment is so complex and diverse that how can you expect the same consistent behaviour? Let us probe this further and ask how does one perceive this apparent ‘complexity’? Isn’t it through your senses and your own mind? Don’t we see two people perceiving the same situation in two different ways? If that is so, the complexity is not external, but it is internal. The complexity is actually, within us - developed, inculcated, entangled more and more by our own actions. We make a simple thing complex, by losing clarity; by associating emotions with it; by getting passionate about it. If you cut out the emotional web from the issues around us, we can think very differently. Not only can we think differently, but we can expect consistent reactions from all the people in similar situations. If I behave in the same manner irrespective of the environmental stimuli affecting me, focussing on a target of my choice, am not acting consistently?

But is it really possible to make human beings less complex? We have already seen how a detached person, who does not get into emotional web can turn out a better performance in life, by achieving his life’s goals better. To achieve that, we need to master the senses that crate this complexity. That is the key to achieving more consistent reactions to outward stimuli.

Simple isn’t it?

Absolutely not.

The senses are rooted within the body, which in most of us dominate in the Body Spirit Continuum. With the mind that acts on their inputs, man is actually at their mercy. We are like riders who go where the horse takes us, and end up bruised and battered. Achieving mastery over the senses is difficult but possible.

We need to first accept that we need to train ourselves. Recognition of the need to work on it is in fact, the most important hurdle to pass.
Normally, we need go to school to get trained. In this case, the school is within you. You can do self-study. The syllabus is known. Books exist. Techniques are well-researched. There are people who have travelled on the same path and wrote down their experiences. These ‘travelogues’ would help in traversing the course.

This is a course that we should learn to do better in life. It is not meant for old people. It has nothing to do with poverty or prosperity. It has nothing to do with the circumstances of life.

It is an essential education – acquired, faster the better.