“If you don’t keep your quality everywhere, everyplace, that’s going to hurt you. … Quality, quality, quality.” — CHARLIE LANKTREE, CEO OF EGGLAND’S BEST
It’s been said that for quality practices to make a real impact throughout an organization, the quality mindset must start at the top. The CEO must understand not only the concept of quality but the importance that an organization can never “move on to something else.” Quality isn’t something added to other initiatives, procedures, or processes. Quality is the foundation for all other initiatives: innovation, customer experience, supply chain management, and any other recent process you can think of.
This thought in practice, however, isn’t universal. But, according to at least five influential executives, it should be.