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In late June key business executives and researchers, identified as thought leaders in quality, convened at a summit held by the Juran Center for Leadership in Quality. Headlining were the center's namesake, Joseph M. Juran, and Paul O'Neill, secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

The center, housed at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management, was established in 1997 when Juran merged his own nonprofit foundation (begun in 1986) with the business school of his alma mater.

According to Juran, the center has a singular, succinct mission: "Helping the United States attain world leadership in quality."

The opportunity to hear Juran, O'Neill and others share their views on quality and leadership drew more than 200 experts from industry and academia to the summit. Like them, you may find the discussion helpful in managing for quality at your organization or assisting your top management in understanding the importance of continual improvement. (Also see "Up Front," p. 6.)

At an impasse

The summit was the brainchild of Robert W. Galvin, former CEO of Motorola Inc. and co-chair of the Juran Center's executive advisory board.

Jim Buckman, co-director of the center and organizer of the summit, outlined these premises:

• Despite substantial efforts, only a few U.S. organizations have reached world-class excellence.

• Even fewer companies have sustained such excellence during changes in leadership.

• Most corporate quality failures rest with leadership.

• Most universities are way behind in offering quality research, curricula and programs.

Perhaps Juran himself summed it up best: "We are at an impasse. We know quality leadership is attainable. We know which success factors and managerial processes have led to quality leadership. We have indications of the order of magnitude of the potential gains. Despite this array of knowledge, the bulk of our companies are not rushing to make use of it."

Why not? Juran suggested the following reasons:

• Executives are skeptical; many companies have tried to "do" quality and failed.

• They have learned not to trust quality advocates--internal or external.

• Executives believe, "Our business is different."

• Many executives believe becoming certified to ISO 9000 will solve all quality problems.

• "Mediocre quality is still salable," according to Juran.

• The varying quality terms and programs create confusion and a belief that higher quality costs more.

• Many CEOs believe they can lead their organizations to quality leadership without becoming personally and deeply involved.

We know these and other reasons proliferate, Juran said; what we don't know is which reasons are key. To find out, Juran called for substantial research.

Call to action

To break the quality impasse, he outlined a proposal based on the mission of the Juran Center's executive advisory board. This mission, Juran said, is pro bono publico (for the public good or welfare) and, coupled with the board's composition of senior executives from leading industrial and academic institutions, "confers a high degree of credibility."

Juran's proposal included these measures:

• Significant research to discover and highlight the results of quality leadership and proven methods for attaining it. Juran envisioned using field teams to visit companies that launched quality programs in the past two decades. The effort would require two to three years and several million dollars and be funded by nonprofit foundations.

• More involvement and coverage from business and mainstream media. Juran professed disappointment with the media's failure to recognize such major quality events of the 20th century as the Japanese quality revolution and the creation of national quality awards in the United States and Japan.

• Expansion of academia's role, including creating degree granting curricula in quality management, preparing teachers well-versed in the quality problems of industry and establishing close partnerships with businesses.

• The evolution of all this academic expansion into a nationally recognized quality profession (similar to that of certified public accountants) and eventually into a science of managing for quality.

O'Neill's trilogy

Juran's remarks were supported throughout with explanations of his famous trilogy of quality planning, control and improvement.

Like Juran, O'Neill has a trilogy, but his is about people and leadership. In all the positions he has held, every country he has visited and every culture he has observed, O'Neill said he has found universal, fundamental truths a leader must follow to be effective:

• Every human being wants to be treated with dignity and respect, every single day.

• People want to make a contribution with what they do; they want their lives to have meaning.

• All people want someone to notice what they do.

O'Neill, who served as director of the Juran Center's board while CEO of Alcoa, is known for his quality and safety results at that company and others. He credits leadership. "Leadership is supposed to be about something: creating positive change," he said. "With leadership, everything is possible; without it, nothing is."

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