Quality vs. Performance, What does it mean?

You can't fake quality. Over time it always comes full circle. There are no short cuts; just ask Toyota. On the other hand a great performance always has in it some level of fakery. In fact it is the essence of a great performance to create the illusion of another reality. Look at the great performances of a magician or an actor.

As we seek out superior business decisions we often see great performances, but less often do we see great quality. So how can we filter through the many performances and find the tools to create great quality?

We can do this by finding the rare people who offer the "genuine article" in the sea of messages or performances. They constantly create business value, rather than exploiting your emotional state. They show you how to increase business value in an affordable way.

Whether you need enhance productivity or lower costs their process helps you to create both at the same time.  You can see their attention to quality in the smallest of ways; not in some great performance. After the performance they leave behind a lasting stamp of quality. Do you want to be known for being a quality person versus providing a great performance?  Here are three ways you can get more of this in your business:

1. Share with a more open heart than your competition When food is cooked with love you can taste it. When you genuinely provide service to another person you are doing an act of devotion. There is no higher act we can do in a day.

If we surround ourselves with stakeholders (employees, clients, vendors, and investors) who all see the same value in your heart, you can provide all the service that is possible in any situation. This lets you capture all the value of the marketplace.  You can guide interns and job holders to their chosen profession. Your clients express their true needs and you can fully satisfy them. Your vendors create a margin structure that supports your investors expectation.

2. Learn faster than you competition - In today's rush world, businesses and consumers cannot afford second rate information. Even worse is when we ingest marketing and think it is first rate information. In technology and other businesses this is a constant problem.

Misinformation reduces inventory turns, creates product shrinkage, client dissatisfaction, and poor project implementation. If you learn faster than your competition, you can better guide your client. They make better decisions faster. This leads you to finding your core loyal customer faster. You win, and your competitors exit your market.

3. Find a lens to multiply your efforts. A lens can focus light so that it burns like fire. It can also spread light so it can be analyzed for its color or detail. But it can also clarify images so they are seen a great distance. That's a lot of results from one lens.

Look for the lens for your business. Leverage it to make all your other assets work better. In your business think of  the lens as a set of simple rules that keep everything balanced.

These are but three ways to move from a performance based to a quality based company. All three of these can be done at low cost and in very small ways. How do you create quality in your company?