RE: Should we belong to ASQ? An opinion...

["Jack Duffy" <duffyje@dial.cic.net>]

To Bill Latko....  Thanks for the response.  You've given me reason to
reexamine my choice to leave ASQ with your comment...

"My view was that one cannot reform an organization from the outside. I
stayed with ASQ in the hopes of changing them. A task probably beyond me
and the few others trying to do the same. We could use help."

Here's my current thoughts, subject to change.  First, a relevant quote -
from "My Back Pages" by a Jewish guy from Hibbing:

   In a soldier's stance I aimed my hand
     at the mongrel dogs who teach
   Fearing that I'd become my enemy
     in the moment that I preach.
   My existence led by confusion,
   Mutiny from stern to bow...
     But I was so much older then
       I'm younger than that now.

Along with quotes from Deming, George Santayana, Peter Fonda as Capt.
America, the Who, the Clash, and others, each of the following paragraphs
could be regarded as notecards in a mental affinity process:

Thought - "Go to the mirror, boy."  Recently, several DEN posts have
discussed the decline in the importance of quality as an issue, especially
referring to the Chrysler buyout.  If it's true that quality is perceived as
being passe, then what do we do about it?  By "we" I mean all of us - DEN,
ASQ, others - we are the leadership, or at least we are the elders and
senior council members.  If we don't act, who will?  Don't we bear some
responsibility for the current condition and don't we have an obligation to
attempt improvement?

Thought - "How could they know?"  They've heard these things before.  I'm
not responsible for them forgetting their own history.  If they chose to
disregard Dr. Deming, why would they listen to a peon from Peoria?  "Those
who cannot remember the past...."

Thought - "We blew it, Billy."  When we had our 15 minutes, what were we
doing to sustain?  Where was the long term view?  Why weren't we building
capacity?  I recall lots of talk, much of it with people who hadn't done
their homework, but who staked out an opinion anyway.  Mostly empty talk
which led to sustained inaction.

Thought - "Should I stay or should I go?"  Knowledge comes from outside the
system, and only by invitation.  I can learn more in other venues.  I think
I've heard enough about about ISO9000, Baldrige, compensation, annual
appraisals, etc.  It's become tedious.

Thought - "Come in out of the rain and hear the jazz go down."  If I stay
out of ASQ for much longer, I'll lose touch with certain people who I deeply
respect.  I'd miss working with a few of the elders, hearing their thoughts,
hearing what's new.  Myron's work with Reuven Feuerstein comes to mind.
Bill Latko's comments in the DEN, too.  Peter Scholtes, Donald Wheeler and
so many others.  ASQ is one of the only places I can go to discuss these
things with peers.

Thought - "You've been told many times before, messiahs pointed to the door
but no one had the guts to leave the temple."  And I was among the gutless.
Let's try again but let's do something different.  Who was it that said if
you repeat the same actions, you'll probably get the same results?

Thought - "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss."  They, the short term
linear thinkers are diseased whereas we've been vaccinated by Deming.  The
problem is that we're radically outnumbered and without power.  I'll bet
there's not one top manager subscribed to this newsgroup.  And the rate of
growth of the diseased ones is increasing.  Each semester, the business
schools crank out another big batch.  They acquire power quickly and resist
vaccination vigorously.

Thought - "Sometimes I feel like I been down to the whipping post."  I don't
want to go back in there; I just don't want more beatings.  It's only in the
movies where Rocky wins the rematch; reality would have been Creed by KO in
4 or less.

Thought - "Someone's got to do it."  (That one is Steve Earle.  Do any of
you know who he is?)  The pathetic thing is that there's a little Don
Quixote in everybody, and I've got more than my share.  Having vision is
like having a tattoo; it's hard to get rid of it.  I don't have any tattoos,
by the way.

Thought - "Teach your children."  For the current generations, there's no
price for inaction; it'll be a while before the clampdown, if it comes.  But
our grandchildren will pay if we allow the current power in groups such as
AQC to go unvaccinated.  "Do you think it's alright to leave the boy with
Uncle Ernie?"

Well, that's enough for now.  I guess I'll keep thinking about these things
for a while.  I hope the style of this doesn't bother folks too much.  The
way I write can't be erudite, but maybe I can be entertaining to some.
Thanks again to Bill for saying what he said.

Just one more:

   I'm going to catch that horse if I can.
   And when I do I'll give her my brand.
     And we'll be friends for life.
     She'll be just like a wife.
   I'm going to catch that horse if I can.

Byrds, "Chestnut Mare" 1970 - It's about freedom.  Maybe I'm going back up
on that ridge.  Or maybe I'm the horse.

Regards......   Jack Duffy in Peoria

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