RE: Air Force speech, Deming and Quality

[Hamilton John TSgt 17 TRW/MO <John.Hamilton@goodfellow.af.mil>]

Good morning fellow Denizens,

Being a quality advisor in the Air Force for the past 10 years (and ready to
retire) I couldn't let this post go by without comment. This speech is not
about quality or Deming in the Air Force; it's about character. I will not
debate the issue of character or the general's perception of it but I would
question his idea of quality and management.

The general stated, "... the first guy to meet me was the Quality guy. He
said we needed to have an off-site -- get the staff together and come up
with our "mission, vision and goals" for the future. I understand the
off-site idea, get folks focused on planning and get away from the
distractions of the office. Then he started talking about how we needed to
break down barriers. And this was a little curious, so I asked him how we
were going to do that. He said, "Well, we're not going to wear our uniforms
-- and we are going to call each other by our first names." It was all about
breaking down barriers in his mind. It was bulls***."

The 'advisor' may have used the wrong tactic when suggesting to a long-time
military advocate that Quality Air Force would eliminate the rank structure
that is the core of military operation. Introducing this concept of breaking
down barriers into an authoritarian system has its difficulties.  I was a
Quality Air Force (QAF) advisor for 8 years and am now a manpower analyst,
closer to industrial engineer.  I had a very difficult time introducing TQM
because most people were getting mixed information.  The self-fulfilling
prophecy was that this is just another management program,
flavor-of-the-week and would soon be gone. 

The general stated he, "had read about Deming and Baldridge, and some of
what they said made sense -- common sense. The management tools they talked
about were good in some cases. We were using them as well -- we didn't talk
about it though, we just did it." He is right, there were pockets of
excellence and examples throughout the Air Force.  What QAF was attempting
was to standardize and institutionalize quality throughout the Air Force.
One general coined the term "operationalize" but I had a very difficult time
with that term.

Some senior leadership (officers and enlisted) perceived quality management
as everyone sitting around in civilian clothes taking sensitivity training
like hippies back in the 60's or an plot by the communists to undermine our
national security.  With that perception undermining honest efforts, QAF was
doomed for failure.  With that in mind, I recall Captain Theriot's (sorry if
I misspell) presentation at the first Quality Air Force Symposium in
Montgomery, Alabama that it would be senior leadership's lack of support
that would cause the quality effort to fail.
 
I'm not bitter; I'm retiring from the Air Force.  The lack of character
examples the general identifies supports my decision, as do other
considerations. I do not feel that the lost "fine art of chewing ass" is the
answer to the military's problems.  I do not agree with the general that,
"big business had all the answers. "Quality" was used as a substitute for
leadership. It let words and slogans guide our behavior. Words like
'empowerment,' 'break down barriers.'"

I am a firm believer in identifying a process to understand why things went
wrong. I disagree with the notion that, "a good butt-chewing" will eliminate
the chances of "another Blackhawk shootdown by F-15 pilots" or restrain
officers from cavorting with enlisted and vice versa.

Misconceptions about what WED Deming advocated is debated on this list
regularly. I would not hold a 'layperson' to the same level of learning as
some of the distinguished members of the DEN but an 'advisor' should be more
cultivated.  Often good intentions are marred by bad or misinterpreted
information.  The Air Force is using common sense toward mission
accomplishment although there are plenty of opportunities for improvement
and continual improvement.  I wish them luck.

TSgt John Hamilton Jr
17 Training Wing Manpower Analyst
Goodfellow AFB, TX
john.hamilton@goodfellow.af.mil