9 continuous quality improvement quotes to engage your business

Engaging employees with quality is one of the biggest challenges quality practitioners face today.

Using some quotes from recognised industry experts can go a long way to getting their attention.

There are endless continuous quality improvement quotes and phrases which you can use, but here are nine of our favourite quotes and statistics.

1) Deficiencies are usually caused by systems and processes, not employees

W. Edwards Deming, American consultant, statistician and educator said: "eighty-five percent of the reasons for failure are deficiencies in the systems and processes rather than the employee. The role of management is to change the process rather than badgering individuals to do better."

2) The timid, fainthearted and those who expect quick results are doomed to disappointment

Another from W. Edwards Deming: "Long-term commitment to new learning and new philosophy is required of any management that seeks transformation. The timid and the fainthearted, and the people that expect quick results, are doomed to disappointment."

3) Harness your skills

"I don't care how much power, brilliance or energy you have, if you don't harness it and focus it on a specific target, and hold it there, you're never going to accomplish as much as your ability warrants."

- Zig Ziglar

4) 95% of what you do is pure waste

In Lean production simplified, Pascal Dennis writes that 95 percent of time in a normal company is spent on non value-adding activities. With process management and a continuous improvement, this can realistically get to around 35 percent value-adding activities.

5) Over-reliance on analysis, finance and tools eliminate risk, but also eliminate action

Thomas Peters and Robert H. Waterman Jr said In Search of Excellence: "The reason behind the absence of focus on product and people in so many American companies, it would seem is... over reliance on analysis from corporate ivory towers and over reliance on financial slight of hand, and tools that would appear to eliminate risk, but also, unfortunately, eliminate action."

6) Excellence is what we repeatedly do

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but at habit."

- Aristotle

7) Change is on you

"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. You are the one you have been waiting for. You are the change that we seek."

- Barack Obama