Quality management principles
As explained in chapter 1, we need principles to help us determine the right things to do and understand why we do what we do. The more prescription we have the more we get immersed in the detail and lose sight of our objectives-our purpose-our reason for doing what we do. Once we have lost sight of our purpose, our actions and decisions follow the mood of the moment, they are swayed by the political climate or fear of reprisals. We can so easily forget our purpose when in heated discussion when it is not who you are, but what you say and to whom you say it that is deemed important. Those people who live by a set of principles often find themselves cast out of the club for saying what they believe. However, with presence of mind and recollection of the reasons why the principles are important for survival, they could just redeem themselves and be regarded as an important contributor.