How a Furious Boss Proved the Magic of Quality Work

What is the best reward you have received when working towards better? I noticed that I don't need to think long.

My best reward is a specific memory that I cherish always with a smile.

During that time, I knew I had already built quite much knowledge and experience. We had worked hard on improvements, and I could see crystal clear how those changes would reflect in the next year's statistics. I was so happy and confident that I set the target level dramatically better than the one for the year that was ending.

Then, the "big quality boss" looked at my estimate. He got angry.

"This is not how it works. Correct it back to the current level!" he demanded.

I checked all the facts and reasonings of my estimate. I knew in my bones that I was correct, and I was going to prove it.

The new year started, and the Year-To-Date (YTD) figures began in January and continuing next months, right where I had foreseen they would be. That was my reward moment. The satisfaction burned into my mind, a memory I can never forget. This, even that the boss never much commented the difference of target and the reality.

The Magic of Foreseeing

Even today, I return to those feelings. I believe it's those exact feelings, combined with the image of that graph that unfolded exactly as predicted, that motivated me forward for years. I never shortened the timescale; I kept tracking the results for years as I wanted to show with visible proof to myself and the entire organization that there is magic in systematic quality work and what we had accomplished.

Of course, the graph is now long since just a memory, but what a powerful memory it is! I can imagine the last version of it as paper in my hands. It set my future, fostering a deep belief in the power of practical, systematic work and the ability to truly see future situations.

Much later in my career, I came to know my absolute favourite word: Foresee. How beautiful it is!

You can foresee more than you think. You can foresee what might go well or what might go wrong, especially when looking at the process together with a collaborative team. You can foresee what the quality levels might be.

You never have a crystal ball to look into, and everything is, of course, an estimate. But you don't need magic when you do your best, systematic work. Surprises will always come, that's how the world turns.

The key to quality is to simply be prepared and curious about the future.