20 Years and Counting
I recently celebrated a milestone
in my career: June marked my 20th year with QCI International,
publisher of Quality Digest. It’s an event
that’s become increasingly rare in an era of career-swapping,
populated by the “What have you done for me lately”
baby boomers. Economic reality and an increasingly mobile
society have left little room for corporate loyalty--on
either side of the desk.
This skinny, shy, know-it-all kid showed up at Quality
Digest 20 years ago ready to change the publishing
world. The world’s changed in more ways than I could
have imagined 20 years ago, and I’m no longer skinny
or quite so shy. (Regular readers of my column can attest
that I’m still a know-it-all.) Even though I haven’t
changed the world, I’ve had the privilege to report
on many fascinating aspects of it.
My longevity here is due to several factors: an incredible
boss, Donald L. Dewar, who’s always treated me with
respect, fairness and patience; a terrific staff who constantly
amaze me with their willingness to go the extra mile for
our readers and for me; readers and advertisers who have
shaped the magazine; and our writers, who provide us with
such great content.
When I first started with Quality Digest, we
had about 800 subscribers; now we have more than 80,000.
In fact, we’re now the No. 1 quality publication,
in terms of audited, verified subscribers. It’s immensely
satisfying to see just how far the magazine has progressed
in the last 20 years.
It’s been an honor to have spent time with quality
luminaries such as W. Edwards Deming, Joseph M. Juran, Philip
Crosby, Armand Feigenbaum and Allan Mogensen. It’s
also been amazing to interview Peter Drucker, Tom Peters,
Alvin Toffler, Ken Blanchard and dozens of other leading
business thinkers. However, the interviews I enjoy the most
are with quality managers and leaders of world-class organizations.
Spend 30 minutes with the vice president of quality or president
or CEO of a Baldrige Award-winning organization and you’ll
understand why they won. Their passion for quality, excellence
and customer service is amazing. They genuinely love what
they do.
There’s a great book by Marsha Sinetar titled Do
What You Love, the Money Will Follow (Dell Publishing,
1989). I think a better title might be: Do What You Love,
Happiness Will Follow. Sure, after 20 years on the job,
I make a comfortable living. But the satisfaction I take
from seeing the magazine delivered from the printer is priceless.
I get just as excited now as I did 20 years ago when the
first issue of Quality Digest I worked on was delivered.
(Don, this doesn’t mean you can skip my raise this
year.)
Several new employees have recently joined the Quality
Digest staff: Mike Richman, our new managing editor;
Laura Smith, our new associate editor; Raissa Carey, our
new online editor and Mike Leonard, our new Midwest sales
representative. I hope they find at least 20 years of happiness
here, too.
Robert Green, our former managing editor, has moved to
the newly created position of director of online media.
Robert’s talent for design, editing and writing make
him uniquely qualified to expand our fast-growing e-media.
Philip Crosby taught us that quality is free. Enjoying
what you do is priceless.
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