When I work with customers, I see all kinds of quality management systems. The performance of an environmental or quality system is consistently driven by people’s ability to make good decisions. Any good quality management system is the sum of the decisions made within it.

Each time we choose to sacrifice the good of the system for one person, or allow an ineffective, outdated legacy practice to continue, we take small steps toward lower and lower standards.

When we have a culture that puts quality and environmental attainment at a lower priority than feelings and keeping the status quo, slowly we make the hundreds of decisions that eat away at total performance.

What if that new practice can reduce our environmental footprint by 25 percent while simultaneously saving us money? It’s a no-brainer, right? But wait: What if the sales rep for the company who would be displaced from this change is a college roommate of the executive decision maker?

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