Phil´s Journal
PHILIP CROSBY

I have written a lot of books--13 to be exact--and am therefore expected to know something about promoting and explaining them. However, my latest book, Quality and Me: Lessons from an Evolving Life, has presented me with some original situations requiring original answers.

First of all, it's an autobiography, not a business book. The publisher labels it a business book, but the stores put it in the biography section. In some cases, it gets moved back and forth, depending on the attitude of the stock people. If asked, I would suggest putting some in both places. One question I get asked regularly is who helps me write my books. I write all my own books.

Second, this is the first of my books introduced on the Internet. It is available through Amazon.com as well as Barnes and Noble.com. All the other books were already out when the virtual bookstores appeared. We sell them on our own Web site, too, of course. One of the things I enjoy doing while traveling is to visit bookstores and see how my books are selling. All authors have the same problem when doing this. If there are no books, we think the store hasn't stocked them; if there are books, we think the store isn't selling them. It's better not to look at all.

Third, this book is very personal. It describes my failures and worries, as well as successes. It delves into subjects that I haven't even discussed with my family much. It tells the story of how a career and a life can be created from pragmatic thought and hard work. After each story or incident, a stated lesson answers "What did I learn from this?" That's why I subtitled the book Lessons from an Evolving Life.

Quality and Me has already been purchased by many MBA schools for their students and their library. It's interesting for me to learn that people are actually studying my life. They are looking for the reasons I did certain things and didn't do others. As I mentioned last month, people e-mail me such questions. They want to know why I oppose the conventional wisdom of quality management. They want to know my prescriptions for the future of quality, which organizations I admire and which ones I hold suspect. It's a lot of fun to converse with these people.

I would like to see this 252-page book read by those who are interested in their own careers. One thing I do know about books is that they carve out their own life. No amount of promotion will get people to read a dull book. If they like it, they tell their friends. Quality Is Free is still in bookstores around the world after 20 years. It has sold several million copies; the publisher planned on 10,000 and thought that would be a lot. Some of my other books haven't sold well, and still others have had large and continuing sales. Quality Without Tears is catching up with Quality Is Free. Running Things--about making things happen--did very little for several years and now has been discovered by many starting companies.

Who knows about books? Not me, certainly.

Hope you like Quality and Me: Lessons from an Evolving Life. Start keeping notes on your experiences, and one day you may write your own book.

About the author

Philip B. Crosby, a popular speaker and founder of Philip Crosby Associates--now PCA II--is also the author of several books, including Quality Is Still Free (McGraw-Hill, 1995) and The Absolutes of Leadership (Jossey-Bass, 1996). Visit his Web site at www.philipcrosby.com .