An organization will not begin the transformation until it is aware that the quality of the product or service must be improved. Awareness comes about when an organization loses market share or realizes that quality and productivity go hand in hand. It also occurs if TQM is mandated by the customer or if management realizes that TQM is a better way to run business and compete in domestic and world markets.

Automation or other productivity enhancements might not help a corporation if it is unable to market its product or service because the quality is poor. The Japanese learned this fact from practical experience. They could sell their products only at ridiculously low prices, and even then it was difficult to secure repeat sales. Until recently, corporations have not recognized the importance of quality. However, a new attitude has emerged—quality first among the equals of cost and service—the customer wants value.

Quality and productivity are not mutually exclusive. Improvements in quality can lead directly to increased productivity and other benefits. The improved quality results in improvement in productivity, capacity, and profit. Many quality improvement projects are achieved with the same workforce, same overhead, and no investment in new equipment.

More and more corporations are recognizing the importance and necessity of quality improvement if they are to survive domestic and world-wide competition. Quality improvement is not limited to the conformance of the product or service to specifications; it also involves the inherent quality in the design of the system. The prevention of the product, service, and process problems is a more desirable objective than taking corrective action after the product is manufactured or a service rendered.

TQM does not occur overnight; there are no quick remedies. It takes a long time to build the appropriate emphasis and techniques into the culture. Over-emphasis on short term results and profits must be set aside so long-term planning and constancy of purpose will prevail.

My Consultancy–Asif J. Mir - Management Consultant–transforms organizations where people have the freedom to be creative, a place that brings out the best in everybody–an open, fair place where people have a sense that what they do matters. For details please visit www.asifjmir.com, and my Lectures.

a steady beat, rhythmic, joined by a whirr a hum, creaking, a moan long drawn out a not unpleasant screech, a metronome?

not even constant and continuous soothing they say like being in the womb -i can’t remember, is that why it makes you sleepy?

always seeming to take forever and no time at all a sort of purgatory, inbetween places with meaningless names a real

nowhere.

colours and sounds wash over you, drown you to numbness it’s relaxing provoking  fleeting thoughts which are rarely articulated

never comprehended the mind wallows in itself wrapped in this blanket content to be carried where you will

your powerlessness a blessing there is no worry here you will not age eternal youth or death here you can choose

(maybe you will realise they are on and the same) eventually you will, surely it’s just a matter of time.

it reminds us that we are dying, moving closer every second the

incessant regularity mocks us with it’s certainty of our own

uncertainty about the  fututre The Clock focuses o

ur mind on the unfocusable – the absurdity of m

an’s attempt to capture what is beyond com

prehension it captures us, turning the inf

inite into a bracleted hands and face. br

ackets surrounding numbers telling u

s where to be, who to be, for how

long for and letting us know w

e are rude and unthoughtful

human nothing more skin

on muscle on bone

slowly rotting

with  no

choice

or co

ntro

l no

esc

ap

e

.

still the rain pounds on pounding at your head wetting the backs of your eyes putting you into a state of house arrest though its not that bad you could leave if you wanted to it’s dark too your bones are wet feels like they’re turning to mush your head hurts you stare at the descent you are nominally protected but what has it cost?

this rain will never stop

though i am inside it

still pounds and erodes me

The speaker yesterday morning emphasized something that stuck with me through today.  That is, that job “fit” is the most influential component of the interview and, really, success at work.  A little thought provides that the concept of “fit” includes competency, constancy, and camaraderie as measures of integration into the culture.

A search pointed me to this article on monster.com (yes, monster.com) and it goes into some depth about evaluating “Fit” from the applicants perspective.  However it differs from our speaker on the emphasis given on the weight that the employer evaluation of “Fit” has on being offered a position (or contract) at a company.

So the message I got was, yes take the time to evaluate how the job fits you, but work to become aware of how the interviewer perceives your fit into the culture.

On one particular Sunday a few years ago I had attended a church service to be in community with old friends, but more importantly, to experience the greater sensation of Holiness that I feel in God’s House.  While I was taking in the sounds of the church organ and the voices of the congregation singing, I suddenly felt an elbow to my rib cage.

The person standing next to me noticed that I had not picked up a hymnal book and offered me one so that I could join in the singing. This person obviously had loving intentions but had unknowingly interfered with my personal “spiritual” experience of the service. This is the problem I have with institutionalized religion—it seeks conformity.

Having attended both an art school and later a seminary I see my relationship with God as an intensely creative one.  What makes things difficult for me in attending church on a regular basis is that when I express my creativity I run the risk of making the congregation feel uncomfortable and gaining the reputation of being a “disturbance.”

Traditional religions would label me as a Gnostic—one who seeks deeper knowledge and participates in personal evolution (at the expense of official church doctrine). However, I do see drawbacks to developing one’s personal spirituality because it can often be confused with simply feeling good about oneself and worse, embracing a false sense of “enlightenment.”

But forget the negatives of each. That is not why I wanted to write this post. Both approaches—religion and spirituality—play a valuable part in God’s grand scheme! In fact, I think both terms can even share a common meaning.

Scientist/theologian Emanuel Swedenborg stated that a single person represents a “church” as its smallest unit. With such a definition, spirituality and religion are actually the same thing—with the exception that the first term addresses particular beliefs and the latter, shared or common beliefs. The challenge for all of us in this confrontational world is to “marry” high creativity with conformity.

Science is faced with the same problem—novelty versus constancy. Somehow God’s universe has successfully married these two fundamental features of reality. The manifest universe shows us causal processes that reflect both constancy of law and openness to evolution and change. Yet miraculously, these two seemingly opposite influences give us the perfection of unity through distinctiveness (diversity).

There is much, much more to discuss concerning this most important topic. I hope I have thrown out some ideas as a brain-starter.  Please chime in with your thoughts—all views are valid and important to the discussion!

http://www.provinggod.com

Scripture to read today:

Zechariah 1; Zechariah 2; Zechariah 3; Luke 11

Scripture that spoke to me:
Luke 11:9-10
“And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

Observation:
This is one of the great promises in the Bible- ask and receive. Keep on asking- be persistent. Jesus says that persistence will be rewarded.

Application:
I know people who think they need to “get right” before they give themselves to God. They feel unworthy, unclean, or unable to go before the Lord looking like they do. But God wants our persistent calling out to Him- now, not later. Over and over again. Go to Him in your dirtiness… take your filth with you… and He will make you clean. It is going to be hard to wait until you’re “right” before you go.

Prayer:
Lord, thank You for taking us just as we are- warts and all- and making us into something clean and pure for Your work. Thank You also for doing it over and over again! Amen.

Many people helped develop quality management, and some of the early ones are called the ‘quality gurus.’ Perhaps Edwards Deming was one of the best known. He did a lot to publicize TQM. But was concerned that organizations did not get the benefits they expected. To help them on the way, he compiled a list of guidelines called his ’14 obligations.’ They are:

1. Create constancy of purpose towards product quality.
2. Adapt the new philosophy of higher quality, refusing to accept customary levels of defects and errors.
3. Stop depending on mass inspection, build quality into your product.
4. Don’t award business on the basis of price only – reduce the number of of suppliers and insist on meaningful measures of quality.
5. Develop programs for continuous improvement of your products and processes.
6. Train all your employees.
7. Focus supervision on helping employees to do a better job.
8. Drive out fear by encouraging two-way communication.
9. Break down barriers between departments and encourage problem solving through teamwork.
10. Don’t use posters and slogans that demand improvements without saying how to achieve them.
11. Eliminate arbitrary quotes and targets that interfere with quality.
12. Remove barriers that stop people having pride in their work.
13. Have programs for lifelong education, training and self-improvement.
14. Put everyone to work on implementing these 14 points.

Deming’s 14 points are not a program that has fixed duration, but the give a new way of thinking in your organization. They are certainly not the only possible view, but they do give some useful guidelines.

My Consultancy–Asif J. Mir - Management Consultant–transforms organizations where people have the freedom to be creative, a place that brings out the best in everybody–an open, fair place where people have a sense that what they do matters. For details please visit www.asifjmir.com, www.youtube.com/asifjmir, Line of Sight

Our friend Cassie Hayes wrote a great note on Facebook the other day based off of Joyce Meyer’s book,  Managing Your Emotions , that really clicked with me (and MANY other women!)  Here it is, reposted along with her notes.

{Photo courtesy of Flickr}

EMOTIONAL STABILITY AS A SPRITUAL INHERITANCE
“In Him we also were made [God's] heritage (portion) and we obtained an inheritance; for we had been foreordained (chosen and appointed beforehand) in accordance with His purpose, Who works out everything in agreement with the counsel and design of His [own] will, So that we who first hoped in Christ [who first put our confidence in Him have been destined and appointed to] live for the praise of His glory! -Ephesians 1:11,12

We have got to get to the point of knowing who we are in Christ and what is rightfully ours because we have placed our confidence in Him. Emotional stability is part of our spiritual inheritance.

We do not have to live on an emotional roller coaster in which our feelings go up and down from one day to the next. Instead, we are to live as Christ lived, with a sense of peace and security that comes from knowing who we are and Whose we are.

Until we make the decision to claim and live in our inheritance, the enemy will continue to rob us of what Jesus died to provide for us – His peace and joy that prevail within us even in the midst of the turmoil and confusion and fear that surround us on all sides.

In John 16:33 Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation. Cheer up! I have overcome the world.” We cannot cheer up until we calm down. We can enjoy life even if all our circumstances aren’t great. Yet we cannot have joy without peace.

*Satan knows he’s lost

*He wants to wreck as much havoc as possible on us while we are here

*We have to be well-balanced or he will devour us – he uses human fear, which develops when we see others failing, or bad things happening around us, to try to break down more and more people on earth.

*The point is, he’s already lost! For 1 Peter 5:8,9 – we have to make sure no one feels bad from seeing other people (whether because they were not as strong, or because they are non-Christians) get devoured, but rather, use those instances as motivation to stay vigilant to Satan’s emotional attacks.

EMOTIONAL STABILITY AS A GOAL
… Jesus came to be the Perfect Sacrifice for us because we do not have the ability to be perfect in our natural man. We need to remember that fact when we are tempted to be overcome by guilt and condemnation every time we fail to control our emotions… I had to seek not to be emotionless, but rather to be well-balanced in my emotional life…

IMPORTANCE OF BEING WELL-BALANCED
“Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring in fierce hunger, seeking someone to seize upon and devour. Withstand him; be firm in faith [against his onset - rooted, established, strong, immovable, determined], knowing that the same (identical) sufferings are appointed to your brotherhood (the whole body of Christians) throughout the world.” – 1 Peter 5:8,9

To be temperate is to be self-controlled. And to be sober of mind is to be level-headed. So here you and I are told to be well-balanced, self-controlled, level-headed, rooted, established, strong, immovable, and determined. According to this passage, how are we going to defeat the devil and withstand his physical and emotional onsets upon us? By being rooted and grounded in Christ. Satan may come against us with feelings, but we don’t have to submit to our emotions. We can stand firmly against them even while they rage against us and even within us.

CONSTANCY AND FEARLESSNESS
“…do not [for a moment] be frightened or intimidated in anything by your opponents and adversaries, for such [constancy and fearlessness] will be a clear sign (proof and seal) to them of [their impending] destruction, but [a sure token and evidence] of your deliverance and salvation, and that from God.” – Philippians 1:28

Notice those two words “constancy” and “fearlessness”. They describe the rock-like temperament you and I are to display in the face of attacks and onslaughts by our opponents and adversaries – both physical and spiritual.
When people or events come against us to destroy us, we are to stand firm, confident everything is going to work out for the best. We are not to change, but rather to remain constant and let God do the changing – of the circumstances.
When problems arise – and they will from time to time – **we are not to assume that the Lord will intervene without an invitation and take care of all our problems for us.** We are to pray and ask Him to change our circumstances. Then we are to remain constant and unchanging, which will be a sign to the enemy of his impending downfall and destruction.
Do you know why our constancy and fearlessness are a sign to Satan that he will fail? Because he knows that the only way he can overcome a believer is through deception and intimidation. How can he threaten someone who has no fear of him? How can he deceive someone who recognizes his lies and refuses to believe them? What good does it do him to try to stir up fear or anger or depression in someone who will not be moved by emotions but chooses to stand firmly on the Word of God?

When the devil sees his tactics are not working, he realizes he is failing and will be utterly defeated.
A good example of this type of fearless constancy in the face of frightening circumstances is found in the book of Exodus when the Children of Israel stood on the banks of the Red Sea and saw the army of Pharaoh coming after them to destroy them.

“Moses told the people, Fear not; stand still (firm, confident, undismayed) and see the salvation of the Lord which He will word for you today. For the Egyptians you have seen today you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace and remain at rest.” _ Exodus 14:13,14
** Replace Egyptians with whatever struggle you are facing right now!**

When confronted with a situation like the one that the Israelites faced in this passage, we are to do what they were told to do: remain constant, hold our peace, stand at rest, and let God do our fighting for us.

KEEPING CALM IN THE DAY OF ADVERSITY
“Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man whom You discipline and instruct, O Lord, and teach out of Your law, That You may give him power to keep himself calm in the days of adversity until the [inevitable] pit of corruption is dug for the wicked. For the Lord will not cast off nor spurn His people, neither will He abandon His heritage. FOr justice will return to the [uncompromisingly] righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it.” – Psalm 94:12-15

What is the Lord saying to us here in this passage? He is saying that He deals with us and disciplines us for a reason. He does that so we will come to the point where we can keep ourselves calm in the day of adversity. In verses 14 and 15 notice the emphasis on God’s faithfulness and justice toward us, His inheritance, the uncompromisingly righteous. We can be sure that if we are being obedient to the Word and will of God and are being led by His Holy Spirit, we have nothing to fear from our enemies, because the Lord Himself will fight our battles for us. {!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!}

But we must want to be helped. As we have seen, even God cannot help someone who doesn’t really want to be helped. If you and I really want to be helped, then we must remain stable as we wait upon Him to move in our behalf.

I got so much out of these few pages. Hope it hits home with you as much as it did me!

FYI: if scripture has [brackets] it is from the Amplified version of the bible. if there are (parentheses) it usually means there is extra translation/explanation of the original Hebrew word.

{Submitted by Cassie Hayes}

Here is a strange draw that I got this morning. I’m wondering which way to take this!

My hope is that there is a message that brings stability to our shaky financial situation. News of balance and equilibrium….

It is my fear that this might instead represent a message saying that our money difficulties won’t be changing anytime soon! I think that if that were the case, then the Constancy card would be placed after the Some Money card instead, showing no change.

With that in mind, I will take the first interpretation! lol

What say you??

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.
Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle’s compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

my favourite sonnet for several reasons, and though I’m a hopeless romantic and could go into a plethora of analogies concerning my own life, I will refrain because you readers are better than that. Instead I would like to point out through this sonnet the never failing love of our Creator.

From “no fear Shakespeare sparknotes” website, this is what the sonnet in modern language reads:

I hope I may never acknowledge any reason why minds that truly love each other shouldn’t be joined together. Love isn’t really love if it changes when it sees the beloved change or if it disappears when the beloved leaves. Oh no, love is a constant and unchanging light that shines on storms without being shaken; it is the star that guides every wandering boat. And like a star, its value is beyond measure, though its height can be measured. Love is not under time’s power, though time has the power to destroy rosy lips and cheeks. Love does not alter with the passage of brief hours and weeks, but lasts until Doomsday. If I’m wrong about this and can be proven wrong, I never wrote, and no man ever loved.

“Love isn’t really love if it changes when it sees the beloved change or if it disappears when the beloved leaves.” How true of our Father. He doesn’t change, or leaves when we, poor humans that we are, change constantly and are never content with who we are or where we are or what we’re doing or what God’s doing. He does not alter upon finding alteration. He does not leave upon finding His beloved gone. How comforting is that! I think that is something rejoice in; His constancy in His word, His commands, His promises. They are eternal and inerrant.

amen and amen

Constancy can represent something unchanging, staying the same, constant., boring.  Falling  beside a card depicting a person it can show a personality that is stable and predictable.

Constancy can also denote “power of the Universe”, the third eye, spiritual guuidance.

After having this card come up in a few of my readings… struggling with the meaning as it related to those… and a discussion with Spiritsong from The Card Lover, I have come to realise that for me it can also have the meaning of intuition.

Yesterday I did a reading asking what blocks me from moving forwards and also, what do  I nned to release to be able to move forwards. Both times I got Marriage as the answer, so today I asked what is the deeply held belief I need to confront and release to  move forwards.

Jealousy can be about choices, insecurities because of an unclear and uncertain situation. It can also be about someone having trust issues. Constancy talks of things that are constant, that remain unchanged. Fidelity is about sticking with something, devotion, trust, faith and loyalty.

These cards seem to be saying that I have trust issues that come from my past and that I feel insecure. Because of these issues and the beliefs formed over the years, I am unable to move forward.  I need to dissolve the negative beliefs that accompany a lack of trust and faith.

I do have trust and faith issues and when I think about it all, I have, over the years, developed negative beliefs concerning life and it’s processes. From an abusive childhood and abusive relationships I have learnt to never depend on or trust anyone else. I guess over time, these beliefs have become deeply embedded and the time has come to uncover and release them, to develop new ones, to learn to trust and have faith.

I’m supposed to be moving house next weekend. The tenant is supposed to be moved out by Wednesday, we should be able to settle  and I will take over on Friday, but I have a strong feeling that once again, it just won’t happen. Trying to get moved  has been ongoing for weeks now!

What do I need to know about moving house next weekend?

Hmmmm!  Misfortune is about delays, obstacles and general misfortune. Constancy shows things remaining the same, unchanged. House. Well, House is house. Can be about moving house. It seems that I am still facing obstacles and difficulties and for the present nothing is going to change. However, House is the third card and so I will move eventually. <grrrrrrrrr>

Where’s that brick wall!!!!

UPDATE  Moving has been delayed for yet another week!

Scripture to read today:

1 Chronicles 25; 1 Chronicles 26; 1 Chronicles 27; 1 Thessalonians 4

Scripture that spoke to me:
1 Thessalonians 4:1
Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.

Observation:
Live for God- and do this more and more! What a wonderful way for Paul to encourage people to keep going. When I first read this, I thought “how can you be doing something right and then do it more right?” But after a minute, I understood. Following God is pretty easy. What’s hard is to keep doing it day after day, year after year.

Application:
We all stumble, we track away from God and have to find our way back. Paul’s urging here is for longevity, not quantity. Not do something and do it better; do something and keep doing it for a longer and longer time.

Prayer:
Dear Lord, help me to stay on this same path and keep my eyes focused on You. Help me to not be sidetracked by things off the road that look good or that catch my eye, if they are not of You. Amen.

Scripture to read today:

2 Samuel 18; Psalm 56; Matthew 27

Scripture that spoke to me:
2 Samuel 18:33
The king was shaken. He went up to the room over the gateway and wept. As he went, he said: “O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you—O Absalom, my son, my son!”

Observation:
King David has been pursued, and locked into battle with, his own son- Absalom. Absalom has tried to overthrow the king and become king himself. David’s forces have finally overcome him and, although the king asked that Absalom’s life be spared, the leaders of the army (namely Joab) have such a hatred for him that he is killed. This verse is what David says when he learns of Absalom’s death.

Application:
David had it tough- his own son turned against him. But in the end, David still mourns him and wishes he had died instead. I wonder if this is how God feels about us? It doesn’t matter how much we have done against Him, or how much we have run from Him to do our own thing, in the end He loves us so much it doesn’t matter. I believe that is why Jesus came- God’s own son, who He could absolve us of our wrong-doing.

Prayer:
Lord, thank You for loving us so much, even when we don’t deserve it, and don’t love You as much as You love us. Forgive me for my selfishness. Amen.

I drew these cards this morning. My deepest desire at the moment is for security and stability again. This is reflected perfectly in the cards, Desire and Constancy. I long for things to get back to ‘normal’, to have a routine that I can count on.

The Journey card threw me for a little while, so I sat on this draw, contemplating it’s meaning. The Journey card can be translated literally, (and my husband is flying home today!) but it can also refer to the transformation of things, that changes are on the way; either of actual circumstances or of attitudes.

Madame Seaqueen writes that the Journey card can mean “quick delivery”, or “something is on it’s way”. This is what I was feeling, as I contemplated it in connection with the 2 other cards.

I have a strong desire for our situation to stabilize, and with the Journey card it is assuring me that it will very soon.

I hadn’t planned on posting another Gypsy card draw today, but the energy has been so strange leading up to the Full Moon on May 9th that I thought I would.

Yesterday I wrote about Misfortune – House – Sweetheart, and that I twisted my ankle pretty badly.

Another Misfortune befell me as well! Hubby is a classic Cancerian, and ever since my children and I moved in with him 10 years ago, we discovered that we could predict when the Full Moon would be, just by his behavior! He always gets very moody and cranky the 3 days leading up to it. I’ve read of “moon madness”, but brother! never thought I’d be married to someone who could change so much during the moon phases! crazy stuff-

He chose yesterday to go off the handle and get angry with me, over something he got it in his head that I did and I hadn’t! So, on top of being in BIG discomfort, I had an irate mate to deal with. It’s still not fixed, and I’m kind of dreading having to communicate with him later today…..so I was  glad to see this draw.

Constancy gives stable energy to the surrounding cards & situation. Nothing dramatic is going to happen, it should be pretty smooth.

Visit is the next card in the draw. Visit can mean literally just that, or it can mean discussions. Looking closely at the card, a few things come time mind. We have an older woman, positioning herself a bit higher on the staircase, she comes across as thinking she’s right about something, and she looks a bit stern in expression. The younger woman, is in a lower, more submissive position on the staircase. She looks like she’s listening to a criticism and frowning! She holds flowers in a gesture of openess, and wears a white dress. This makes me think of innocence and purity, as where the other, older woman is in darker drabber colors (more negative!)

The younger girl, just wants to be accepted and get along, but she’s getting an earful. That’s what I’m a bit worried about, that I’ll have to go through a criticizing, not so nice conversation, because of someone else’s negativity – but the Constancy card looks as though it reassuring me that this won’t be the case.

I’ll end up having an ok discussion with him. The House shows that this is family stuff, family discussions/meetings.

ha! we’ll see! Full Moon time is always difficult Anybody else have to cope with a Cancerian?????

Spirity

Update: these cards were pretty ‘right on’. I was definitely the younger woman standing lower on the staircase, just wanting to be light and happy – no drama – and he was definitely the other. It wasn’t completely smooth sailing to begin with, but it became smooth and stable pretty quickly. Not the bad encounters I was imagining. Darn good thing he doesn’t read my blog!! LOL Really glad that Constancy was there in the draw!

“Someone is said to be the same person from childhood till old age. Although he is called the same person, he never has the same constituents, but is always being renewed in some respects and experiencing loss in others, for instance, his hair, skin, bone, blood and his whole body. This applies not only to the body but also to the mind: attributes, character-traits, beliefs, desires, pleasures, pains, fears – none of these ever remain the same in each of us, but some are emerging while others are being lost. Still more remarkable is the fact that our knowledge changes too, some items emerging, while others are lost, so we are not the same person as regards our knowledge; indeed, each individual item of knowledge goes through the same process.”

C  onstant faith

H  abitual faith

A  ssuring faith

N  on-stop faith

G  iving-grace-in-turmoil faith

E  nduring faith