Share | Understanding the qualities of those who focus on quality through the story of five steamed buns!

Thread Content

As a quality professional, to better meet the demands of quality work, it is essential to develop excellent qualities and professional ethics. So, what qualities must a quality professional possess? First, let’s take a look at the following “Story of the Five Steamed Buns”: [The First Steamed Bun] Scenario 1: A person who was starving to death stumbled to a farmer’s house. The farmer gave him a steamed bun and a bowl of water, and the hungry man was saved. The saved person went to the farmer’s house and found that there was nothing there at all. I was moved to tears and remained kneeling there, unable to get up. From then on, filled with gratitude, he brought love to those in need he encountered. Scenario 2: A person on the verge of starvation stumbles to a farmer’s house. The farmer gave him a steamed bun and a bowl of water, and the hungry man was saved. The saved person went to the farmer’s house and found that it was filled with many delicious foods. Gratitude was quickly replaced by anger. He raised his knife and killed the farmer, because he found that the farmer still had so much that he hadn’t given to him. Thought 1: The same behavior can lead to completely opposite results—seeing what one has received makes one feel grateful ； Seeing what one does not have brings hatred. Thought 2: What saves lives are the steamed buns and water offered by the farmer, and it has nothing to do with what the farmer possesses personally. But real education places more emphasis on the generosity of a farmer with nothing, which signifies a higher level of nobility. This naturally changes the standards and expectations in people's minds. In fact, kindness exists in every aspect of life; it’s something utterly ordinary. Everyone can show kindness, rather than waiting for someone like Farmer A to appear. Everyone is their own savior. Everyone can help those around them to the best of their ability. Thought 3: Gratitude or hatred is often determined by details rather than essence. Essentially, in both cases A and B, the outcome should be one of gratitude. But only normal and rational people can maintain the same grateful attitude in both situations. Thought 4: Is there another mindset that can exist beyond gratitude and hatred? 【Second Steamed Bun】 Scenario 1: A person who is starving to death stumbles to a farmer’s house. The farmer gave him a steamed bun and a bowl of water, and the hungry man was saved. But later, it was discovered that the rescued person was a wanted thief. As a result, many people hate farmers, believing that they help the bad guys. Scenario 2: A person on the verge of starvation stumbles to a farmer’s house. The farmer gave him a steamed bun and a bowl of water, and the hungry man was saved. But later, it was discovered that the rescued person was a kind soul who had helped others many times before. So many people praised the farmer for doing a great meritorious deed. Thought 1: When saving people in trouble, one must consider their status; everyone will decide based on their own standards who to save and who not to save. So many people decided it was better to mind their own business and stopped helping anyone they encountered. Thought 2: If people can feel respect for the farmer in both situations, love will be able to flourish. Conversely, under the influence of snobbery, suspicion, and the like, love is lost. 【Third Steamed Bun】 Scenario 1: A person who is starving to death stumbles to a farmer’s house. The farmer pointed to another farmer’s house and said, “Look, that’s the man who gave bread and water to save those people. Go and ask him for help.” ”The hungry man struggled to reach the farmer’s house. The farmer opened the door and said apologetically, “I have no food left.” ”As a result, everyone in the village hated this farmer, while no one blamed the farmer who never helped anyone. Scenario 2: A person on the verge of starvation stumbles to a farmer’s house. The farmer pointed to another farmer’s house and said, “Look, that’s the man who gave bread and water to save those people. Go and ask him for help.” ”The hungry man struggled to reach the farmer’s house. The farmer opened the door and said, “I only have half a steamed bun left.” ”As a result, everyone in the village despised this farmer, while no one blamed the farmer who never helped others. Thought 1: For those who are kind-hearted, people’s standards tend to rise involuntarily. Thought 2: For selfish people, people lower their expectations to a minimum, so they won’t be disappointed either. Thought 3: Different moral standards are powerful forces that drive away compassion, causing everyone to close their doors in the face of those who are hungry. 【Fourth Steamed Bun】 Scenario 1: A person who is starving to death stumbles and runs to a farmer’s house. The farmer gave him a steamed bun and a bowl of water, and the hungry man was saved. The saved person went to the farmer’s house and found that there was nothing there at all. I was moved to tears and remained kneeling there, unable to get up. From then on, filled with gratitude, he brought love to those in need he encountered. At the same time, he fully supported any action taken by the farmer, regardless of whether it was good or bad. The farmer lost his mirror and thought he was right about everything. Later, he went bankrupt due to making a serious mistake. Scenario 2: A person on the verge of starvation stumbles to a farmer’s house. The farmer gave him a steamed bun and a bowl of water, and the hungry man was saved. The saved person went to the farmer’s house and found that there was nothing there at all. I was moved to tears and remained kneeling there, unable to get up. From then on, filled with gratitude, he brought love to those in need he encountered. However, regarding the farmer’s actions, one should support his goodness and point out his mistakes; the farmer works hard, keeps improving, gradually prospers, and shows great kindness. Thought 1: Different ways of showing gratitude can lead to different outcomes. Thought 2: Normal thinking should be maintained at all times; speaking frankly and offering criticism are often better approaches. Thought 3: In fact, after eating steamed buns and drinking a bowl of water, turning around and leaving is also a form of gratitude. Often, those who help others do so with a peaceful and grateful heart, without deliberately seeking praise or reward. 【Fifth Steamed Bun】 Scenario 1: A person who is starving to death stumbles to a farmer’s house. The farmer gave him a steamed bun and a bowl of water, and the hungry man was saved. The villagers would praise the farmer whenever they met him, saying that he had done a good deed. Later on, even when faced with tasks beyond his capabilities, the farmer would voluntarily step in to help. Scenario 2: A person on the verge of starvation stumbles to a farmer’s house. The farmer gave him a steamed bun and a bowl of water, and the hungry man was saved. Some suspect that the farmer is putting on a show, and even doubt that the hungry person is someone played by the farmer himself. So, when the farmer encountered those who sought his help, he stayed far away, fearing further criticism. Thought 1: Praise or criticism often influences the behavior of some people—those who are not mentally mature enough. Thought 2: If one seeks consistent evaluations for a certain behavior, it will only lead to obsession. Thought 3: Those who avoid confrontation when faced with slander will forever remain cowards. Thought 4: The farmer should quickly forget about that bun and that bowl of water, as well as what people say, and calmly go about his own tasks, being a happy farmer. Let’s take another look at the quality characteristics of those who work in quality control: 1. Principles – Those who are responsible for quality must have principles ； Right is right, wrong is wrong ； This is a prerequisite; those who lack principles are not suitable for working on quality control. 2. Be cautious. We are talking a lot these days about so-called risk management, but this concept doesn’t appear out of nowhere; we use it in our daily lives. In our own words, when taking action, we must assess the risks – be cautious! Those working on quality must be cautious; they cannot be careless, nor can they settle for something merely acceptable ； In daily work, it is essential to thoroughly understand and analyze matters, and assess the level of risk before making any decisions. 3. Perseverance means persistence, it means not giving up, it means being proactive, it means striving. For the sake of quality, no matter how winding the path may be, no matter how much hardship lies ahead, one must persevere and stay committed. Because those who are responsible for quality must regard it as their life, respect it, and be committed to it. Sometimes, this is called paranoia. But I would say that only a paranoid can succeed. 4. A love for learning: We strive to be eager to learn, as we talk about quality awareness every day ； The level of quality awareness depends not only on morality but, more importantly, on one’s perspective – specifically, the perspective one has regarding quality. Having a high sense of quality is like having a highly skilled doctor who can detect diseases at their early stages and take action accordingly. To maintain the same quality standard, it is necessary to have a high level of quality awareness, to think deeply and look ahead, and to eliminate potential problems at their earliest stages. And your perspective depends to a large extent on whether you are eager to learn and continuously study quality management theories. Because we need to keep in mind one thing: the quality problems we encounter now were already faced by those who came before us in terms of quality management, and they came up with excellent solutions, which have since formed part of management theory ； We should actively make use of it. I remember a colleague saying a very classic phrase: Working in quality is a highly theoretical profession. 5. Flexibility: In our view, since we emphasize that those working in quality management should have principles, there is no need to talk about the necessity of learning to be flexible. We say that whenever it comes to adapting to Chinese characteristics, or making compromises, that is the core of quality management with Chinese characteristics. To be flexible, three points must be kept in mind: First, one should not be flexible in matters of principle, especially in situations related to the patient’s life safety. It’s a matter of principle; they won’t bend. Second: Even for minor issues, those that are not principled in nature, positive adaptations should still be made. After making adjustments and compromises, we still need to manage things actively and take action; we can’t just say that since adjustments have been made, nothing else needs to be done. Giving up completely isn’t an option. Flexibility often requires setting limits on quantity, conditions, time, target entities, and so on; in other words, it involves flexibility under certain conditions. Third: Compromises are only temporary; one must always be prepared, and when the right time comes, one should adhere to principles and make the necessary corrections. 6. Since patience involves flexibility, patience must be mentioned ； These days, whether it’s colleagues or subordinates around us, everyone shares the same realization: it’s really difficult to ensure quality. This is the truth, and it takes time for this situation to change. So, for the sake of quality, we often have to choose patience. One cannot choose to complain, nor can one choose to give up, because that is negative. 7. Understanding management – I won’t go into theory here; its importance was already mentioned in the section on being eager to learn ； What I mean by practice here is that those who are responsible for quality, in the end, still need to engage in management as well ； Therefore, you must improve your management skills through practice. As mentioned earlier, focusing on quality requires strong theoretical knowledge as well as practical skills.