75 Top-Notch Quotes about Quality

"The best supply chains aren't just fast and cost-effective. They are also agile and adaptable, and they ensure that all their companies' interests stay aligned."

Hau L. Lee (-) is the Thoma Professor of Operations, Information and Technology at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. His areas of specialization include supply chain management, information technology, global logistics system design, inventory planning, and manufacturing strategy.


"Outsourcing is no panacea. It's often called the "make or break" decision. Well, let me tell you, it can quickly become the make or break decision."

Joe Neubacher (-) CEO of food-services firm ARA Services (1993)


"Even though quality cannot be defined, you know what quality is."

Robert Maynard Pirsig (born September 6, 1928) is an American writer and philosopher, and author of philosophical novels.


"Operational excellence remains a greater imperative than most companies and most executives acknowledge."

Gene Tyndall (-) former President of Supply Chain Executive Advisors (SCEA).


"Not having a common understanding of quality puts more pain into an organization than anything else I have ever known. "

Philip Bayard "Phil" Crosby (Wheeling, June 18, 1926 - Winter Park, August 18, 2001) was a businessman and author who contributed to management theory and quality management practices.


"If we deliver on time, but the product has defects, we have not delivered on time."

Philip Bayard "Phil" Crosby (Wheeling, June 18, 1926 - Winter Park, August 18, 2001) was a businessman and author who contributed to management theory and quality management practices.


"In a true zero-defects approach there are no unimportant items."

Philip Bayard "Phil" Crosby (Wheeling, June 18, 1926 - Winter Park, August 18, 2001) was a businessman and author who contributed to management theory and quality management practices.


"The Four Absolutes of Quality Management:
•Quality has to be defined as conformance to requirements, not as goodness.
•The system for causing quality is prevention, not appraisal.
•The performance standard must be zero defects, not "that's close enough."
•The measurement of quality is the process of nonconformance, not indexes."

Philip Bayard "Phil" Crosby (Wheeling, June 18, 1926 - Winter Park, August 18, 2001) was a businessman and author who contributed to management theory and quality management practices.


"Quality is such an attractive banner that sometimes we think we can get away with just waving it, without doing the hard work necessary to achieve it."

Miles Maguire (-) is an associate professor of journalism at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, where he teaches writing, editing and reporting.


"It costs a lot to build bad products."

Norman Ralph Augustine (born July 27, 1935) is a U.S. aerospace businessman who served as Under Secretary of the Army from 1975-77.