The “Andy Griffith” Approach to Quality Management
Cumberland Gap, Kentucky sits at the intersection of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. (photo: Alex Cerveniak)
Last weekend my wife and I travelled to Cumberland Gap, Kentucky for a short retreat from northern Michigan. Cumberland Gap, first discovered by Europeans in 1750, is a narrow pass through the Cumberland Mountains which was a key travel route for Native Americans and was pivotal for the westward expansion of the United States. The gap features sandstone cliffs, dense forests- which I found were full of poison ivy, and scenic hiking trails through the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park.
As my wife and I strolled through the charming town of Cumberland Gap on our way to have dinner at Nineteen19 Bar and Grill (best food and drink in Claiborne County!), I was taken back by the local police officer walking the streets, checking in on residents and tourists with a warm smile and friendly attitude. His approach to policing reminded me a lot of the Andy Griffith Show. It was a refreshing reminder of how authority figures can positively impact a community.
In the peaceful town of Mayberry from the classic TV show, The Andy Griffith Show, Sheriff Andy Taylor patrolled the streets on foot, greeting everyone by name and taking time to listen to their stories and concerns. His approach to law enforcement was rooted in building relationships and fostering a sense of community. This community-oriented model highlights the importance of establishing trust and understanding between law enforcement officers and the citizens they serve.
While modern policing practices often necessitate certain tactical measures to ensure public safety, it's worth exploring ways to balance these measures with community engagement initiatives that strengthen the bond between police and the communities they protect.
As we hiked along Daniel Boone’s footsteps on the Wilderness Trail, I reflected on the parallels between modern policing and the role of the quality professional in manufacturing environments like ours at Gaylord Solutions. Like law enforcement officers, quality inspectors and auditors hold a position of authority, scrutinizing processes and products to ensure compliance with procedures and work instructions. I think the most effective quality leaders embrace an "Andy Griffith" mindset focused on prevention over punishment and collaboration over confrontation.
Too often, quality staff are perceived as an adversarial force, with inspectors playing a "bad cop" role - seeking to catch errors and assign blame. This often generates a strained "us vs them" relationship between quality and production/engineering/sales/purchasing/maintenance/IT/you name it teams. The more constructive approach is for quality team members to be allies with production staff, embedding themselves within the processes they’re trying to protect, instead of being separate from them.
By taking a proactive stance and prioritizing clear communication and relationship-building, the quality "Andy Griffiths" become trusted advisors. They engage regularly with operators and engineers, learning about their problems and collaborating to come up with preventive solutions before the issue reoccurs. This mirrors how Sheriff Taylor knew every Mayberry resident and strived to be a positive mentor before situations escalated.
I get it, it’s hard to gain trust when you’re trained to quickly identify and communicate what might go wrong but the most impactful quality professionals are those who take time to build authentic connections with coworkers in other departments. They learn the names and backgrounds of team members, understanding the challenges they face. This bond cultivates an atmosphere of mutual respect where quality recommendations are received as insights from a caring partner rather than scoldings from an outsider.
The quality version of "Andy Griffith" serves as an ambassador of an organization's values and culture. They epitomize a company's commitment to doing what’s right, not what’s easy, through root cause analysis and the never-ending pursuit to make processes better. When problems happen, there is already a foundation of trust that allows quality findings to be perceived as opportunities for improvement rather than shortcomings in need of punishment.
The principle of building relationships as a path to long-term impact and influence is key to continual improvement. For those of us in the quality world, it’s something to aspire to - striving to be respected servants and partners to your manufacturing community like the iconic Sheriff Taylor. The next time you enter a production area, greet your teammates warmly, ask how you can help make their job easier, listen to their problems, and show you care by collaborating with them or other team members to solve those problems. Anyone can say they care about someone’s problems, but doing something to show you care will earn their respect and quickly transform your workplace into a place people want to work, with improved quality performance quickly to follow.