DELNET organised a lecture at the India International Centre on July 3, 2004 on TQP - Total Quality Person delivered by Prof (Dr) C V Ramanan, Director, Sri Sringeri Sharda Institute of Management, New Delhi. The lecture was presided over by Mr P C Sen, Director, IIC. Mr Sen in his introductory remarks mentioned that we were familiar with the term TQM - Total Quality Management in the 1980s which was followed by a large number of corporate bodies in India and abroad with a passion for excellence, for bringing passion into management. Dr Ramanan referred to the six small books written five years ago on personal and professional excellence. Since then, he has been trying to promote the concept of TQP or Total Quality Person. Dr Ramanan referred to contemporary challenges which were being faced .due to globalisation. The delivery of quality products and services, having quality interactions was not only the best way but it was the only way to succeed. He added that the Total Quality Management, TQM was a great philosophy. The foundation of TQM was TQP. Who was a TQP ? He said that He HTQP was a person with character, with the right values, with a positive attitude and with a desire to serve. He asked, was it possible for us to do more of the right things faster and easier ? Was it possible for us to be efficient and effective ? Do the right things and do things in the right way ? Could we get a better handle, a better grip on our lives to make choices that make our lives a more rewarding experience ?” Ramanan alluded to four human needs : to live, to love, to learn and to leave a legacy. Dr Ramanan added that when we talk of integrated personality and enrichment, the first was physical aspect of our personality. A healthy body was a comfortable guest chamber for the soul, a sick body was a prison. Now one of the few things in life for which we didn’t get a second chance obviously was to make a favourable first impression. It was because of the physical aspect of our personality that we make a good first impression. The second aspect was mental : continuous learning, having an open mind. The source was not important. We could learn as much from a small child as we could from a senior person. We learn not only from our mistake but from other people’s mistakes. Despite all this there were occasions when we lost - we could not win all the time - but even if we lost we must make sure that we did not lose the lessons. The emotional aspect of the personality was about having evolved qualities like compassion, caring, love. Dr Ramanan talked next about the spiritual aspect of our personalities. He said that we all had our won conceptions of spirituality. His concept was essentially that it was feeling one with the divine. So how did we discover secret strength? He said that it was our privilege to achieve greatness. Dr Ramanan shared with the audience some anecdotes which in our contexts always related to an idea or emotion. He added that the family is the next obvious inspiration for a TQP, especially the parents. Parents were endless reservoirs of love. So we must cherish our parents. Dr Ramanan raised a few pertinent questions regarding the TQP and gave prescriptions such as (i) Smile more often; (ii) The expressions, the body language and the entire posture are far more important and have more far-reaching implications than the words, (iii) maintained the right attitude. (iv) Personal image matters: a good appearance exudes confidence and creates a favourable impression if we are people of impeccable integrity. Our reputation travels ahead of us; (v) a Total Quality Person is also an effective leader. The top quality is inspiration: we have to inspire people about where we are, where we would like to be and galvanise people to come up to that level; (vi) Effective communication. Communication is saying what has to be said with elegance, grace, charm and class; (vii) Time management is also essential. We should not allow matters to become urgent by postponing them. Have a list of things to be done; eliminate time-wasters like endless conversations on the phone, procrastination, and combine smart work with hard work.Dr Ramanan defined ‘leader’ as : L stands for learn laugh and listen E for empowerment and empathy A for awareness D for doing E for emotional intelligence R for responsibility - and if we want to use the final ‘S’ in ‘leaders’ - for being simple and spiritual. Dr Ramanan maintained that proactive people are value-driven by a set of values which makes sense to them. Punctuality is a value because we believe that our time cannot be more important than the time of the person who is waiting for us. Humility is also a value. Listening is also a value. Finally, according to Dr Ramanan, what is success? Total Quality Life. TQL lays equal emphasis on work, family, friends, leisure, personal growth and spiritual attainment. Dr Ramanan concluded saying unless there is meaning and
purpose life is empty and unhappy regardless of how much prestige or education
we have. A newspaper article advised, ‘If you are rich you need not be happy,
but if you’re happy you actually end up becoming rich’. Someone approached
Blaise Pascal and said, ‘If I had your brains I’d be a better person.’ Pascal
replied, ‘Be a better person and you’ll have my brains.’ Great organisations
are measured by feelings, attitudes and relationships. It is the little things
that make a big difference. |